#+title: gptel: A simple LLM client for Emacs

[[https://elpa.nongnu.org/nongnu/gptel.svg][file:https://elpa.nongnu.org/nongnu/gptel.svg]] [[https://stable.melpa.org/packages/gptel-badge.svg][file:https://stable.melpa.org/packages/gptel-badge.svg]] [[https://melpa.org/#/gptel][file:https://melpa.org/packages/gptel-badge.svg]]

gptel is a simple Large Language Model chat client for Emacs, with support for multiple models and backends. It works in the spirit of Emacs, available at any time and uniformly in any buffer.

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General usage: ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsRnh_brggM][YouTube Demo]])

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/8607532/230516812-86510a09-a2fb-4cbd-b53f-cc2522d05a13.mp4

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/8607532/230516816-ae4a613a-4d01-4073-ad3f-b66fa73c6e45.mp4

Media support

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1fd947e1-226b-4be2-bc68-7b22b2e3215f

Multi-LLM support demo:

https://github-production-user-asset-6210df.s3.amazonaws.com/8607532/278854024-ae1336c4-5b87-41f2-83e9-e415349d6a43.mp4

• It's async and fast, streams responses.
• Interact with LLMs from anywhere in Emacs (any buffer, shell, minibuffer, wherever)
• LLM responses are in Markdown or Org markup.
• Supports conversations and multiple independent sessions.
• Supports multi-modal models (send images, documents)
• Save chats as regular Markdown/Org/Text files and resume them later.
• You can go back and edit your previous prompts or LLM responses when continuing a conversation. These will be fed back to the model.
• Don't like gptel's workflow? Use it to create your own for any supported model/backend with a [[https://github.com/karthink/gptel/wiki/Defining-custom-gptel-commands][simple API]].

gptel uses Curl if available, but falls back to url-retrieve to work without external dependencies.

** Contents :toc:

• [[#breaking-changes][Breaking changes!]]
• [[#installation][Installation]]
  • [[#straight][Straight]]
  • [[#manual][Manual]]
  • [[#doom-emacs][Doom Emacs]]
  • [[#spacemacs][Spacemacs]]
• [[#setup][Setup]]
  • [[#chatgpt][ChatGPT]]
  • [[#other-llm-backends][Other LLM backends]]
    • [[#azure][Azure]]
    • [[#gpt4all][GPT4All]]
    • [[#ollama][Ollama]]
    • [[#gemini][Gemini]]
    • [[#llamacpp-or-llamafile][Llama.cpp or Llamafile]]
    • [[#kagi-fastgpt--summarizer][Kagi (FastGPT & Summarizer)]]
    • [[#togetherai][together.ai]]
    • [[#anyscale][Anyscale]]
    • [[#perplexity][Perplexity]]
    • [[#anthropic-claude][Anthropic (Claude)]]
    • [[#groq][Groq]]
    • [[#openrouter][OpenRouter]]
    • [[#privategpt][PrivateGPT]]
    • [[#deepseek][DeepSeek]]
    • [[#cerebras][Cerebras]]
    • [[#github-models][Github Models]]
• [[#usage][Usage]]
  • [[#in-any-buffer][In any buffer:]]
  • [[#in-a-dedicated-chat-buffer][In a dedicated chat buffer:]]
    • [[#including-media-images-documents-with-requests][Including media (images, documents) with requests]]
    • [[#save-and-restore-your-chat-sessions][Save and restore your chat sessions]]
  • [[#include-more-context-with-requests][Include more context with requests]]
  • [[#rewrite-refactor-or-fill-in-a-region][Rewrite, refactor or fill in a region]]
  • [[#extra-org-mode-conveniences][Extra Org mode conveniences]]
• [[#faq][FAQ]]
  • [[#i-want-the-window-to-scroll-automatically-as-the-response-is-inserted][I want the window to scroll automatically as the response is inserted]]
  • [[#i-want-the-cursor-to-move-to-the-next-prompt-after-the-response-is-inserted][I want the cursor to move to the next prompt after the response is inserted]]
  • [[#i-want-to-change-the-formatting-of-the-prompt-and-llm-response][I want to change the formatting of the prompt and LLM response]]
  • [[#i-want-the-transient-menu-options-to-be-saved-so-i-only-need-to-set-them-once][I want the transient menu options to be saved so I only need to set them once]]
  • [[#i-want-to-use-gptel-in-a-way-thats-not-supported-by-gptel-send-or-the-options-menu][I want to use gptel in a way that's not supported by =gptel-send= or the options menu]]
  • [[#doom-emacs-sending-a-query-from-the-gptel-menu-fails-because-of-a-key-conflict-with-org-mode][(Doom Emacs) Sending a query from the gptel menu fails because of a key conflict with Org mode]]
  • [[#chatgpt-i-get-the-error-http2-429-you-exceeded-your-current-quota][(ChatGPT) I get the error "(HTTP/2 429) You exceeded your current quota"]]
  • [[#why-another-llm-client][Why another LLM client?]]
• [[#additional-configuration][Additional Configuration]]
• [[#alternatives][Alternatives]]
  • [[#packages-using-gptel][Packages using gptel]]
• [[#acknowledgments][Acknowledgments]]

** Breaking changes!

• The =gptel-model= is now expected to be a symbol, not a string. Please update your configuration.

** Installation

gptel can be installed in Emacs out of the box with =M-x package-install= ⏎ =gptel=. This installs the latest release.

If you want the development version instead, add MELPA (or NonGNU-devel ELPA) to your list of sources, then install it with =M-x package-install⏎= =gptel=.

(Optional: Install =markdown-mode=.)

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Installing the =markdown-mode= package is optional. #+html: #+html:

Installing the =markdown-mode= package is optional. #+html: #+html:

In =config.el= #+begin_src emacs-lisp (use-package! gptel :config (setq! gptel-api-key "your key")) #+end_src "your key" can be the API key itself, or (safer) a function that returns the key. Setting =gptel-api-key= is optional, you will be asked for a key if it's not found.

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Optional: Set =gptel-api-key= to the key. Alternatively, you may choose a more secure method such as:

• Storing in =~/.authinfo=. By default, "api.openai.com" is used as HOST and "apikey" as USER. #+begin_src authinfo machine api.openai.com login apikey password TOKEN #+end_src
• Setting it to a function that returns the key.

*** Other LLM backends #+html:

Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp (gptel-make-azure "Azure-1" ;Name, whatever you'd like :protocol "https" ;Optional -- https is the default :host "YOUR_RESOURCE_NAME.openai.azure.com" :endpoint "/openai/deployments/YOUR_DEPLOYMENT_NAME/chat/completions?api-version=2023-05-15" ;or equivalent :stream t ;Enable streaming responses :key #'gptel-api-key :models '(gpt-3.5-turbo gpt-4)) #+end_src Refer to the documentation of =gptel-make-azure= to set more parameters.

You can pick this backend from the menu when using gptel. (see [[#usage][Usage]]).

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'gpt-3.5-turbo gptel-backend (gptel-make-azure "Azure-1" :protocol "https" :host "YOUR_RESOURCE_NAME.openai.azure.com" :endpoint "/openai/deployments/YOUR_DEPLOYMENT_NAME/chat/completions?api-version=2023-05-15" :stream t :key #'gptel-api-key :models '(gpt-3.5-turbo gpt-4))) #+end_src #+html:

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Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp (gptel-make-gpt4all "GPT4All" ;Name of your choosing :protocol "http" :host "localhost:4891" ;Where it's running :models '(mistral-7b-openorca.Q4_0.gguf)) ;Available models #+end_src These are the required parameters, refer to the documentation of =gptel-make-gpt4all= for more.

You can pick this backend from the menu when using gptel (see [[#usage][Usage]]).

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. Additionally you may want to increase the response token size since GPT4All uses very short (often truncated) responses by default. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-max-tokens 500 gptel-model 'mistral-7b-openorca.Q4_0.gguf gptel-backend (gptel-make-gpt4all "GPT4All" :protocol "http" :host "localhost:4891" :models '(mistral-7b-openorca.Q4_0.gguf))) #+end_src

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Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp (gptel-make-ollama "Ollama" ;Any name of your choosing :host "localhost:11434" ;Where it's running :stream t ;Stream responses :models '(mistral:latest)) ;List of models #+end_src These are the required parameters, refer to the documentation of =gptel-make-ollama= for more.

You can pick this backend from the menu when using gptel (see [[#usage][Usage]])

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'mistral:latest gptel-backend (gptel-make-ollama "Ollama" :host "localhost:11434" :stream t :models '(mistral:latest))) #+end_src

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Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; :key can be a function that returns the API key. (gptel-make-gemini "Gemini" :key "YOUR_GEMINI_API_KEY" :stream t) #+end_src These are the required parameters, refer to the documentation of =gptel-make-gemini= for more.

You can pick this backend from the menu when using gptel (see [[#usage][Usage]])

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'gemini-pro gptel-backend (gptel-make-gemini "Gemini" :key "YOUR_GEMINI_API_KEY" :stream t)) #+end_src

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(If using a llamafile, run a [[https://github.com/Mozilla-Ocho/llamafile#other-example-llamafiles][server llamafile]] instead of a "command-line llamafile", and a model that supports text generation.)

Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; Llama.cpp offers an OpenAI compatible API (gptel-make-openai "llama-cpp" ;Any name :stream t ;Stream responses :protocol "http" :host "localhost:8000" ;Llama.cpp server location :models '(test)) ;Any names, doesn't matter for Llama #+end_src These are the required parameters, refer to the documentation of =gptel-make-openai= for more.

You can pick this backend from the menu when using gptel (see [[#usage][Usage]])

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'test gptel-backend (gptel-make-openai "llama-cpp" :stream t :protocol "http" :host "localhost:8000" :models '(test))) #+end_src

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Kagi's FastGPT model and the Universal Summarizer are both supported. A couple of notes:

1. Universal Summarizer: If there is a URL at point, the summarizer will summarize the contents of the URL. Otherwise the context sent to the model is the same as always: the buffer text upto point, or the contents of the region if the region is active.

2. Kagi models do not support multi-turn conversations, interactions are "one-shot". They also do not support streaming responses.

Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp (gptel-make-kagi "Kagi" ;any name :key "YOUR_KAGI_API_KEY") ;can be a function that returns the key #+end_src These are the required parameters, refer to the documentation of =gptel-make-kagi= for more.

You can pick this backend and the model (fastgpt/summarizer) from the transient menu when using gptel.

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'fastgpt gptel-backend (gptel-make-kagi "Kagi" :key "YOUR_KAGI_API_KEY")) #+end_src

The alternatives to =fastgpt= include =summarize:cecil=, =summarize:agnes=, =summarize:daphne= and =summarize:muriel=. The difference between the summarizer engines is [[https://help.kagi.com/kagi/api/summarizer.html#summarization-engines][documented here]].

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Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; Together.ai offers an OpenAI compatible API (gptel-make-openai "TogetherAI" ;Any name you want :host "api.together.xyz" :key "your-api-key" ;can be a function that returns the key :stream t :models '(;; has many more, check together.ai mistralai/Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 codellama/CodeLlama-13b-Instruct-hf codellama/CodeLlama-34b-Instruct-hf)) #+end_src

You can pick this backend from the menu when using gptel (see [[#usage][Usage]])

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'mistralai/Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 gptel-backend (gptel-make-openai "TogetherAI"
:host "api.together.xyz" :key "your-api-key"
:stream t :models '(;; has many more, check together.ai mistralai/Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 codellama/CodeLlama-13b-Instruct-hf codellama/CodeLlama-34b-Instruct-hf))) #+end_src

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Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; Anyscale offers an OpenAI compatible API (gptel-make-openai "Anyscale" ;Any name you want :host "api.endpoints.anyscale.com" :key "your-api-key" ;can be a function that returns the key :models '(;; has many more, check anyscale mistralai/Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1)) #+end_src

You can pick this backend from the menu when using gptel (see [[#usage][Usage]])

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'mistralai/Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 gptel-backend (gptel-make-openai "Anyscale" :host "api.endpoints.anyscale.com" :key "your-api-key" :models '(;; has many more, check anyscale mistralai/Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1))) #+end_src

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Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; Perplexity offers an OpenAI compatible API (gptel-make-openai "Perplexity" ;Any name you want :host "api.perplexity.ai" :key "your-api-key" ;can be a function that returns the key :endpoint "/chat/completions" :stream t :models '(;; has many more, check perplexity.ai pplx-7b-chat pplx-70b-chat pplx-7b-online pplx-70b-online)) #+end_src

You can pick this backend from the menu when using gptel (see [[#usage][Usage]])

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'pplx-7b-chat gptel-backend (gptel-make-openai "Perplexity" :host "api.perplexity.ai" :key "your-api-key" :endpoint "/chat/completions" :stream t :models '(;; has many more, check perplexity.ai pplx-7b-chat pplx-70b-chat pplx-7b-online pplx-70b-online))) #+end_src

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You can pick this backend from the menu when using gptel (see [[#usage][Usage]]).

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'claude-3-sonnet-20240229 ; "claude-3-opus-20240229" also available gptel-backend (gptel-make-anthropic "Claude" :stream t :key "your-api-key")) #+end_src

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Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; Groq offers an OpenAI compatible API (gptel-make-openai "Groq" ;Any name you want :host "api.groq.com" :endpoint "/openai/v1/chat/completions" :stream t :key "your-api-key" ;can be a function that returns the key :models '(llama-3.1-70b-versatile llama-3.1-8b-instant llama3-70b-8192 llama3-8b-8192 mixtral-8x7b-32768 gemma-7b-it)) #+end_src

You can pick this backend from the menu when using gptel (see [[#usage][Usage]]). Note that Groq is fast enough that you could easily set =:stream nil= and still get near-instant responses.

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'mixtral-8x7b-32768 gptel-backend (gptel-make-openai "Groq" :host "api.groq.com" :endpoint "/openai/v1/chat/completions" :stream t :key "your-api-key" :models '(llama-3.1-70b-versatile llama-3.1-8b-instant llama3-70b-8192 llama3-8b-8192 mixtral-8x7b-32768 gemma-7b-it))) #+end_src

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Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OpenRouter offers an OpenAI compatible API (gptel-make-openai "OpenRouter" ;Any name you want :host "openrouter.ai" :endpoint "/api/v1/chat/completions" :stream t :key "your-api-key" ;can be a function that returns the key :models '(openai/gpt-3.5-turbo mistralai/mixtral-8x7b-instruct meta-llama/codellama-34b-instruct codellama/codellama-70b-instruct google/palm-2-codechat-bison-32k google/gemini-pro))

#+end_src

You can pick this backend from the menu when using gptel (see [[#usage][Usage]]).

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'mixtral-8x7b-32768 gptel-backend (gptel-make-openai "OpenRouter" ;Any name you want :host "openrouter.ai" :endpoint "/api/v1/chat/completions" :stream t :key "your-api-key" ;can be a function that returns the key :models '(openai/gpt-3.5-turbo mistralai/mixtral-8x7b-instruct meta-llama/codellama-34b-instruct codellama/codellama-70b-instruct google/palm-2-codechat-bison-32k google/gemini-pro)))

#+end_src

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Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp (gptel-make-privategpt "privateGPT" ;Any name you want :protocol "http" :host "localhost:8001" :stream t :context t ;Use context provided by embeddings :sources t ;Return information about source documents :models '(private-gpt))

#+end_src

You can pick this backend from the menu when using gptel (see [[#usage][Usage]]).

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'private-gpt gptel-backend (gptel-make-privategpt "privateGPT" ;Any name you want :protocol "http" :host "localhost:8001" :stream t :context t ;Use context provided by embeddings :sources t ;Return information about source documents :models '(private-gpt)))

#+end_src

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Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; DeepSeek offers an OpenAI compatible API (gptel-make-openai "DeepSeek" ;Any name you want :host "api.deepseek.com" :endpoint "/chat/completions" :stream t :key "your-api-key" ;can be a function that returns the key :models '(deepseek-chat deepseek-coder))

#+end_src

You can pick this backend from the menu when using gptel (see [[#usage][Usage]]).

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'deepseek-chat gptel-backend (gptel-make-openai "DeepSeek" ;Any name you want :host "api.deepseek.com" :endpoint "/chat/completions" :stream t :key "your-api-key" ;can be a function that returns the key :models '(deepseek-chat deepseek-coder)))

#+end_src

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Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; Cerebras offers an instant OpenAI compatible API (gptel-make-openai "Cerebras" :host "api.cerebras.ai" :endpoint "/v1/chat/completions" :stream t ;optionally nil as Cerebras is instant AI :key "your-api-key" ;can be a function that returns the key :models '(llama3.1-70b llama3.1-8b)) #+end_src

You can pick this backend from the menu when using gptel (see [[#usage][Usage]]).

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'llama3.1-8b gptel-backend (gptel-make-openai "Cerebras" :host "api.cerebras.ai" :endpoint "/v1/chat/completions" :stream nil :key "your-api-key" :models '(llama3.1-70b llama3.1-8b))) #+end_src

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Register a backend with #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; Github Models offers an OpenAI compatible API (gptel-make-openai "Github Models" ;Any name you want :host "models.inference.ai.azure.com" :endpoint "/chat/completions" :stream t :key "your-github-token" :models '(gpt-4o)) #+end_src

For all the available models, check the [[https://github.com/marketplace/models][marketplace]].

You can pick this backend from the menu when using (see [[#usage][Usage]]).

***** (Optional) Set as the default gptel backend

The above code makes the backend available to select. If you want it to be the default backend for gptel, you can set this as the value of =gptel-backend=. Use this instead of the above. #+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; OPTIONAL configuration (setq gptel-model 'gpt-4o gptel-backend (gptel-make-openai "Github Models" ;Any name you want :host "models.inference.ai.azure.com" :endpoint "/chat/completions" :stream t :key "your-github-token" :models '(gpt-4o)) #+end_src

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** Usage

(This is also a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsRnh_brggM][video demo]] showing various uses of gptel.)

|-------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | To send queries | Description | |-------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | =gptel-send= | Send conversation up to =(point)=, or selection if region is active. Works anywhere in Emacs. | | =gptel= | Create a new dedicated chat buffer. Not required to use gptel. | |-------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

|--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------| | To Set options | | |--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------| | =C-u= =gptel-send= | Transient menu for preferences, input/output redirection etc. | | =gptel-menu= | /(Same)/ | |--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------|

|------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | To add context | | |------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | =gptel-add= | Add/remove a region or buffer to gptel's context. In Dired, add/remove marked files. | | =gptel-add-file= | Add a (text-readable) file to gptel's context. Also available from the transient menu. | |------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

|----------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | In Org mode only | | |----------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | =gptel-org-set-topic= | Limit conversation context to an Org heading | | =gptel-org-set-properties= | Write gptel configuration as Org properties (for self-contained chat logs) | |----------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------|

*** In any buffer:

1. Call =M-x gptel-send= to send the text up to the cursor. The response will be inserted below. Continue the conversation by typing below the response.

2. If a region is selected, the conversation will be limited to its contents.

3. Call =M-x gptel-send= with a prefix argument (C-u)

   • to set chat parameters (GPT model, system message etc) for this buffer,
   • include quick instructions for the next request only,
   • to add additional context -- regions, buffers or files -- to gptel,
   • to read the prompt from or redirect the response elsewhere,
   • or to replace the prompt with the response.

#+html:

*** In a dedicated chat buffer:

1. Run =M-x gptel= to start or switch to the chat buffer. It will ask you for the key if you skipped the previous step. Run it with a prefix-arg (=C-u M-x gptel=) to start a new session.

2. In the gptel buffer, send your prompt with =M-x gptel-send=, bound to =C-c RET=.

3. Set chat parameters (LLM provider, model, directives etc) for the session by calling =gptel-send= with a prefix argument (=C-u C-c RET=):

#+html:

That's it. You can go back and edit previous prompts and responses if you want.

The default mode is =markdown-mode= if available, else =text-mode=. You can set =gptel-default-mode= to =org-mode= if desired.

#+html:

gptel supports sending media in Markdown and Org chat buffers, but this feature is disabled by default.

• You can enable it globally, for all models that support it, by setting =gptel-track-media=.
• Or you can set it locally, just for the chat buffer, via the header line:

#+html:

There are two ways to include media with requests:

1. Adding media files to the context with =gptel-add-file=, described further below.
2. Including links to media in chat buffers, described here:

To send media -- images or other supported file types -- with requests in chat buffers, you can include links to them in the chat buffer. Such a link must be "standalone", i.e. on a line by itself surrounded by whitespace.

In Org mode, for example, the following are all valid ways of including an image with the request:

• "Standalone" file link: #+begin_src Describe this picture

[[file:/path/to/screenshot.png]]

Focus specifically on the text content. #+end_src

• "Standalone" file link with description: #+begin_src Describe this picture

[[file:/path/to/screenshot.png][some picture]]

Focus specifically on the text content. #+end_src

• "Standalone", angle file link: #+begin_src Describe this picture

file:/path/to/screenshot.png

Focus specifically on the text content. #+end_src

The following links are not valid, and the text of the link will be sent instead of the file contents:

• Inline link: #+begin_src Describe this [[file:/path/to/screenshot.png][picture]].

Focus specifically on the text content. #+end_src

• Link not "standalone": #+begin_src Describe this picture: [[file:/path/to/screenshot.png]] Focus specifically on the text content. #+end_src

• Not a valid Org link: #+begin_src Describe the picture

file:/path/to/screenshot.png #+end_src

Similar criteria apply to Markdown chat buffers.

#+html: #+html:

Saving the file will save the state of the conversation as well. To resume the chat, open the file and turn on =gptel-mode= before editing the buffer.

#+html: *** Include more context with requests

By default, gptel will query the LLM with the active region or the buffer contents up to the cursor. Often it can be helpful to provide the LLM with additional context from outside the current buffer. For example, when you're in a chat buffer but want to ask questions about a (possibly changing) code buffer and auxiliary project files.

You can include additional text regions, buffers or files with gptel's queries. This additional context is "live" and not a snapshot. Once added, the regions, buffers or files are scanned and included at the time of each query. When using multi-modal models, added files can be of any supported type -- typically images.

You can add a selected region, buffer or file to gptel's context from the menu, or call =gptel-add=. (To add a file use =gptel-add= in Dired or use the dedicated =gptel-add-file= command.)

You can examine the active context from the menu: #+html: <img src="https://github.com/karthink/gptel/assets/8607532/63cd7fc8-6b3e-42ae-b6ca-06ff935bae9c" align="center" alt="Image showing gptel's menu with the "inspect context" command.">

And then browse through or remove context from the context buffer: #+html:

*** Rewrite, refactor or fill in a region

In any buffer: with a region selected, you can rewrite prose or refactor code from here:

Prose:

#+html:

Code:

#+html:

When the refactor is ready, you can apply it or compare against the original:

#+html:

These actions are also available directly when the cursor is inside the pending rewrite region:

#+html:

*** Extra Org mode conveniences

gptel offers a few extra conveniences in Org mode.

• You can limit the conversation context to an Org heading with the command =gptel-org-set-topic=.

• You can have branching conversations in Org mode, where each hierarchical outline path through the document is a separate conversation branch. This is also useful for limiting the context size of each query. See the variable =gptel-org-branching-context=. Note: using this option requires Org 9.6.7 or higher to be available. The [[https://github.com/ultronozm/ai-org-chat.el][ai-org-chat]] package uses gptel to provide this branching conversation behavior for older versions of Org.

• You can declare the gptel model, backend, temperature, system message and other parameters as Org properties with the command =gptel-org-set-properties=. gptel queries under the corresponding heading will always use these settings, allowing you to create mostly reproducible LLM chat notebooks, and to have simultaneous chats with different models, model settings and directives under different Org headings.

** FAQ #+html:

To be minimally annoying, gptel does not move the cursor by default. Add the following to your configuration to enable auto-scrolling.

#+begin_src emacs-lisp (add-hook 'gptel-post-stream-hook 'gptel-auto-scroll) #+end_src

#+html: #+html:

To be minimally annoying, gptel does not move the cursor by default. Add the following to your configuration to move the cursor:

#+begin_src emacs-lisp (add-hook 'gptel-post-response-functions 'gptel-end-of-response) #+end_src

You can also call =gptel-end-of-response= as a command at any time.

#+html: #+html:

For dedicated chat buffers: customize =gptel-prompt-prefix-alist= and =gptel-response-prefix-alist=. You can set a different pair for each major-mode.

Anywhere in Emacs: Use =gptel-pre-response-hook= and =gptel-post-response-functions=, which see.

#+html: #+html:

Any model options you set are saved for the current buffer. But the redirection options in the menu are set for the next query only:

#+html:

You can make them persistent across this Emacs session by pressing C-x C-s:

#+html:

(You can also cycle through presets you've saved with C-x p and C-x n.)

Now these will be enabled whenever you send a query from the transient menu. If you want to use these saved options without invoking the transient menu, you can use a keyboard macro:

#+begin_src emacs-lisp ;; Replace with your key to invoke the transient menu: (keymap-global-set "" "C-u C-c ") #+end_src

Or see this [[https://github.com/karthink/gptel/wiki/Commonly-requested-features#save-transient-flags][wiki entry]].

#+html: #+html:

gptel's default usage pattern is simple, and will stay this way: Read input in any buffer and insert the response below it. Some custom behavior is possible with the transient menu (=C-u M-x gptel-send=).

For more programmable usage, gptel provides a general =gptel-request= function that accepts a custom prompt and a callback to act on the response. You can use this to build custom workflows not supported by =gptel-send=. See the documentation of =gptel-request=, and the [[https://github.com/karthink/gptel/wiki/Defining-custom-gptel-commands][wiki]] for examples.

#+html: #+html:

Doom binds RET in Org mode to =+org/dwim-at-point=, which appears to conflict with gptel's transient menu bindings for some reason.

Two solutions:

• Press C-m instead of the return key.
• Change the send key from return to a key of your choice: #+begin_src emacs-lisp (transient-suffix-put 'gptel-menu (kbd "RET") :key "") #+end_src

#+html: #+html:

#+begin_quote (HTTP/2 429) You exceeded your current quota, please check your plan and billing details. #+end_quote

Using the ChatGPT (or any OpenAI) API requires [[https://platform.openai.com/account/billing/overview][adding credit to your account]].

#+html: #+html:

Other Emacs clients for LLMs prescribe the format of the interaction (a comint shell, org-babel blocks, etc). I wanted:

1. Something that is as free-form as possible: query the model using any text in any buffer, and redirect the response as required. Using a dedicated =gptel= buffer just adds some visual flair to the interaction.
2. Integration with org-mode, not using a walled-off org-babel block, but as regular text. This way the model can generate code blocks that I can run.

#+html:

** Additional Configuration :PROPERTIES: :ID: f885adac-58a3-4eba-a6b7-91e9e7a17829 :END:

#+begin_src emacs-lisp :exports none :results list (let ((all)) (mapatoms (lambda (sym) (when (and (string-match-p "^gptel-[^-]" (symbol-name sym)) (get sym 'variable-documentation)) (push sym all)))) all) #+end_src

|----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------| | Connection options | | |----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------| | =gptel-use-curl= | Use Curl (default), fallback to Emacs' built-in =url=. | | =gptel-proxy= | Proxy server for requests, passed to curl via =--proxy=. | | =gptel-api-key= | Variable/function that returns the API key for the active backend. | |----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------|

|-----------------------+---------------------------------------------------------| | LLM request options | /(Note: not supported uniformly across LLMs)/ | |-----------------------+---------------------------------------------------------| | =gptel-backend= | Default LLM Backend. | | =gptel-model= | Default model to use, depends on the backend. | | =gptel-stream= | Enable streaming responses, if the backend supports it. | | =gptel-directives= | Alist of system directives, can switch on the fly. | | =gptel-max-tokens= | Maximum token count (in query + response). | | =gptel-temperature= | Randomness in response text, 0 to 2. | | =gptel-use-context= | How/whether to include additional context | |-----------------------+---------------------------------------------------------|

|-------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------| | Chat UI options | | |-------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------| | =gptel-default-mode= | Major mode for dedicated chat buffers. | | =gptel-track-response= | Distinguish between user messages and LLM responses? | | =gptel-track-media= | Send images or other media from links? | | =gptel-prompt-prefix-alist= | Text inserted before queries. | | =gptel-response-prefix-alist= | Text inserted before responses. | | =gptel-use-header-line= | Display status messages in header-line (default) or minibuffer | | =gptel-display-buffer-action= | Placement of the gptel chat buffer. | |-------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------|

|-------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------| | Org mode UI options | | |-------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------| | =gptel-org-branching-context= | Make each outline path a separate conversation branch | |-------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------|

|---------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------| | Hooks for customization | | |---------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------| | =gptel-pre-response-hook= | Runs before inserting the LLM response into the buffer | | =gptel-post-response-functions= | Runs after inserting the full LLM response into the buffer | | =gptel-post-stream-hook= | Runs after each streaming insertion | | =gptel-context-wrap-function= | To include additional context formatted your way | |---------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------|

** COMMENT Will you add feature X?

Maybe, I'd like to experiment a bit more first. Features added since the inception of this package include

• Curl support (=gptel-use-curl=)
• Streaming responses (=gptel-stream=)
• Cancelling requests in progress (=gptel-abort=)
• General API for writing your own commands (=gptel-request=, [[https://github.com/karthink/gptel/wiki/Defining-custom-gptel-commands][wiki]])
• Dispatch menus using Transient (=gptel-send= with a prefix arg)
• Specifying the conversation context size
• GPT-4 support
• Response redirection (to the echo area, another buffer, etc)
• A built-in refactor/rewrite prompt
• Limiting conversation context to Org headings using properties (#58)
• Saving and restoring chats (#17)
• Support for local LLMs.

Features being considered or in the pipeline:

• Fully stateless design (#17)

** Alternatives

Other Emacs clients for LLMs include

• [[https://github.com/ahyatt/llm][llm]]: llm provides a uniform API across language model providers for building LLM clients in Emacs, and is intended as a library for use by package authors. For similar scripting purposes, gptel provides the command =gptel-request=, which see.
• [[https://github.com/s-kostyaev/ellama][Ellama]]: A full-fledged LLM client built on llm, that supports many LLM providers (Ollama, Open AI, Vertex, GPT4All and more). Its usage differs from gptel in that it provides separate commands for dozens of common tasks, like general chat, summarizing code/text, refactoring code, improving grammar, translation and so on.
• [[https://github.com/xenodium/chatgpt-shell][chatgpt-shell]]: comint-shell based interaction with ChatGPT. Also supports DALL-E, executable code blocks in the responses, and more.
• [[https://github.com/rksm/org-ai][org-ai]]: Interaction through special =#+begin_ai ... #+end_ai= Org-mode blocks. Also supports DALL-E, querying ChatGPT with the contents of project files, and more.

There are several more: [[https://github.com/CarlQLange/chatgpt-arcana.el][chatgpt-arcana]], [[https://github.com/MichaelBurge/leafy-mode][leafy-mode]], [[https://github.com/iwahbe/chat.el][chat.el]]

*** Packages using gptel

gptel is a general-purpose package for chat and ad-hoc LLM interaction. The following packages use gptel to provide additional or specialized functionality:

• [[https://github.com/karthink/gptel-quick][gptel-quick]]: Quickly look up the region or text at point.
• [[https://github.com/daedsidog/evedel][Evedel]]: Instructed LLM Programmer/Assistant
• [[https://github.com/lanceberge/elysium][Elysium]]: Automatically apply AI-generated changes as you code
• [[https://github.com/kamushadenes/gptel-extensions.el][gptel-extensions]]: Extra utility functions for gptel
• [[https://github.com/kamushadenes/ai-blog.el][ai-blog.el]]: Streamline generation of blog posts in Hugo
• [[https://github.com/douo/magit-gptcommit][magit-gptcommit]]: Generate Commit Messages within magit-status Buffer using gptel
• [[https://github.com/armindarvish/consult-omni][consult-omni]]: Versatile multi-source search package. It includes gptel as one of its many sources.
• [[https://github.com/ultronozm/ai-org-chat.el][ai-org-chat]]: Provides branching conversations in Org buffers using gptel. (Note that gptel includes this feature as well (see =gptel-org-branching-context=), but requires a recent version of Org mode (9.67 or later) to be installed.)

** COMMENT Older Breaking Changes

• =gptel-post-response-hook= has been renamed to =gptel-post-response-functions=, and functions in this hook are now called with two arguments: the start and end buffer positions of the response. This should make it easy to act on the response text without having to locate it first.

• Possible breakage, see #120: If streaming responses stop working for you after upgrading to v0.5, try reinstalling gptel and deleting its native comp eln cache in =native-comp-eln-load-path=.

• The user option =gptel-host= is deprecated. If the defaults don't work for you, use =gptel-make-openai= (which see) to customize server settings.

• =gptel-api-key-from-auth-source= now searches for the API key using the host address for the active LLM backend, /i.e./ "api.openai.com" when using ChatGPT. You may need to update your =~/.authinfo=.

** Acknowledgments

• [[https://github.com/algal][Alexis Gallagher]] and [[https://github.com/d1egoaz][Diego Alvarez]] for fixing a nasty multi-byte bug with =url-retrieve=.
• [[https://github.com/tarsius][Jonas Bernoulli]] for the Transient library.
• [[https://github.com/daedsidog][daedsidog]] for adding context support to gptel.
• [[https://github.com/Aquan1412][Aquan1412]] for adding PrivateGPT support to gptel.
• [[https://github.com/r0man][r0man]] for improving gptel's Curl integration.