cya — console-native assistant for local work

cya lets you express intent in natural language from your terminal and receive safe, explainable, context-aware help.

It is the CLI surface for the capabilities domain. It owns orchestration, the user experience, and the safety layer. It talks to llm-connect only through a stable adapter boundary and keeps all memory under explicit user-controlled ports (implemented by phase-memory).

Status

This is the first narrow MVP slice (CYA-WP-0001). The tool is already usable after pip install -e .:

• cya "your request in plain English"
• cya --explain-context "..." — shows exactly what local context would be sent
• Automatic rule-based risk classification with mandatory confirmation for anything destructive, privileged, mass-edit, or network-affecting
• All LLM interaction flows through a documented LLMAdapter seam (currently a deterministic fake; ready for real llm-connect)

Installation (development)

git clone <this-repo>
cd can-you-assist
pip install -e .
cya --help

Usage examples

# Normal request (safe path)
cya "show me the recent git history for this repo"

# Risky request — will show classification + require explicit confirmation
cya "delete every log file older than 30 days in this tree"

# See exactly what context would be collected and sent
cya --explain-context "explain the changes in the last commit"

The output includes a structured suggestion, rationale, and (when relevant) a clear preview + confirmation prompt. Nothing executes without your explicit yes.

Safety (core product behavior)

• Genuine rule-based assessment is the primary mechanism.
• Results are available to the model.
• Anything above "safe" produces a preview and blocks until you confirm in the launching terminal.
• No autonomous execution in this slice.

See the risk classifier tests and workplan T03 for the exact rules and invariants.

Memory (T02 + T03 + T04)

cya has real, user-controlled memory for preferences and workflow patterns.

# Remember something for this directory / project
cya "remember that I prefer to see git status --short --branch by default"

# Later, in the same directory, cya will recall it without you restating
cya "what is my preferred git view?"

# You can always inspect or clear what is stored
cya --explain-context "..."          # shows memory provenance
# The backing files live in ~/.config/cya/memory/ (plain JSON, fully user-editable)

Memory signals also feed the safety layer: a standing "never auto-run" preference will still force mandatory confirmation even for commands the rules might otherwise treat more leniently.

All memory usage is visible and explainable. Nothing is hidden or opaque.

See:

• src/cya/memory/__init__.py (the explicit seam)
• workplans/CYA-WP-0002-memory-integration-roadmap.md
• MemoryVision.md for the longer-term direction (profile-driven phase-memory)

Architecture & boundaries (important)

• can-you-assist (this repo): CLI, context collection, safety, orchestration.
• llm-connect: Provider access, config, token counting, structured responses. All interaction goes through cya/llm/adapter.py (LLMAdapter Protocol).
• phase-memory: Durable, user-controlled memory. Real (persisting) implementation lives behind the explicit ports in cya/memory/__init__.py (T02). Signals also flow into the rule-based risk layer (T04).

See workplans/CYA-WP-0001-console-native-mvp.md for the full task breakdown, decisions, and integration guide.

Development

pip install -e .
pytest tests/ -q
cya "..."   # manual verification

License

MIT (see LICENSE).

Workplan & coordination

• Workplan: workplans/CYA-WP-0001-console-native-mvp.md
• State Hub workstream: repo-integration-can-you-assist
• Operator reminder after changes: cd ~/state-hub && make fix-consistency REPO=can-you-assist