Best Butterfish Shell Alternatives in 2026

AI Actions is a powerful tool that provides additional AI-related actions and shortcuts on macOS, including the ability to interact with the ChatGPT API. It requires macOS 13 or higher and is not available in China.

CommandAI is a CLI that generates shell commands with AI, automates tasks, and offers code assistance. It integrates with npm, GitHub, Discord, and JSONScript, streamlining scripting for developers, DevOps, and sysadmins.

OpenAI Codex CLI is a terminal-based, open-source coding agent that uses natural language to automate development tasks like code generation, testing, refactoring, and codebase understanding, with secure sandboxed execution and Git integration.

Alice is an AI assistant for macOS, Windows, and Linux that launches via hotkey, stores context locally, supports multiple LLMs through API keys, offers keyboard shortcuts, custom commands via Zapier/Make, and handles files, web, images, and visuals for reliable responses.

MindMac is a native macOS client that integrates ChatGPT, Azure OpenAI, Gemini, and Claude on the desktop. It offers inline prompts, a 150‑template library, customizable context modes, shortcuts, keychain storage, and 15 UI languages for developers, researchers, and teams.

How2 is an AI‑powered command‑line helper that suggests Unix shell commands directly from a terminal. It recommends concise Bash/Zsh sequences, can generate scripts, includes a StackOverflow search flag, supports PowerShell, and runs safely without auto‑execution.

Ai Helper is a cross‑platform desktop client that brings ChatGPT, GPT‑4, and other AI engines to macOS, Windows, and Linux. It lets users chat on webpages, PDFs, or videos via shortcuts and generate content, code, or emails within native apps.

DapperGPT consolidates multiple AI models—OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Mistral, Grok, and Llama—into one chat interface that supports images, documents, and code uploads. It offers built‑in agents, custom toolchains, Spotlight search, folder organization, pinning, and browser‑extension integration, keeping data locally.

ChatKit is a cross‑platform AI chat app for macOS, Windows, and Linux that connects to OpenAI, Gemini, Azure, and custom models via API keys. It offers prompt templates, chat bookmarks, voice input, text‑to‑speech, file drop, web search, and URL fetching.

DeckAssistant embeds ChatGPT‑style AI into Stream Deck, letting users select text and trigger instant replies without copying. It offers freeform prompts, chat folders, search, favorites, export options, web searches, AI‑generated images, and custom prompts for creators and developers.

AI Studio converts natural‑language prompts into working code across C++, Python, JavaScript, SQL, CSS, HTML, and regex. It translates snippets, adds typing hints, estimates complexity, offers git/command lookup, and provides plain‑English explanations, supporting collaboration and quick prototyping.

ShellMate is a command‑line tool that accepts prompts via stdin, arguments, or highlighted text, predicts needed shell commands from history, and inserts AI‑generated suggestions into the console with the `sm` shortcut, enabling users to recall forgotten commands without context switching.

BashBuddy is an AI tool that converts natural language into shell commands, providing context-aware suggestions for command line tasks. It supports multiple platforms, ensures data privacy, and learns from user interactions for personalized assistance.

2Slash transforms any text field into a smart AI assistant with a simple command that unlocks a world of possibilities.

GPT CLI brings ChatGPT to the terminal, auto‑generating Git commit messages from diffs and translating natural‑language requests into shell commands. Plugins for translation, weather, Notion, etc. can be added via npm, fitting into dev and admin workflows.

goldfish.sh is an AI memory assistant for macOS and Windows that delivers context-aware, one-click answers to messages. It captures full conversational context across apps to keep replies consistent and informed.

Get answers for CLI commands from GPT3 directly in the terminal using AI-powered CLI tool.

Prompty refines user prompts to generate clearer, more accurate AI responses. It accepts an initial query, optimizes it, offers iterative variants, and lets users copy the final prompt, track history, and improve content quality.

ChatAIr is a macOS client that connects to the OpenAI API, managing prompts and allowing multiple prompts in one dialogue box. Users can set model, temperature, and track conversation history turn by turn.

oh-heck translates natural‑language questions into terminal commands via GPT‑3. Running on macOS for Intel and Apple Silicon, it accepts quoted queries, suggests commands, and copies them to the clipboard, streamlining shell usage.

AIChatOne is a browser extension and web app that lets users chat with 30+ AI models (GPT‑5, Claude, Gemini, etc.), with real‑time browsing, document upload, voice interaction, encrypted local keys, and searchable chat history.

MyShell is a platform that enables users to create custom AI characters and chatbots, called Shells, through an interactive workshop. These AI-powered bots can be customized, monetized, and shared.

HelloAI is an AI chatbot assistant available on the Mac App Store that utilizes advanced AI technology to provide prompt responses to user queries.