Using Myellm
What is it for?
Quick questions that come up while you’re doing something else: a vim motion, an ffmpeg command, a definition, or a choice between tools. Myellm combines a prompt for your chosen model with live search of previous answers, so you can ask, recall, and get back to work in the same place.
Is this a chat app?
It’s built around short questions and reusable answers. Most questions take one turn, sometimes a follow-up. If you keep looking up the same command or digging through conversations for an answer you already liked, that’s the problem Myellm is built to solve.
Is this a coding agent?
No. It answers questions and remembers the answers. It doesn’t edit files, inspect your repository, or run a tool loop over your codebase.
Do I have to remember exactly what I asked?
No. Type a few words to search your history. Keyword search is built in;
setting up a local embedding model with mm model setup adds semantic search
for related wording. Select a result to open the saved answer immediately.
Why is the second answer free?
Submitting an exact repeat returns the saved answer without sending a new request to your model provider. Opening a search result also reads the answer locally. Neither needs paid inference.
Automatically reusing an answer for a similar question is opt-in. That feature uses a conservative matching threshold and shows a similarity score. You can request a fresh answer if the match doesn’t help.
Do saved answers improve automatically?
Not yet. Today you can reuse saved answers and request fresh ones. Background distillation, which would improve a shared note using accumulated responses, is planned .
Models and cost
Can I choose the model?
Yes, through configuration. Myellm supports OpenAI-compatible APIs and includes
configurations for OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, and Ollama Cloud. defaultProvider
in models.json sets your preferred provider; the daemon selects a model
from the eligible configuration. There isn’t an in-app model picker yet.
Can I use a local model?
Yes, through a configured OpenAI-compatible endpoint. For local-only questions, the provider must be marked local. Private questions also require a provider you’ve marked private; by default, it must satisfy both conditions.
What does it cost?
Myellm itself currently charges nothing. New answers use your own provider API keys and are billed by that provider. Saved answers cost nothing to retrieve. There is no built-in API spending limit yet.
Can I use a ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro subscription?
Myellm connects using provider API keys. It doesn’t sign in with a ChatGPT or Claude consumer subscription. Set up API access and billing with the provider you want to use.
Can I ask several models at once?
That’s planned. The idea is to show a fast answer while other models keep working, so a second opinion is already underway when you want it. The current app uses one configured model at a time.
Your data
Where are my answers stored?
On your machine, in SQLite files under your XDG state directory. Those files use owner-only permissions. Your saved answers remain searchable and copyable offline.
Does it send telemetry?
Myellm records usage events locally for your own history and diagnostics. It doesn’t upload those logs. Questions and configured context go to the model provider when you request new inference.
What do “private” and “local” mean?
Private limits a question to providers you’ve marked trusted. Ctrl+Enter uses this mode. By default, private providers must also run locally, though you can configure a trusted remote provider.
Local-only requires inference and embedding work to stay on this device. Private and local-only history lives in a separate store excluded from the planned sync path.
Can I undo a deletion?
Yes. Deletion hides an answer without permanently erasing it. Press u
outside the prompt to undo, or use mm recover to find and restore deleted
answers. Recovery still works after restarting the app.
Does my history follow me between machines?
Not yet. Each installation has its own local history. Multi-device sync and connecting to a daemon on another machine are on the roadmap.
Getting it
Can I try it now?
Not publicly yet. Myellm is in private daily use on its author’s machines. There is no public release date. The roadmap shows what’s next; the changelog records released builds.
Is it open source?
Not currently. The repository is private and unlicensed. Licensing and packaging for a public release are still undecided.
How is it installed today?
With source access, install.sh installs it for your user, or an Arch
PKGBUILD installs it system-wide. There’s no AUR package. mm wizard guides
API key setup for OpenAI, Claude, and Gemini.
Can I test it without API keys?
With source access, a disposable Podman demo runs the real terminal UI against a fake provider without credentials or network access. It demonstrates the workflow; the answers are explicitly labeled fake.
Which platforms does it support?
Myellm is Linux-first and currently runs in a terminal. Hyprland and Sway configurations describe the planned hotkey experience; automated setup and hardware verification are v0.2.0 work. macOS and Windows aren’t supported today.
Do I need Hyprland?
No. You can use mm directly in a Linux terminal. Hyprland’s special workspace
or Sway’s scratchpad provides the intended show/hide shortcut; neither is
required for asking questions or searching answers.
The project
Who built it?
Michael E. Gruen , for the questions he kept re-asking while learning new tools.
Why the name?
Myellm echoes “myelin,” the insulating sheath around nerve fibers that helps signals travel faster. The name nods to how repetition strengthens neural pathways: the more you return to something, the easier it becomes to recall. Say “my-el-el-em”: “my,” then the letters L, L, M.
Why a terminal app with a daemon?
The terminal keeps questions close to the work. A small Go client handles input and display while the daemon manages models and local memory. That split keeps typing responsive during inference and leaves room for other clients later.