File editing · term-llm docs

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Edit files using natural language instructions:

term-llm edit "add error handling" --file main.go
term-llm edit "refactor to use interfaces" --file "*.go"
term-llm edit "fix the bug" --file utils.go:45-60     # only lines 45-60
term-llm edit "use the API" -f main.go -c api/client.go  # with context files

Edit Flags

Flag	Short	Description
`--file`	`-f`	File(s) to edit (required, supports globs)
`--context`	`-c`	Read-only reference file(s) (supports globs, ‘clipboard’)
`--dry-run`		Preview changes without applying
`--provider`		Override provider (e.g., `openai:gpt-5.2-codex`)
`--per-edit`		Prompt for each edit separately
`--debug`	`-d`	Show debug information

Context Files

Use --context/-c to include reference files that inform the edit but won’t be modified:

term-llm edit "refactor to use the client" -f handler.go -c api/client.go -c types.go

Context files are shown to the AI as read-only references. This is useful when your edit depends on types, interfaces, or patterns defined elsewhere.

You can also pipe stdin as context, which is handy for git diffs:

git diff | term-llm edit "apply these changes" -f main.go
git show HEAD~1 | term-llm edit "undo this change" -f handler.go

Line Range Syntax

Both edit and ask support line range syntax to focus on specific parts of a file:

# Edit specific lines
term-llm edit "fix this" --file main.go:11-22    # lines 11 to 22
term-llm edit "fix this" --file main.go:11-      # line 11 to end
term-llm edit "fix this" --file main.go:-22      # start to line 22

# Ask about specific lines
term-llm ask -f main.go:50-100 "explain this function"

Diff Format

term-llm supports two edit strategies:

Format	Description	Best For
`replace`	Multiple parallel find/replace tool calls	Most models (default)
`udiff`	Single unified diff with elision support	Codex models, large refactors

The udiff format uses unified diff syntax with -... elision to efficiently replace large code blocks without listing every line:

--- file.go
+++ file.go
@@ func BigFunction @@
-func BigFunction() error {
-...
-}
+func BigFunction() error {
+    return newImpl()
+}

Configure in ~/.config/term-llm/config.yaml:

edit:
  diff_format: auto  # auto, udiff, or replace

auto (default): Uses udiff for Codex models, replace for others
udiff: Always use unified diff format
replace: Always use multiple find/replace calls