Too lazy for Bash: My life with a local AI assistant
A few days ago I wanted to change something on my local media server. Normally I'd SSH into it, remember where I'd configured everything, look up a couple of commands I'd forgotten, make the change and move on. Instead I opened Pi(coding agent) and typed, more or less: Find out why this isn't working and fix it. Behind Pi was Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-Q4_K_M running on my own machine. A few minutes later…
For years, I watched Dexter's Laboratory on TV, marveling at how the protagonist effortlessly communicated with computers and machines. Now, I find myself in a similar situation with my local AI assistant. Rather than SSH-ing into my media server, deciphering forgotten commands, or getting lost in configuration files, I simply open Pi, my local AI, and ask it to fix the issue.
The AI, Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-Q4_K_M, runs locally on my machine and completes tasks in minutes. While it's a stretch to compare my computer to Dexter's lab, the interaction is becoming strangely familiar. Instead of specifying how to perform a task, I tell the computer what I want it to do. Currently, I'm primarily using the AI for mundane tasks that I don't find enjoyable, like Bash commands or configuration changes.
The AI doesn't need to be an expert to handle these tasks; it just needs to be competent enough to be supervised. Additionally, the AI has become a helpful tool for learning languages. By having it open on my screen, I can ask for definitions, translations, or language refinement tips without sharing my text over the internet. This new layer of communication feels like a sci-fi dream come true, and for now, I'm embracing it because I'm too lazy to remember Bash commands.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
