Operation

Command Options 🛠️

Use --help with the mimeogram command or any of its subcommands to see a full list of possible arguments:

mimeogram --help

mimeogram apply --help

Etc…

Create Command

Bundle files into clipboard:

mimeogram create [OPTIONS] SOURCES...

📋 Common options:

  • --edit, -e

    Add message via editor.

  • --prepend-prompt

    Include LLM instructions before mimeogram.

  • --recurse, -r

    Include subdirectories and their contents. (Subject to Git ignore rules.)

Apply Command

Apply changes from clipboard:

mimeogram apply [OPTIONS]

📋 Common options:

  • --base DIRECTORY

    Set base directory for relative paths in parts. (Working directory by default.)

  • --force

    Override protections against potentially dangerous writes.

  • --review-mode silent

    Apply all parts without review.

Best Practices 💫

  • Use --edit flag with create command to provide context to LLM. This has the advantage of letting you use a favorite editor to form a message to the LLM rather than a web GUI text area.

  • Keep changes focused and atomic. Chats with sprawling changes may be cause LLM output windows to be exceeded when generating return mimeograms.

  • Submit related files together. Fewer conversation rounds related to shuffling mimeograms mean more conversation rounds for productive discussion.

  • If the platform supports projects, set project instructions from mimeogram provide-prompt. These will be reused across all chats in the project, making every one of its chats a mimeogram-aware one.

  • You may not need to ask the LLM to create a return mimeogram to apply if you are using Claude artifacts, ChatGPT canvases, or similar. You can simply copy the final results and paste them into an editor buffer.

    • This saves tokens.

    • However, interactively applying a mimeogram has the advantage of allowing you to select hunks of a diff to apply, rather than the whole LLM-revised content.

    • Similarly, interactive application allows you to edit content in cases where it is not quite correct but also not worth more conversation rounds with the LLM.

Troubleshooting 🔍

Possible Issues

  • Clipboard Operations Fail: Check if your clipboard manager is running and accessible. On Linux, ensure xclip or xsel is installed.

  • Oversized Mimeograms: If LLMs truncate responses:

    • Reduce the number of files per mimeogram.

    • Split changes across multiple conversations.

    • Focus on smaller, atomic changes.

  • Invalid Part Errors: If parts fail to apply:

    • Check file permissions.

    • Verify file paths are correct relative to working directory.

    • Use --base option to set correct base directory.