The RHEL command line assistant, powered by RHEL Lightspeed (available in RHEL 9.6 and 10+), is an optional generative AI tool integrated directly into the command line interface (CLI). It is designed to help users, from beginners to experienced administrators, manage, configure, and troubleshoot Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems using natural language.
It is primarily offered as a connected service, meaning you need internet connectivity, but there is a developer preview of an offline, self-contained version running locally via Podman containers is also available.
This is my first look at the command-line-assistant, and have yet to explore its performance or configuration in depth.
Installation
#cat /etc/redhat-release
Red Hat Enterprise Linux release 10.1 (Coughlan)
Install the “command-line-assistant” service.
#sudo dnf install -y command-line-assistant
Clad Service
You can stop, start, and restart the service
# systemctl status clad
● clad.service - Command Line Assistant Daemon Service
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/clad.service; static)
Active: active (running) since Sun 2025-12-21 11:15:29 EST; 6min ago
Invocation: 6730bac46a434e4eb7a3f4e81a1280dd
Docs: man:clad(8)
Main PID: 107284 (clad)
Tasks: 4 (limit: 3355442)
Memory: 44M (peak: 46M)
CPU: 1.134s
CGroup: /system.slice/clad.service
└─107284 /usr/bin/python3 /usr/bin/clad
The configuration file for the service can be found in “/usr/lib/systemd/system/clad.service”
The main configuration file is “/etc/xdg/command-line-assistant/config.toml”
Usage
Usage is simple.
# c "how to I create a network bridge via nmcli"
or
c "where do I find the configuration files for the clad service"
Reference
| RESOURCE | URL |
| Use the RHEL command-line assistant offline with this new developer preview | https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/use-rhel-command-line-assistant-offline-new-developer-preview |
| Installing the command-line assistant powered by RHEL Lightspeed | https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/red_hat_enterprise_linux/10/html/interacting_with_the_command-line_assistant_powered_by_rhel_lightspeed/installing-command-line-assistant-powered-by-rhel-lightspeed |