---
id: capability.agents.cli-assistant
name: Console-Native LLM Assistant (cya)
summary: Console-native, backend-agnostic assistant CLI that expresses user intent in natural language
  and returns safe, explainable, context-aware help.
owner: can-you-assist
status: draft
domain: agents
tags:
- cli
- assistant
- llm
- safety
maturity:
  discovery:
    current: D2
    target: D4
    confidence: medium
    rationale: README documents the MVP slice (CYA-WP-0001), the LLMAdapter seam, and the rule-based risk-classification
      safety layer; no separate INTENT/SCOPE file found.
  availability:
    current: A2
    target: A3
    confidence: medium
    rationale: Installable today via `pip install -e .`; ships a working CLI (`cya "..."`, `--explain-context`)
      with a FakeLLMAdapter default and optional real llm-connect backend.
external_evidence:
  completeness:
    level: C1
    confidence: low
    basis: scope_vs_intent_and_consumer_expectations
    satisfied_expectations:
    - natural-language CLI entry point
    - context-explain mode
    - mandatory confirmation for destructive/privileged/mass-edit/network actions
    broken_expectations: []
    out_of_scope_expectations: []
  reliability:
    level: R0
    confidence: low
    basis: consumer_quality_signals
    known_reliability_risks:
    - MVP slice only; real llm-connect backend optional/not always configured
discovery:
  intent: Let users express intent in natural language from the terminal and receive safe, explainable,
    context-aware help, without owning LLM inference or memory storage itself.
  includes:
  - CLI orchestration and UX
  - rule-based risk classification and confirmation gating
  - LLMAdapter seam to llm-connect
  excludes:
  - LLM inference (owned by llm-connect)
  - memory storage (owned by phase-memory)
  assumptions: []
  use_cases: []
  research_memos: []
availability:
  current_level: A2
  target_level: A3
  current_artifacts:
  - '`cya` CLI package, pip-installable'
  target_artifacts: []
  consumption_modes:
  - cli
relations:
  depends_on: []
  supports: []
  related_to: []
evidence:
  documentation:
  - README.md
  tests:
  - tests/
  consumer_feedback: []
  bug_reports: []
  incidents: []
consumer_guidance:
  recommended_for:
  - shell-based workflows wanting a safety-gated natural-language assistant
  not_recommended_for:
  - needs beyond the first MVP slice (CYA-WP-0001)
  known_limitations:
  - first narrow MVP slice; FakeLLMAdapter is the default, real backend is optional
promotion_history: []
---

# Console-Native LLM Assistant (cya)

## Overview

`cya` is the CLI surface for the capabilities domain: it owns orchestration, UX, and a safety layer, and talks to `llm-connect` only through a stable `LLMAdapter` boundary, keeping memory under `phase-memory`.

## Assessment notes

### Discovery

README documents the MVP slice (CYA-WP-0001), the LLMAdapter seam, and the rule-based risk-classification safety layer; no separate INTENT/SCOPE file found.

### Availability

Installable today via `pip install -e .`; ships a working CLI (`cya "..."`, `--explain-context`) with a FakeLLMAdapter default and optional real llm-connect backend.

### Completeness

First-pass honest assessment from the REUSE-WP-0017 coverage campaign
(reuse-surface). No external consumer feedback exists yet; levels reflect
scope-vs-intent documentation quality, not internal code quality.

### Reliability

No production consumer telemetry exists yet; reliability level is
intentionally conservative pending REUSE-WP-0019 reuse-telemetry evidence.

## Promotion checklist

- [x] ID follows `capability.<domain>.<name>` pattern
- [x] Maturity enums match `specs/CapabilityMaturityStandard.md`
- [x] `external_evidence` is populated separately from `maturity`
- [ ] Relations reference valid capability IDs (none yet)
- [x] Index entry added in `registry/indexes/capabilities.yaml`