# I Haunted My Terminal With a Local Ghost (Gemma 3, No Internet Needed)

> Source: <https://dev.to/ghalmeidadev/i-haunted-my-terminal-with-a-local-ghost-gemma-3-no-internet-needed-k51>
> Published: 2026-10-26 23:30:44+00:00

*This is a submission for the [Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge: Week 4, "Ghost in the Machine"](https://dev.to/challenges/hacktoberfest-week4-2026-10-26).*

**shell-ghost** is a haunted terminal. After some of the commands you run, a ghost whispers one eerie line about what you just did:

``` bash
$ rm -rf node_modules
  👻 Don't worry, it just wanted a little... tidier oblivion.

$ git push --force
  👻 Don't you dare rewrite my carefully crafted digital chaos.

$ sudo make me a sandwich
  👻 It wants fillings… and a very long, slow, digital chew.
```

By default it speaks on about 1 in 3 commands, so it stays a surprise instead of a nuisance.

Repo: [https://github.com/GAlmeidaDev/shell-ghost](https://github.com/GAlmeidaDev/shell-ghost)

Two tiny files, no dependencies beyond Python 3 and zsh:

`haunt.zsh` hooks into zsh with `preexec` (to remember the command) and `precmd` (to read its exit code). It rolls a die, and if the ghost is feeling chatty it calls the script.`ghost.py` sends the command and exit code to a local model through Ollama's HTTP API and prints one dim purple line.
The whole prompt is a few lines: *you are a ghost trapped inside a computer, reply with one short eerie whisper, spooky and a little funny.* Temperature 0.9 and a 48-token cap keep it short and weird.

Try it:

```
ollama pull gemma3:4b
python3 ghost.py "rm -rf node_modules" --code 1
echo 'source /path/to/shell-ghost/haunt.zsh' >> ~/.zshrc
```

Set `GHOST_ODDS=1` and it speaks after every command.

A terminal sees everything: your commands, paths, hostnames, sometimes secrets typed inline. Sending that to a hosted API for a joke would be a bad trade.

With an open-weight model running locally:

`localhost`.`--model` swaps in any model Ollama can run.
A 4B model is plenty for one spooky sentence, and that's the point: small, open models are good enough to make tools feel alive without a cloud dependency.

`splitlines()[0]` is still a cheap safety net.