Or even access multiple files?
Why can't one set up a prompt, test it against a file, then once it is working, apply it to each file in a folder in a batch process which then provides the output as a single collective file?
Why can't one set up a prompt, test it against a file, then once it is working, apply it to each file in a folder in a batch process which then provides the output as a single collective file?
The limits are still buggy responses - Claude often gets stuck in a useless loop if you overfeed it with files - and lack of consistency. Sometimes hand-holding is needed to get the result you want. And it's slow.
But when it works it's amazing. If the issues and limitations were solved, this would be a complete game changer.
We're starting to get somewhat self-generating automation and complex agenting, with access to all of the world's public APIs and search resources, controlled by natural language.
I can't see the edges of what could be possible with this. It's limited and clunky for now, but the potential is astonishing - at least as radical an invention as the web was.
Not sure what OS you're on, but in Windows it might look like this:
FOR %%F IN (*.txt) DO (TYPE "%%F" | llm -s "execute this prompt" >> "output.txt)
FOR %%F IN (*.pdf) DO (llm -a %%F -s "execute this prompt" >> output.txt)
I also use this method for doing code prototyping by giving it the path to files in the local working copy of my repo. Really cool to see it make changes in a vite project and it just hot reloads. Then I make tweaks or commit changes as usual.