# Basic Usage

Edison is designed to be intuitive and easy to use. This guide covers the fundamental operations and commands.

## Command Structure

```
edison [OPTIONS] <your natural language query>
```

For example:

```bash
edison how to find all png files in the current directory
```

## Basic Workflow

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant Edison
    participant API as OpenAI API
    participant Shell
    
    User->>Edison: Natural language query
    Edison->>API: Send prompt with query
    API-->>Edison: Return command
    Edison->>User: Display command & ask for confirmation
    User->>Edison: Confirm (Y/n/m)
    alt User confirms
        Edison->>Shell: Execute command
        Shell-->>User: Show command output
    else User modifies
        User->>Edison: Modified command
        Edison->>Shell: Execute modified command
        Shell-->>User: Show command output
    else User declines
        Edison->>User: Command skipped
    end
```

1. **Enter your query**: Describe in natural language what you want to do
2. **Review the command**: Edison will display the generated shell command
3. **Choose an action**:
   - Press `Enter` or type `y` to execute the command
   - Type `n` to skip execution
   - Type `m` to modify the command before execution
   - Type `d` to directly modify the command (new feature!)
   - Type `c` to copy the command to clipboard

## Command Line Options

Edison supports several command-line options:

| Option | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `-v, --verbose` | Enable verbose logging (DEBUG level) |
| `-i, --interactive` | Start interactive shell mode |
| `-e, --explain` | Explain the generated command |
| `-c, --config` | Print current configuration |
| `-s, --safety` | Enable safety mode (only useful when safety is off) |

## Examples

Here are some example queries you can try:

```bash
# File operations
edison list all files larger than 10MB
edison create a new directory called "project"
edison find files modified in the last 24 hours

# System information
edison check CPU usage
edison show network connections
edison how much disk space do I have left

# Text processing
edison count lines in all python files
edison find lines containing "error" in log files
edison replace "old" with "new" in all text files
```

## Tips for Effective Queries

1. **Be specific**: The more specific your query, the better the generated command
2. **Include parameters**: Mention specific filenames, sizes, or other parameters
3. **Start with verbs**: Commands usually work best when starting with actions like "find", "list", "create"
4. **Use common terminology**: Avoid obscure technical terms when possible

## Next Steps

Once you're comfortable with basic usage, explore [Advanced Features](advanced-features.md) to learn about interactive mode, command explanations, and more.