apfel-tag

On-device content tagging from the command line. Pipe text in, get tags out - classified by Apple's on-device content-tagging model. No API keys, no network, 100% local.

apfel-tag is a sister tool to apfel (the on-device FoundationModels CLI + OpenAI-compatible server). Tagging lived briefly inside apfel as apfel tag; it was extracted here so apfel stays focused on its two products and tagging gets a proper home of its own.

Install

brew install Arthur-Ficial/tap/apfel-tag

Usage

Plain output - one tag per line, pipe-friendly:

echo "The headphones sound amazing and the battery lasts all day." | apfel-tag

JSON output for scripting:

echo "Kubernetes pods keep crashing under load." | apfel-tag -o json | jq -r '.tags[]'

Pick a label category with --kind (tags, topics, emotions, actions, all):

echo "A thrilling, scary movie night with friends." | apfel-tag --kind emotions

All categories at once:

pbpaste | apfel-tag --kind all -o json

Cap the number of tags:

echo "$(cat article.txt)" | apfel-tag --max-tags 5

If benign text is refused by the safety guardrails, relax them:

echo "Your text" | apfel-tag --permissive

Options

Flag	Effect
-o, --output <plain|json>	Output format (default plain).
--kind <kind>	tags (default), topics, emotions, actions, all.
--max-tags <n>	Cap the number of tags.
--permissive	Relax content guardrails.
-q, --quiet	Suppress non-essential output.
--no-color	Disable colors (also honors NO_COLOR).
-h, --help / -v, --version	Help / version.

Exit codes

0 tags produced · 1 runtime error (model unavailable / refusal) · 2 no input piped or invalid arguments.

Requirements

macOS 26 (Tahoe) or newer, Apple Silicon, with Apple Intelligence enabled in System Settings.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/Arthur-Ficial/apfel-tag.git
cd apfel-tag
make install

Development

make test       # build + unit tests + integration tests
make unit       # unit tests only (pure, no model)
make build      # release binary + man page

License

MIT