Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast Episode 422: Back to the Terminal: The Rise of AI CLI Interfaces
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Feb 26, 2026 They dig into AI command-line tools like Claude Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, and Gemini CLI. Conversations cover using CLIs to access local files and servers, build agents/skills, and automate tasks like PowerShell generation and CSV anonymization. They compare model tones, portability between CLIs, token management, and accessibility for non-developers.
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Terminal First AI Workflows
- Developers and IT pros are moving from desktop AI chat UIs into CLI-based AI tools to streamline workflows with local file access and multiple models.
- Scott describes shifting from VS Code chat to Claude/Gemini/GitHub Copilot CLIs to avoid bulky windows and run small targeted agent tasks.
PowerPoint Makeover That Won A Paid Upgrade
- Ben switched to Claude Pro $100 after Claude reformatted his PowerPoint slides to match theme, split content into columns, and added icons.
- Copilot's attempts failed; Claude preserved banner colors and required only minor font tweaks.
Monitor Token Usage In CLI
- Use the CLI’s context and token-usage commands to monitor how many context tokens MCP servers and skills consume.
- Ben checked context breakdown (system prompts, tools, skills) and saw 63,000 of 200,000 tokens used, guiding compaction decisions.
