feat(task): add global MLX chat with automatic setup

README.md

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ Modern dotfiles repository managed with [Chezmoi](https://chezmoi.io/), featurin
 - **Automated Validation**: Pre-commit hooks and validation scripts ensure configuration quality
 - **Windows Enterprise Detection**: Automatic detection of Entra ID (Azure AD) and Intune enrollment status
 - **Task Automation**: Integrated [Task](https://taskfile.dev/) runner for common operations (validation, testing, installation)
+- **Global Tasks**: Shell-independent `task -g llm:chat` with automatic MLX setup on Apple Silicon; see [global tasks](docs/development-tools.md#global-tasks).
 - **Tool Version Management**: [mise](https://mise.jdx.dev/) for managing development tool versions
 
 ## 🔧 Chezmoi Variables

docs/development-tools.md

@@ -38,6 +38,125 @@ task dev:setup             # Complete dev environment setup
 task ci:validate           # Run CI validation pipeline
 ```
 
+## Global Tasks
+
+Chezmoi deploys `home/Taskfile.yml` to `~/Taskfile.yml`, separate from the
+repository's development `Taskfile.yml`. With Task on your PATH, `task -g`
+selects the home Taskfile from **any directory and shell**, including Fish,
+Bash, Zsh, and PowerShell. Ordinary repository `task` commands stay unchanged.
+
+```sh
+task -g --list
+task -g llm:chat
+```
+
+### Local MLX chat (Apple Silicon)
+
+`llm:chat` uses Apple's `mlx-lm` Python API directly, not an inference frontend.
+It requires native Apple Silicon macOS; other platforms get an explicit error
+only if they invoke this task. A Task dependency checks prerequisites before
+launch, installing only what is missing.
+
+The default setup uses:
+
+- `~/mlx-qwen/.venv/bin/python` with `mlx-lm` 0.32.2 or newer (developed against 0.32.2).
+- The `mlx-community/Qwen3.5-9B-4bit` model in
+  `/Volumes/External Disk Data/AI/huggingface/hub`.
+- `/Volumes/External Disk Data/AI/huggingface/xet` on the same external SSD.
+
+**Setup order:** native Apple Silicon and the mounted SSD are checked first.
+Cache directories are created on that SSD and checked for writability and
+symlink redirection. A `status` check then verifies the venv and imports the
+required MLX APIs without loading weights. A working installation skips
+provisioning entirely: no Python replacement, pip upgrade, or package upgrade.
+
+If the venv is missing, Task creates it with native Python 3.10+ and `venv`.
+If suitable Python is missing, it uses the same Homebrew `python@3` formula
+as the repository's macOS package setup. Missing pip is bootstrapped with
+`ensurepip`; missing requirements are installed with isolated
+`python -m pip install 'mlx-lm>=0.32.2'`, without `--upgrade`. Pip and Homebrew
+download caches, plus setup temporary files, stay on the SSD; the venv itself
+remains at the configured `MLX_VENV` path. No uv or inference frontend is involved.
+An existing broken/non-native venv is **not deleted**: repair it or move it
+aside, then rerun. Installation failures and a failed post-install import
+check stop the task before model launch; corrupt installed packages may
+require manual repair rather than a forced reinstall.
+
+The launcher at `~/.config/mlx/chat.py` sets `HF_HOME`, `HF_HUB_CACHE`, and
+`HF_XET_CACHE` to the external cache, overriding inherited Hugging Face
+settings. It first resolves the existing cached model without network access.
+If absent, it downloads the model there (approximately 6 GB); existing cached
+weights are reused, not copied or updated. There is no internal-disk fallback.
+Connect the SSD first and run from a terminal permitted to access it (for
+example Terminal.app); this does not bypass macOS volume permissions.
+
+**Bootstrap boundary:** Task cannot install itself before the `task` command
+exists. Full macOS dotfiles setup already includes `go-task` and Python. If
+Task alone is missing, use the existing Homebrew setup and `brew install go-task`,
+or your configured mise installation with `mise use --global task@latest`.
+If neither suitable Python nor Homebrew is available, the task reports that
+Homebrew must be installed through the existing dotfiles setup; it does not run
+a new privileged bootstrap script.
+
+Thinking is disabled via `enable_thinking=False` in the model's chat template,
+which supplies an empty closed `<think>` block. The launcher uses temperature
+0.7, top-p 0.8, top-k 20, at most 512 reply tokens, and 512-token prefill chunks.
+It does not use the unsupported `mlx_lm.chat` flags or a `/nothink` soft switch.
+
+Type `q` to quit, `r` to reset, or `h` for help. Ctrl+C (including during
+generation) and EOF exit cleanly. Each reply reports token speed and peak MLX
+memory; conversation state stays in memory, with no saved transcripts.
+The prompt cache is reused across turns, including the correct end-of-turn
+boundary after a truncated reply.
+
+**Memory bound:** Qwen3.5's hybrid cache ignores `max_kv_size`. Instead, every
+turn must fit within **8,192 total tokens**, counting cached history, the new
+prompt and its delimiters, and 512 reserved reply tokens. Oversized turns are
+rejected before generation: reset or shorten the input. History is never
+silently discarded. This bounds context growth, not total process RAM;
+the approximately 6 GB of weights and other applications still need memory.
+
+### Selective deployment
+
+Once these changes are present in your primary dotfiles checkout, run these
+commands **from its repository root**. Only the global Taskfile and launcher
+are selected; Chezmoi scripts are explicitly excluded, and neither the venv
+nor model caches are managed by Git or Chezmoi.
+
+Create the launcher's parent directory first. When selecting individual files,
+Chezmoi 2.73.0 requires that parent to exist; a fresh home otherwise fails with
+`stat .../.config/mlx: no such file or directory`. Use `--verbose` to display
+the proposed changes during the dry-run:
+
+```sh
+mkdir -p "$HOME/.config/mlx" &&
+  chezmoi --source=. apply --exclude=scripts --dry-run --verbose "$HOME/Taskfile.yml" "$HOME/.config/mlx/chat.py"
+```
+
+Review that preview first, especially if you already maintain a home Taskfile.
+Then apply and launch only if deployment succeeds:
+
+```sh
+chezmoi --source=. apply --exclude=scripts "$HOME/Taskfile.yml" "$HOME/.config/mlx/chat.py" &&
+  task -g llm:chat
+```
+
+There is no need to activate the venv, set shell-specific environment variables,
+or remove an earlier standalone launcher. For an intentionally relocated
+existing setup, Task variables can be overridden explicitly:
+
+```sh
+task -g llm:chat MLX_VENV="/path/to/.venv" MLX_VOLUME="/Volumes/Another SSD"
+```
+
+Focused validation uses fake MLX/Hugging Face modules, a mock venv, and an
+isolated Chezmoi destination. It covers installed/missing/broken environments
+and setup ordering without real provisioning, downloads, or inference:
+
+```sh
+timeout 60 ./tests/bash/run-tests.sh --test global-mlx-chat.bats
+```
+
 ## Mise (Tool Version Manager)
 
 Mise manages tool versions defined in

home/.chezmoiignore

@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ LICENSE
 tests/
 install.sh
 install.ps1
-Taskfile.yml
 .mise.toml
 CONTRIBUTING.md
 STRUCTURE.md

home/Taskfile.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+version: '3'
+
+vars:
+  MLX_VENV: '{{.ROOT_DIR}}/mlx-qwen/.venv'
+  MLX_VOLUME: /Volumes/External Disk Data
+  MLX_CACHE_DIR: '{{.MLX_VOLUME}}/AI/huggingface'
+  MLX_PYTHON_CHECK: 'import platform, sys, venv; assert sys.version_info >= (3, 10) and platform.machine() == "arm64"'
+  MLX_VENV_CHECK: '{{.MLX_PYTHON_CHECK}}; assert sys.prefix != sys.base_prefix'
+  MLX_CHECK_ENV: >-
+    "{{.MLX_VENV}}/bin/python" "{{.ROOT_DIR}}/.config/mlx/chat.py"
+    --cache-dir "{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}" --volume "{{.MLX_VOLUME}}" --check-env
+
+tasks:
+  llm:chat:
+    desc: Set up and chat with local Qwen3.5 (Apple Silicon, thinking disabled)
+    interactive: true
+    silent: true
+    deps: [llm:setup]
+    cmds:
+      - >-
+        "{{.MLX_VENV}}/bin/python" "{{.ROOT_DIR}}/.config/mlx/chat.py"
+        --cache-dir "{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}" --volume "{{.MLX_VOLUME}}"
+
+  llm:storage:
+    internal: true
+    silent: true
+    preconditions:
+      - sh: test "$(uname -s)" = Darwin && test "$(uname -m)" = arm64
+        msg: 'llm:chat requires native Apple Silicon macOS (not Rosetta).'
+      - sh: mount | grep -F -- " on {{.MLX_VOLUME}} (" >/dev/null
+        msg: 'Connect the SSD at {{.MLX_VOLUME}} before setup. No internal cache fallback is used.'
+      - sh: |
+          case "{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}" in
+            *"/../"*|*"/.."|*"/./"*|*"/.") exit 1 ;;
+            "{{.MLX_VOLUME}}"/*) exit 0 ;;
+            *) exit 1 ;;
+          esac
+        msg: 'MLX_CACHE_DIR must be a directory beneath MLX_VOLUME, without dot segments.'
+      - sh: test -f "{{.ROOT_DIR}}/.config/mlx/chat.py"
+        msg: 'Missing ~/.config/mlx/chat.py. Apply the global Taskfile and launcher together.'
+    cmds:
+      - mkdir -p "{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}/hub" "{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}/xet" "{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}/pip" "{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}/tmp"
+
+  llm:setup:
+    internal: true
+    deps: [llm:storage]
+    preconditions:
+      - sh: |
+          for path in "{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}" "{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}/hub" "{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}/xet" "{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}/pip" "{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}/tmp"; do
+            test "$(cd "$path" && pwd -P)" = "$path" && test -w "$path" || exit 1
+          done
+        msg: 'External cache directories must be writable and not redirected through symlinks. Check SSD permissions.'
+    status:
+      - '{{.MLX_CHECK_ENV}}'
+    cmds:
+      - task: llm:venv
+      - |
+        export TMPDIR="{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}/tmp"
+        "{{.MLX_VENV}}/bin/python" -m pip --version ||
+          "{{.MLX_VENV}}/bin/python" -m ensurepip
+      - >-
+        env TMPDIR="{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}/tmp"
+        "{{.MLX_VENV}}/bin/python" -m pip --isolated --require-virtualenv
+        --disable-pip-version-check --no-input --cache-dir "{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}/pip"
+        install 'mlx-lm>=0.32.2'
+      - '{{.MLX_CHECK_ENV}}'
+
+  llm:venv:
+    internal: true
+    preconditions:
+      - sh: >-
+          (test ! -e "{{.MLX_VENV}}" && test ! -L "{{.MLX_VENV}}") ||
+          "{{.MLX_VENV}}/bin/python" -c '{{.MLX_VENV_CHECK}}'
+        msg: 'Existing {{.MLX_VENV}} is not a usable Python 3.10+ arm64 venv. Repair it or move it aside; it will not be deleted automatically.'
+    status:
+      - '"{{.MLX_VENV}}/bin/python" -c ''{{.MLX_VENV_CHECK}}'''
+    cmds:
+      - task: llm:python
+      - |
+        export TMPDIR="{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}/tmp"
+        if python3 -c '{{.MLX_PYTHON_CHECK}}' 2>/dev/null; then
+          python3 -m venv "{{.MLX_VENV}}"
+        else
+          "$(brew --prefix python@3)/libexec/bin/python3" -m venv "{{.MLX_VENV}}"
+        fi
+
+  llm:python:
+    internal: true
+    preconditions:
+      - sh: python3 -c '{{.MLX_PYTHON_CHECK}}' 2>/dev/null || command -v brew
+        msg: 'A native Python 3.10+ or Homebrew is required. Install Homebrew using the existing dotfiles setup; this task cannot safely bootstrap Homebrew.'
+    status:
+      - |
+        python3 -c '{{.MLX_PYTHON_CHECK}}' 2>/dev/null ||
+          (command -v brew >/dev/null && "$(brew --prefix python@3)/libexec/bin/python3" -c '{{.MLX_PYTHON_CHECK}}')
+    cmds:
+      - >-
+        brew list --versions python@3 ||
+        env HOMEBREW_CACHE="{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}/homebrew" TMPDIR="{{.MLX_CACHE_DIR}}/tmp"
+        brew install python@3