Pi Coding Agent#

Terminal programming assistant, customizable with TypeScript extensions + Skills + Prompt Templates + Themes.

Use Cases#

Use for installation, configuration, model switching, extension development, session management, RPC/SDK integration, and more.

Installation#

bash

npm install -g --ignore-scripts @earendil-works/pi-coding-agent
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...; pi   # or use pi → /login to select a provider

Basic Usage#

pi — interactive | pi -p "q" — script | pi --mode rpc — cross-language | pi -c — continue | pi -r — browse sessions

Four Modes#

Interactive (TUI) / -p Print / --mode json event stream / --mode rpc stdin/stdout JSONL SDK embedding: import { createAgentSession } from "@earendil-works/pi-coding-agent"

Models & Shortcuts#

15+ providers (Anthropic/OpenAI/Google/...), /login OAuth or API key. /model (Ctrl+L) to switch, Ctrl+P to cycle, Shift+Tab to cycle thinking level. Providers detail | Custom models | Shortcuts

Sessions#

JSONL tree structure + in-place branching. /tree to navigate, /fork to branch, /compact to compress. pi -c to continue the last session. Session management | JSONL format + Compaction

Steering & Follow-Up#

While agent is running: Enter = steering (insert after tool completes), Alt+Enter = follow-up (insert after agent finishes), Escape to abort.

Context Engineering#

AGENTS.md cascading loading, SYSTEM.md/ APPEND_SYSTEM.md to replace/append system prompts. Auto-compaction summarizes old messages, customizable via Extensions.

Skills & Prompt Templates#

Skills: ~/.pi/agent/skills/ directory + SKILL.md, Agent Skills standard. /skill:name or auto-load. Prompts: ~/.pi/agent/prompts/*.md, /name to expand. Skills details

Extensions#

TypeScript modules, register tools/commands/shortcuts/events/UI. Location: ~/.pi/agent/extensions/, .pi/extensions/. Extension API | TUI components

Pi Packages#

bash

pi install npm:@foo/tools     # npm
pi install git:github.com/u/r # git
pi install -l npm:@foo/tools  # project-level
pi update                     # update all
pi config                     # enable/disable

Package: package.json with "pi": { "extensions/skills/prompts/themes": [...] } + keyword "pi-package". Package management

Reference Docs#

Runtime API: agent-core — Agent/Tool/Hooks/Event stream LLM API: ai — getModel/streamProxy Extensions: extensions — Event system | tui — UI components Integration: sdk — Node SDK | rpc — JSONL protocol Configuration: config — settings | providers — auth | models — custom models Sessions: sessions — tree navigation | session-format — JSONL+Compaction Distribution: skills — Skill spec | packages — Package distribution UI: shortcuts — keyboard shortcuts | themes — 51-token themes | cli — all CLI args

Notes#

• Install with --ignore-scripts (Pi does not need lifecycle scripts)
• Pi Packages have full system access; audit source before installing
• PI_SKIP_VERSION_CHECK=1 / PI_TELEMETRY=0 / PI_OFFLINE=1
• Homepage: pi.dev | Docs: pi.dev/docs/latest