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Pi

A minimal, extensible coding agent and toolkit for building AI agents, with a terminal interface.

GitHub Download v1.5.0
Stars
119k
Forks
15.3k
Licence
MIT
Language
TypeScript
Last update
4 days ago
Type
Dev tool

What it is

Pi is an open-source agent harness: software that lets an AI model work on tasks, such as editing code in a project folder, from inside your terminal. The README describes it as minimal and extensible, with customization through extensions, skills, prompt templates, and themes, which can be shared as packages via npm or git. It also includes libraries for calling many LLM providers and for building terminal UIs and agent apps.

  • Start Pi in a project folder and give it a coding task interactively
  • Run Pi in print or JSON mode to automate tasks from scripts
  • Control a running Pi instance over RPC
  • Build an app on the Pi TypeScript SDK
  • Bundle custom extensions, skills, or themes as a shareable Pi package

Great for

  • Developers who want a terminal coding agent they can customize with their own extensions or skills
  • Teams building their own agent apps who want the TypeScript SDK and unified LLM API
  • People who want to automate an agent through print or JSON mode or control it over RPC
  • Users comfortable adding sub-agents or plan mode themselves, since the README says Pi skips these by default

Not ideal for

  • Users who need built-in permission controls, since the README states Pi has no permission system and runs with the launching user's access; containerize it instead
  • Non-developers looking for a point-and-click app, since setup and use happen in a terminal
  • Users who want sub-agents or plan mode out of the box, since the README says these are intentionally left out
Step-by-step guide: how to use PiInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs
Pi vs OpenHandsPi vs jcode

How to get it

  1. 1

    See the README

    You'll need: Node.js 22.19 or newer (the installers can install it if needed)

    Install the CLI (macOS/Linux)

    curl -fsSL https://pi.dev/install.sh | sh

    Install the CLI (Windows PowerShell)

    powershell -c "irm https://pi.dev/install.ps1 | iex"

    Alternative: install via npm

    npm install -g --ignore-scripts @earendil-works/pi-coding-agent
  2. 2

    Run it

    • Install the CLI with one of the installer commands above.
    • Change into the project directory you want Pi to work in.
    • Run `pi` to start it.
    • Inside Pi, run `/login` to connect a subscription or API key.
    • Give Pi a task.
  3. 3

    Get the most out of it

    • Add extensions, skills, prompt templates, or themes to adapt Pi to your workflow, as described in the docs linked from the README.
    • Use print or JSON mode to script Pi into automated pipelines.
    • Use RPC to control Pi from another program.
    • Follow the containerization guide if you need stronger isolation, such as the Docker or Gondolin patterns the README describes.
    • Use the Nix option (`nix run github:earendil-works/pi/stable`) if you prefer Nix; the README says it builds from source.

Downloads

Source code (.zip)main branch · straight from GitHubRelease v1.5.08 files incl. pi-darwin-x64.tar.gz

Strengths

  • Highly customizable through extensions, skills, prompt templates, and themes
  • Supports several interfaces: interactive use, print/JSON automation, RPC, and a TypeScript SDK
  • MIT licensed and has a large public following (118,667 stars at time of metadata)

Trade-offs

  • The README says it has no built-in permission system, so you must add sandboxing yourself for stronger isolation
  • Requires Node.js 22.19 or newer, and first use needs a provider login or API key
  • The README is truncated and covers many packages, so some details are unclear from this excerpt

How it compares

ProjectStarsTypeLevelUpdatedBest for
pi (this)119kDev toolintermediate4 days agoDevelopers who want a terminal coding agent they can customize with their own extensions or skills
OpenHands92.5kAppintermediate4 days agoDevelopers who want coding agents running on a server while their laptop is off

Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.