Pi Coding Agent: Minimalist Terminal Workflows Training Course

Introduction to Pi

• Understanding Pi’s philosophy of minimalism and control.
• Comparing Pi with Claude Code, Codex CLI, and Cursor.
• Overview of the four built-in tools: read, write, edit, and bash.
• When to choose Pi over more heavyweight agents.

Installation and Setup

• Installing Pi via npm and other package managers.
• Configuring API keys for over 15 supported providers.
• Setting up the working directory and context files.
• Running Pi in local and Docker environments.

Core Terminal Workflows

• Generating code from simple prompts.
• Precise file reading and editing.
• Safe execution of bash commands within the agent.
• Managing session state and context resets.

Building Custom Skills

• Understanding the TypeScript skill API.
• Writing custom read, write, and edit operations.
• Hooking into bash execution for specialized workflows.
• Testing and debugging skills in isolation.

Prompt Templates and Themes

• Adapting system prompts for different languages and frameworks.
• Creating reusable prompt templates to ensure team consistency.
• Packaging themes as shareable modules.

Extending Pi with npm Packages

• Bundling skills as pi packages.
• Publishing to npm and Git repositories.
• Installing community-contributed packages.
• Managing dependency versions and compatibility.

Provider Flexibility

• Switching between Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and other backends.
• Optimizing for cost, speed, and quality based on task requirements.
• Running entirely local models for sensitive code scenarios.

Practical Use Cases

• Automated testing and test generation workflows.
• Refactoring legacy code using custom skill chains.
• Documentation generation and maintenance.
• CI integration with minimal agent overhead.

Security and Control

• Understanding the 300-word system prompt boundary.
• Requiring manual approval for write operations.
• Sandboxing bash execution in untrusted environments.
• Audit logging of all agent actions.

Summary and Next Steps

• Recap of principles: minimalism, control, and extensibility.
• Overview of community resources and contribution guidelines.
• Exploration of advanced topics for experienced Pi users.