Pi Coding Agent: Minimalist Terminal Workflows Training Course

Introduction to Pi

• Understanding what Pi is and its core philosophy of minimalism and control
• Comparing Pi with other tools such as Claude Code, Codex CLI, and Cursor
• Overview of the four built-in tools: read, write, edit, and bash
• Guidelines on when to choose Pi over more complex agent solutions

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 both local and Docker environments

Core Terminal Workflows

• Generating code from simple prompts
• Precisely reading and editing files
• Safely executing bash commands within the agent environment
• Managing session state and performing context resets

Building Custom Skills

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

Prompt Templates and Themes

• Adapting system prompts for various 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 backends such as Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and others
• Optimizing for cost, speed, and quality based on specific tasks
• Utilizing fully local models for sensitive code processing

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 constraints of the 300-word system prompt boundary
• Implementing manual approval for write operations
• Sandboxing bash execution for untrusted environments
• Audit logging of all agent actions for transparency

Summary and Next Steps

• Recap of principles regarding minimalism, control, and extensibility
• Overview of community resources and contribution guidelines
• Introduction to advanced topics for experienced Pi users