Pi Coding Agent: Minimalist Terminal Workflows Training Course

Introduction to Pi

• Overview of Pi and its philosophy of minimalism and control
• Comparison with Claude Code, Codex CLI, and Cursor
• The four core built-in tools: read, write, edit, and bash
• Scenarios where Pi is preferred over heavier agents

Installation and Setup

• Installing Pi via npm and other package managers
• Configuring API keys for 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
• Precise reading and editing of files
• Safely executing 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
• Integrating bash execution hooks for specialized workflows
• Isolated testing and debugging of skills

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 Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and other backends
• Optimizing for cost, speed, and quality per task
• Running entirely local models for sensitive code

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
• Manual approval requirements for write operations
• Sandboxing bash execution for untrusted environments
• Audit logging of all agent actions

Summary and Next Steps

• Recap of principles regarding minimalism, control, and extensibility
• Community resources and contribution guidelines
• Advanced topics for experienced Pi users