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Course Outline

Introduction to Pi

  • Overview of Pi and its philosophy centered on minimalism and control.
  • Comparative analysis with Claude Code, Codex CLI, and Cursor.
  • Examination of the four built-in tools: read, write, edit, and bash.
  • Scenarios where Pi is the preferred choice over heavier agents.

Installation and Setup

  • Installing Pi through 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 straightforward prompts.
  • Precisely reading and editing files.
  • Safely executing bash commands within the agent.
  • Managing session state and performing context resets.

Building Custom Skills

  • Understanding the TypeScript skill API.
  • 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.
  • 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 tailored to each task.
  • Running entirely local models for sensitive code handling.

Practical Use Cases

  • Workflows for automated testing and test generation.
  • Refactoring legacy code using custom skill chains.
  • Generating and maintaining documentation.
  • CI integration with minimal agent overhead.

Security and Control

  • Understanding the constraints of the 300-word system prompt boundary.
  • Requiring manual approval for write operations.
  • Sandboxing bash execution for untrusted environments.
  • Maintaining audit logs of all agent actions.

Summary and Next Steps

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

Requirements

  • Prior experience with terminal-based development and bash.
  • Foundational knowledge of TypeScript or JavaScript.
  • Familiarity with npm package management.

Audience

  • Developers seeking a lightweight, hackable coding agent.
  • Senior engineers who require full control over agent internals.
  • Teams adopting a terminal-first development approach.
 14 Hours

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