Pi

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What Pi is

Pi is free, MIT-licensed software that runs an extensible AI agent from a terminal. It can inspect files, run commands, edit content, and handle multi-step tasks for software development, research notes, writing, data files, and hobby work. Pi offers chat assistance, coding-agent functions, codebase indexing, and terminal access. Users can extend it with prompts, skills, executable integrations, interface changes, model connections, and packages. Supported providers listed by the maker include Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Azure, Bedrock, Mistral, Groq, Cerebras, xAI, Hugging Face, Kimi For Coding, MiniMax, NVIDIA, OpenRouter, and Ollama; authentication can use API keys or OAuth. Sessions are stored as navigable trees in one file and can be exported to HTML or shared as GitHub gists. Pi supports print, JSON event stream, and RPC modes, plus a TypeScript SDK. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Android through Termux, and self-hosted setups.

Who it suits

Pi suits developers, researchers, writers, and hobbyists who want terminal-based agent work and extensive customization. It also fits users able to connect a model provider or endpoint.

What it does well

Free and MIT-licensed
Inspects files and runs terminal commands
Supports many listed model providers
Extensible through TypeScript modules and packages
Sessions support branching and export

What to know first

Model access requires a connected provider or endpoint
Tool calls are not sandboxed
No built-in sub-agents or plan mode
Android use requires Termux

Plans

Plan	Billed and limits	Price
Pi	MIT-licensed software · model access requires a connected provider, subscription, API key, local model, or compatible endpoint	Free

As pi.dev lists them, read 12 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Verdict

Pi offers a customizable terminal agent with broad provider support, multiple operating modes, and navigable session history. Its permission model requires care because tools and extensions run with the process’s access.

Facts from Pi's own pages

Coding agent: Yes · pi.dev, 22 Sept 2026
Android support: Pi runs on Android through Termux; text input, file tools, shell commands, and optional text clipboard integration are supported. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Chat assistance: Yes · pi.dev, 22 Sept 2026
Codebase indexing: Yes · pi.dev, 22 Sept 2026
Customization: Users can extend Pi with prompts, skills, executable integrations, terminal interface changes, model connections, and packages. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Extensibility: Extensions are TypeScript modules with access to tools, commands, keyboard shortcuts, events, and the full terminal UI. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Intended work: The maker lists software development, research notes, writing projects, data files, and hobby work as uses for Pi. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026
License: The site identifies Pi as MIT-licensed software. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026
MCP: The product page says MCP is built in, Codemode lets agents compose tool calls in a JavaScript sandbox, and MCP extensions remain supported. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Model authentication: The product page says users can authenticate to providers using API keys or OAuth. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Model providers: The product page lists Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Azure, Bedrock, Mistral, Groq, Cerebras, xAI, Hugging Face, Kimi For Coding, MiniMax, NVIDIA, OpenRouter, and Ollama among supported providers. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Modes and embedding: Pi supports print mode, JSON event stream mode, RPC mode, and a TypeScript SDK for embedding it in an application. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Notable omissions: The maker says Pi does not include built-in sub-agents, plan mode, permission popups, to-dos, or background bash. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Security: Pi runs tools and extensions with the permissions of its process and does not sandbox tool calls; its security guide recommends isolation to limit access and impact. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Session history: Pi stores sessions as trees in a single file, lets users navigate branches, and can export sessions to HTML or share them as a GitHub gist. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Support and community: The product page directs bug reports and feature requests to GitHub, discussion and sharing to Discord, and setup help to its documentation. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Terminal access: Yes · pi.dev, 22 Sept 2026
What it does: Pi is an extensible AI agent that runs from a terminal and can inspect files, run commands, edit content, and work through multi-step tasks. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Windows support: Pi can run as a native Windows process or inside WSL, using Git Bash by default for native Bash commands. · pi.dev, 12 Oct 2026

Where Pi stands on Freedom251

AI Coding Assistants#46 of 103