A small execution core
Study the minimal harness to identify the state and tool feedback your workflow really needs before adding higher-level features.
Pi
Study Pi’s minimal agent core, extension packages, and reusable libraries to shape your own workflows. Compare where task instructions are enough, where runtime customization helps, and which execution boundaries your environment must provide.
About Pi
Pi explicitly describes itself as a minimal, extensible agent harness. The project combines an interactive coding agent with supporting libraries for model access, agent execution, conversation state, and terminal interfaces. It is both a usable tool and a collection of building blocks.
Pi is useful when designing a workflow that needs a small core with selective additions. In Floatboat-related work, use it to distinguish a reusable task instruction from a new tool or runtime behavior. Some improvements only need better Skills; others justify evaluating an extension or library.
The current repository is earendil-works/pi, following the earlier badlogic/pi-mono location, and uses MIT. Pi also explicitly says it has no built-in permission system restricting filesystem, process, network, or credential access. Hosting it safely requires the surrounding environment to provide the boundaries you need.
Workflow Mechanisms to Learn From
Understand what the project demonstrates, then decide which mechanism addresses a real gap in your own workflow.
Distinct extension layers
Separate instructions, prompts, themes, and executable extensions so each workflow change is made at the right layer.
Reusable runtime components
Evaluate the provider API, agent core, and conversation libraries independently when building a custom workflow component.
Apply the Ideas to Your Workflow
Use these scenarios as design references for work organized in Floatboat. Any software integration needs its own compatibility and permission checks.
A lightweight task loop
Model a focused sequence of context, tool use, and result review without starting with a large feature set.
Improving a reusable Skill
Decide whether a task needs clearer instructions and resources before introducing another executable extension.
A custom agent component
Use the library structure as a reference when a business workflow needs its own model interface or execution behavior.
From Reference to a Workflow Experiment
Start with a task and a small testable change, whether that means better instructions, a new tool connection, or a runtime component.
- 01
Choose the extension layer
Identify whether the gap is in instructions, available tools, conversation state, or the surrounding interface.
- 02
Set the execution boundary
Plan file, process, network, and credential access in the host environment; Pi does not supply a built-in permission system.
- 03
Evaluate the smallest addition
Validate one package or component against a representative task before combining several additions.
Related Agent Projects
Compare independent agents through their interfaces, extension models, and approach to carrying work forward.
Pi FAQ
Is Pi officially described as a harness?
Yes. The README explicitly calls Pi a minimal, extensible agent harness. It also contains a coding CLI and reusable libraries, so the repository covers more than one user-facing interface.
Why do old links use badlogic/pi-mono?
That was the earlier repository address. It currently redirects to earendil-works/pi. Use the current upstream for ownership and documentation, and check older package references before reusing them.
Does Pi include a built-in permission sandbox?
The README says Pi has no built-in permission system for restricting filesystem, process, network, or credential access. Required containment must come from the environment, not from an assumption that every harness provides it.
Are subagents and plan mode enabled by default?
The project deliberately leaves those features out of its core defaults. Extensions or packages may supply them, but their presence and behavior must be checked for the particular setup.
What is the difference between a Skill and an extension?
A Skill supplies reusable task instructions and resources. An extension changes or extends the running tool through the extension mechanism. They can work together, but their execution and trust boundaries differ.
Must I switch products to use these workflow ideas?
No. You can first use Pi as a reference for task structure, tool boundaries, and result review in your existing workflow. Reusing software is a separate choice that requires compatibility, permissions, and license checks; applying the design ideas does not automatically connect the software to Floatboat.