bit-by-bit

A Pi extension for step-by-step task management.

When an LLM produces a long list — review feedback, plan items, a set of ideas — it's hard to handle all at once. This extension splits such a list into individual tasks and lets you focus on one at a time. You can switch between tasks and mark them done — each one lives in its own branch, so the assistant only works on the current task without being distracted by the rest.

Install

pi install npm:@anfilat/bit-by-bit

Usage

1. Ask the LLM to produce a numbered list — a review, a plan, a set of issues, anything with distinct items.
2. Run /bit-by-bit — the extension extracts each item into a separate task and navigates to the first one.
3. Work on the task. When done, use /bit-by-bit done to mark it done and /bit-by-bit next to move to next one.

Commands

Command	Description
/bit-by-bit	Extract tasks from last assistant message, start first task
/bit-by-bit choose	Show task list, switch to chosen task
/bit-by-bit next	Go to next task
/bit-by-bit prev	Go to previous task
/bit-by-bit done	Mark current task as done
/bit-by-bit undone	Unmark current task
/bit-by-bit write	Write a task document to bit-by-bit/ directory, so you can shelve it for later
/bit-by-bit off	Pause bit-by-bit mode
/bit-by-bit resume	Resume after pause

Status bar

When active, the status bar shows:

bit-by-bit: 3/12(✓2) | ✗ ▸ Fix null pointer in UserService

• 3/12 — current task / total
• ✓2 — tasks marked done
• ✗ or ✓ — current task status

If you navigate outside the task branches (via /tree), it shows:

bit-by-bit: 12(✓2) | ⚠ Outside task area

How it works

1. Extraction — /bit-by-bit calls the current model to parse the last assistant message into items.
2. Branching — Each task gets its own branch forked from the current point in the session tree.
3. Context isolation — On every turn, the extension injects a context message telling the assistant to focus only on the current task.
4. Persistence — All state (tasks, done/off/resume markers, branch mappings) is stored in the session tree as custom entries. Full state reconstruction happens on session restore.
5. Shelving tasks — /bit-by-bit write generates a markdown document describing the current task, so you can set it aside and come back to it later.

License

MIT