@dreki-gg/pi-ask-mode

Read-only ask mode for pi. Toggle with /ask — pi can read, search, and answer but cannot create, edit, or delete files.

Install

pi install npm:@dreki-gg/pi-ask-mode

Usage

Feature	Name	Notes
Flag	--ask	Start pi in ask mode
Command	/ask	Toggle ask mode on/off
Shortcut	Ctrl+Alt+A	Toggle ask mode

Start in ask mode:

pi --ask

Toggle inside pi:

/ask

Enter ask mode and send a prompt in one step:

/ask How does authentication work in this codebase?

Run /ask again to exit ask mode.

Allowed

• read — Read file contents
• bash — Read-only commands only (ls, grep, cat, git status, git log, etc.)
• grep — Search file contents
• find — Find files by pattern
• ls — List directories

Blocked

• edit — File editing
• write — File creation/overwriting
• Destructive bash commands — rm, mv, cp, mkdir, git commit, git push, npm install, redirects, editors, and similar commands

How it works

Ask mode uses two layers of protection:

1. Tool whitelist — Only read-only tools are exposed to the LLM via setActiveTools().
2. Defense-in-depth — A tool_call handler blocks edit, write, and destructive bash commands even if the LLM somehow attempts them.

Ask mode has no end-of-turn menu and creates no .plans/ files. It stays active until you run /ask again.

State persists across session restarts and tree navigation.

Difference from pi-modes

@dreki-gg/pi-modes provides configurable presets that can also restrict tools. Use pi-modes if you want multiple configurable modes with model/thinking presets. Use pi-ask-mode if you just want a simple dedicated read-only toggle.