pi-tools-info

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A tool inspector extension for Pi. Use /tools-info to inspect the exposure, active status, source, and full description of tools registered in the current session.

Installation

pi install npm:@jy02414216/pi-tools-info

Try it temporarily without changing Pi settings:

pi -e npm:@jy02414216/pi-tools-info

Uninstall:

pi remove npm:@jy02414216/pi-tools-info

Local development

Load it temporarily from the repository root without changing Pi settings:

pi -e ./packages/pi-tools-info

After editing the loaded extension, run /reload in Pi. Developed against Pi 0.99.1; development tests use Node.js 24 or later:

npm test --workspace @jy02414216/pi-tools-info

Features

• Lists registered tools by name, including inactive and hidden tools.
• Combines keyword, active-status, and exposure filters, with command argument completion.
• Opens tool details with full descriptions, source metadata, namespaces, and behavioral hints.
• Read-only: does not execute tools, change tool state, or send messages to the model.

Inspecting tools

Enter this in Pi:

/tools-info

UI hints are in English. Interactive TUI mode is required. The list and details appear in a temporary overlay at the bottom of the terminal. Closing it restores the original interface; the panel does not enter the session transcript or model context.

Example list (illustrative data):

Tools · Registered: 3 · Active: 2
  Tool                         Exposure    Active  Source
> ask_user                     model-only  Yes     npm:@example/pi-ask…
  mcp__github__search_code      deferred    No      builtin:mcp
  read                         direct      Yes     builtin:read
Esc/q Close · Enter Details · ↑↓/jk Select · PgUp/PgDn Page · 1-3/3

Tools are sorted by name, using case-sensitive rather than natural numeric ordering. Long names and sources are truncated with …; the details view shows the full content. Narrow windows hide the source column, and very small windows show a resize prompt.

Default keys:

Navigation, confirmation, and cancellation follow Pi's tui.select.* keybindings. q always returns or closes, and Esc always returns to the list from details.

Search and filters

/tools-info [keywords...] [--active | --inactive] [--exposure <value>]

Common examples:

/tools-info github search
/tools-info --active
/tools-info --exposure deferred
/tools-info github --inactive --exposure direct

• Keywords: Split on whitespace and matched as case-insensitive substrings against full tool names, tool descriptions, namespace names, source names, and paths. Multiple keywords are ANDed and may match different fields. Parameter schemas and annotations are not searched. Regex, fuzzy matching, quoted phrases, and escaping are not supported.
• Active status: --active shows only active tools; --inactive shows only inactive tools. The flags are mutually exclusive. Omitting them leaves status unrestricted.
• Exposure: --exposure <value> matches exactly one of direct, model-only, codemode, deferred, or hidden. Values must be lowercase. Omitting it leaves exposure unrestricted.

All three conditions are combined with AND, and options and keywords can appear in any order. The exposure value must immediately follow --exposure, separated by whitespace; --exposure=direct is not supported. Repeating the same option value does not change the result. Unknown options, missing values, invalid values, and conflicting values produce an error with usage information.

Use Tab to complete options and exposure values. For example, --ex completes to --exposure ; typing d then offers direct and deferred. Completion preserves existing keywords and arguments, and hides already selected or conflicting options based on the text before the cursor. Tool names and search keywords are not completed.

Tool details

Select a tool and press Enter to see its full name, exposure, active status, and description, plus:

• Source fields: source, path, scope, origin, and baseDir.
• Namespace name and description.
• Four behavioral hints: readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, and openWorldHint.

Descriptions are displayed as plain text with line breaks preserved; instructions within them are not executed. Behavioral hints retain their original values. Missing hints show Not declared, not false. These hints are unverified and are not a safety guarantee.

Understanding the results

• Registered: The total number of currently registered tools. Unregistered tools are not listed, for example when an MCP server has not connected successfully. Use /mcp to inspect server status.
• Active: The number of tools in the current active set, not the number of callable tools. Other extensions may also adjust the final tool declarations sent to the model.
• Shown: The number of matches, displayed when searching or filtering. Registered and Active always refer to the entire snapshot and are unaffected by filters.

Inactive does not mean uncallable: codemode and deferred tools can be called by other tools without being active. The panel shows runtime exposure; the MCP configuration value codemode-deferred maps to deferred.

The panel shows No matching tools. when nothing matches, or No tools registered. when the registry is empty. Unknown exposure values are preserved rather than guessed to be direct.

Performance and privacy

• Reads pi.getAllTools() and pi.getActiveTools() only when opening the panel. The list and details use the same snapshot and do not refresh automatically while open.
• Does not read the tool registry during extension loading or argument completion, and starts no timers or background tasks.
• Does not execute tools, change configuration or active state, initiate MCP connections, write to the session, or send model requests.
• Displays tool metadata as plain text with terminal control sequences removed. Source paths may contain local usernames, so review screenshots before sharing them.

License

MIT