@karlis-vagalis/pi-flare

Create and run local web apps from your Pi session.

Packages

Package details

extension

Install @karlis-vagalis/pi-flare from npm and Pi will load the resources declared by the package manifest.

npm repo home report

$ pi install npm:@karlis-vagalis/pi-flare

Package: @karlis-vagalis/pi-flare
Version: 0.1.0
Published: Oct 22, 2026
Downloads: 440/mo · 440/wk
Author: karlis-vagalis
License: MIT
Types: extension
Size: 93.8 KB
Dependencies: 5 dependencies · 3 peers

Pi manifest JSON

{
  "extensions": [
    "./dist/index.js"
  ]
}

Security note

Pi packages can execute code and influence agent behavior. Review the source before installing third-party packages.

README

pi-flare

Create and run local web apps from your Pi session.

Flare gives Pi tools to create websites and small apps, then serves them through a shared celld runtime. Apps are ordinary files: you or the agent can edit them, and the changes go live without a deployment step.

Use a static app for a page, a Worker for a backend, or a durable app when you need saved state.

Requirements

Install these before starting Pi:

Bun 1.3.10 or newer.
celld, tested with 0.6.2.
esbuild, tested with 0.28.2: bun add --global esbuild.

All three must be on PATH. Pi itself needs Node.js 22.12 or newer.

Install

Install from the pi-mono repository:

pi install git:github.com/karlis-vagalis/pi-mono

To install only Flare from npm, once it has been published:

pi install npm:@karlis-vagalis/pi-flare

Use one installation method, not both. Run /reload in an existing Pi session after installing.

Use it

Run /flare to start the runtime and see your apps. You can then ask Pi to build something:

Create a small counter app with Flare. Save the count so it survives restarts.

Open 127.0.0.1:53762 to browse your apps. Source files live under ~/.pi/flare/<app-id>/. Static file edits are served immediately; backend edits trigger a rebuild. Reload the browser to see frontend changes.

Pi gets five tools:

Tool	What it does
`flare_create`	Create a static, Worker, or durable app
`flare_list`	List apps and build status
`flare_get`	Find an app's directory, URLs, and any build error
`flare_update`	Change its title, description, or expiry
`flare_delete`	Remove its source files, keeping durable data

Apps stay until you delete them unless you set a lifetime with ttl_seconds. The runtime stops when the last Pi session using it closes; app files and saved state remain on disk.

Backups and settings

Flare backs up app files and durable data every 12 hours while it is running. Backups go to ~/.pi/flare-backups and are not pruned automatically.

/flare backup makes a backup now.
/flare restore <backup> restores all apps and durable data, after saving a recovery backup of the current state.

Set PI_FLARE_HOME to change the app directory, or PI_FLARE_BACKUP_DIR to change the backup location. See the reference for all settings, routing examples, backup details, and runtime limits.

Local use

Flare is for apps you trust, running on your own machine. Apps share a browser origin and have no browser login. Keep the default loopback address unless you understand the exposure; use an authenticated proxy before making apps reachable from another machine.

Development

Flare is part of the pi-mono workspace. From the repository root:

bun install
bun run --filter @karlis-vagalis/pi-flare check
bun run --filter @karlis-vagalis/pi-flare build
bun run --filter @karlis-vagalis/pi-flare smoke

The smoke check requires celld and esbuild. It uses temporary apps and ports, not your existing Flare data.

Releases use the same version as the other extensions in this repository. Maintainers can publish all packages locally with just publish from the root, or push a v* tag to use the GitHub workflow.

License

MIT