Pi Learning Tutor

A pi extension that turns a conversation into a learner-owned tutoring thread. It emphasizes gradual concept scaffolding, blocks AI-authored edits by default, reviews learner attempts with bounded read-only inspection, and provides quick definition overlays.

Install

pi install npm:@majorgilles/pi-learning-tutor

For a one-off run without adding it to settings:

pi -e npm:@majorgilles/pi-learning-tutor

Commands

• /learn <anything> — start learning mode with arbitrary context.
• /learn done, /learn off, /learn stop — leave learning mode.
• /exercise [topic] — generate a context-calibrated build challenge based on the current learning context, recent commits/diffs, or issue/resources; no solution up front.
• /review [scope] — request a broader learning review.
• /define [text] — show a definition in an overlay without adding it to main chat context. With no text, reads the clipboard first, then prompts if the clipboard is unavailable/empty.
• /edit-mode <request> — ask the assistant to draft a patch without applying it.
• /edit-mode apply — explicitly approve applying the previously drafted patch.

Behavior

While learning mode is active, the extension:

• injects tutor-mode instructions into the agent context,
• prefers one small learner-owned next step at a time,
• introduces new terms through a short prerequisite ladder, defining mandatory concepts before relying on downstream jargon (for example, prediction/error before loss/gradient in basic ML),
• adds lightweight 30–90 second quick checks after key concepts when useful, evaluates learner answers supportively, and skips checks when they would interrupt flow,
• treats /exercise as a larger context-aware build challenge command: it should inspect bounded evidence such as recent commits/diffs or the issue at hand, then ask the learner to build a new scoped artifact rather than make one tiny edit,
• keeps all external/research tools available (for example web/code search, fetch tools, MCP tools, gh, curl, or small URL-fetch scripts) without requiring extra permission,
• blocks edit, write, and mutating bash commands by default, while allowing user-requested comment-only edits that add/refine explanations without changing executable code,
• transforms readiness signals like done, review, or I tried it into review prompts,
• asks the assistant to inspect relevant files/diffs before reviewing,
• supports /define and ctrl+shift+d definition overlays,
• leaves native terminal mouse selection/scrollback behavior alone by default, and
• supports an explicit two-step edit-mode escape hatch for broader code changes.

Tip: select/copy terminal text normally, then run /define to define the clipboard contents. The old drag-to-define mouse capture is opt-in via PI_LEARNING_TUTOR_MOUSE_CAPTURE=1 because it can break mouse-wheel scrollback.

Development checks

npm install
npm run typecheck
npm pack --dry-run

See IMPLEMENTATION.md for the original implementation checklist.

License

This source is available under the MIT License.