pi-secure-extension

A Pi extension that performs security audits on other extensions before install or update. Uses the currently selected AI model to analyze extension source code against configurable audit rules.

Installation

pi install ./path/to/pi-secure-extension
# or after publishing:
pi install npm:@panzenbaby/pi-secure-extension

# wann try and run a security audith first?
pi -e npm:@panzenbaby/pi-secure-extension
/secure:install npm:@panzenbaby/pi-secure-extension

Commands

/secure:install <source> [-l]

Audit an extension, then install it if you approve.

/secure:install npm:@foo/bar
/secure:install git:github.com/user/repo
/secure:install ./local/path
/secure:install npm:@foo/bar -l   # install locally

/secure:update <source>

Audit an extension source, then update it if you approve.

• For npm sources without a pinned version (e.g. npm:@foo/bar), the audit resolves the current registry version.
• If you pin a version (e.g. npm:@foo/bar@1.2.3), that exact version is audited.

/secure:update npm:@foo/bar

/secure:update-all

Check which installed extensions are outdated, audit each available update, and prompt to update.

/secure:update-all

/secure:rules

Edit the security audit rules. Opens a selector to choose:

• Edit global rules — applies to all projects
• Edit local rules — applies to the current project only
• Reset to defaults — restore the bundled audit rules

How It Works

1. Resolves the extension source (npm, git, or local path)
2. Reads all source files in memory (temp files are cleaned up immediately)
3. Sends the source code + audit rules to the currently selected AI model
4. Displays the audit results with risk assessment and integrity hash
5. Asks for confirmation before proceeding with install/update

Audit Rules

The audit checks for:

• Data exfiltration — network requests sending data to external servers
• File system access — reading sensitive files (.env, SSH keys, credentials)
• Code execution — eval, child_process, dynamic imports
• Supply chain risks — suspicious dependencies, postinstall scripts
• Permission escalation — modifying other extensions' behavior
• Obfuscation — minified/encoded code
• Privacy violations — undisclosed telemetry
• Denial of service — resource exhaustion patterns

Customizing Rules

The audit rules are defined in a markdown file. The extension looks for rules in this order:

1. .pi/extensions/secure-extension-audit-rules.md (project-local, requires user confirmation)
2. ~/.pi/agent/extensions/secure-extension-audit-rules.md (global)
3. Bundled audit-rules/default.md (built-in)

Use /secure:rules to edit them, or manually create/edit the markdown file.

Requirements

• A model must be selected in Pi (Ctrl+P or /model)
• npm must be available for auditing npm packages
• git must be available for auditing git packages

Limitations & Threat Model

This extension is an additional safety layer, not a security guarantee.

• LLM-based analysis is fallible. The AI model can miss obfuscated code, sophisticated prompt injection within source comments, or novel attack vectors. It may also produce false positives.
• Not a substitute for human code review. For high-security environments, always pair this audit with manual review by a qualified developer.
• Binary and oversized files are flagged but not analyzed. Non-text files (.wasm, .node, .so, etc.) appear as metadata entries with SHA-256 hashes. Files exceeding 5 MB are included as size-only placeholders. The LLM sees that these exist but cannot inspect their contents.
• Project-local audit rules require explicit user confirmation. A malicious project could ship custom audit rules designed to suppress findings. The extension prompts the user before applying any project-local rules.
• Audit and install are separate downloads. The extension audits a snapshot of the package, but pi install downloads independently from the registry. If the package was updated between audit and install, the installed version may differ. The integrity hash (SHA-256 for npm, commit hash for git) is shown so you can verify consistency.
• Prompt injection via source code is mitigated but not eliminated. The audited source is wrapped in <UNTRUSTED_CODE> markers and the system prompt instructs the model to treat all source content as data. However, sufficiently creative injection attempts may still affect model behavior.
• npm lifecycle scripts are suppressed during audit (--ignore-scripts), but pi install runs them normally. A malicious postinstall script would execute during installation even if the audit flagged it.