Pi Web

@spikat/pi-web is a local HTTPS bridge and live browser dashboard for Pi sessions. It is designed for several Pi processes running under the same operating-system user on the same machine.

Install

pi install npm:@spikat/pi-web

Run this in every Pi session that should appear in the dashboard:

/web on

The first connected session starts the shared bridge and prints a one-time URL similar to:

https://localhost:8088/?token=...

Open that exact URL in a browser. The bridge uses a generated self-signed certificate, so the browser requires a one-time certificate warning acceptance. The URL token is exchanged for a secure local cookie and then removed from the address bar.

Commands

/web on            Connect this Pi session and start the default bridge if needed.
/web on 9000       Start a new bridge on port 9000, or join an existing bridge on that port.
/web off           Disconnect only the current Pi session.
/web status        Report whether the current session is connected.

The first on command selects the port. While a bridge has connected agents, another explicit port is rejected rather than silently splitting the dashboard into two local bridges. Use /web on in subsequent sessions to join it.

The bridge stops automatically a few seconds after the last connected Pi session exits or runs /web off. During local development, the detached bridge keeps the server.mjs code it loaded at startup; run /web off in every connected Pi session, then /web on again (and reload the browser) after changing dashboard code.

Dashboard behavior

• All connected local agents are listed in one page.
• Message, tool, and agent-state events stream over WebSocket; no browser refresh is needed.
• A browser message is sent to its selected Pi agent. When that agent is busy, browser-originated messages are queued and shown as queued work until the agent settles.
• The command input offers slash-command completion from Pi's public command list.
• Agent replies are rendered as safe Markdown with headings, ordered and unordered lists, fenced and inline code, bold/emphasis, safe HTTP(S) links, block quotes, horizontal rules, and GitHub-style tables. Each reply has a Copy button that writes the original Markdown to the browser's local clipboard. Fenced blocks accept a language identifier such as ```md and leading indentation. Tools and reasoning have distinct colors.
• Project-file references in agent replies are checked against the connected local agent before becoming links. Previewable references—including README.md, docs/build.md, main.go, server.ts, Makefile, and Dockerfile—open a right-hand split view rather than a new tab; unavailable, binary, oversized, or out-of-project references remain plain text. The viewer has a close × control, a persistent Close file view button beside the agent actions, Escape support, line numbers, and lightweight source highlighting. Standalone file-activity cards are intentionally not shown. When Pi runs inside a Git working tree, references to files with an unstaged Git change gain a (diff) link. The server generates that view with git diff (working tree against the index), so untracked files and projects outside a Git working tree have no diff link. The diff viewer navigates between changed lines with <** and **> controls.
• Each agent view displays only its three most recent user prompts and subsequent responses by default. Show agent reasoning and Show commands and tool output are disabled by default; enable either only when needed.
• The transcript opens at its newest content and follows live output only while the reader is already at the bottom, like tail -f. Streaming changes patch only the transcript element, without rebuilding the page or changing focus; scrolling up preserves the reading position, and activity from another agent updates only that agent's tab. Each agent tab also retains its unsent command-input draft and exact transcript scroll position while you visit other agents. Selecting an agent requests a fresh session-history snapshot from its Pi process to repair any missed browser event. Clear displayed buffer clears only the current browser view; it never changes the Pi session or agent history.
• File previews are limited to recognized text/source formats (.md, .go, .c, .ts, .txt, .cfg, JSON, YAML, shell, and similar formats, plus Makefile and Dockerfile), are confined to the selected agent's project directory, reject binary files, and have a 512 KiB size limit.
• Slash-command suggestions appear only after typing / in the larger command input.
• Each agent tab has a 🔊 / 🔇 button that mutes or unmutes desktop notifications for that agent in the current browser, a pencil button for renaming its Pi session, a ❌ button that disconnects that Pi session from the dashboard and displays a terminal notification in the agent, and a collapsible agent-list rail. Tabs are blue with 🙋 when idle, yellow with 🚧 while working, orange with 🙅 while waiting for user input, and green with 🏁 after a non-selected agent completes work. Selecting a green completed agent consumes that completion marker and restores its idle blue state. Every selected tab has a thick white outline while retaining its current idle/working/waiting color.
• Desktop notifications is an optional browser setting. After granting the browser permission, it shows a notification when an agent becomes idle or waits for a user decision. The global setting takes precedence over per-agent mute choices; while it is disabled, all agent mute buttons are disabled and show 🔇. Notification settings are also synchronized between open dashboard tabs.

Pi's public extension API does not expose a generic executor for arbitrary built-in or third-party slash commands in an already-running TUI. The dashboard therefore exposes the command catalogue for completion and executes commands only when they explicitly opt into web control. This repository opts in /gen-commit-msg, /gen-pr-desc, and /review when their packages are loaded alongside web; unsupported slash commands report an error instead of being silently sent to the model. Ordinary text always remains a normal agent message. The browser never executes shell commands directly.

Commands whitelist integration

When @spikat/pi-commands-whitelist and this package are both loaded in the same Pi process, shell-command and file-edit reviews are mirrored to the dashboard as well as the terminal. A waiting dialog is inserted into the live transcript after the triggering prompt and before subsequent agent output, rather than below the message composer. The first valid answer wins; the terminal dialog and browser dialog are both dismissed after that decision. The browser provides the same per-command state cycle, argument-prefix controls, Python-script restriction, validation, prompt, cancellation, and help as the terminal shell review. File-edit reviews offer one-time or persistent directory/file approval, denial, and a mirrored assistant-prompt editor.

Security model

• The HTTPS server listens only on 127.0.0.1.
• A random browser token and a distinct agent-registration token are generated for every bridge lifetime.
• Runtime state, tokens, and the generated key are written with owner-only permissions under $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/pi-web or ~/.pi/web.
• The token grants the ability to send messages to local Pi agents and read previewable text files inside their project directories. Do not share the initial URL.
• This is local-user security, not a multi-user or network-exposed service. Do not forward the port to a LAN or the Internet without adding authentication and a hardened reverse-proxy design.

Limitations

This is an event-based dashboard, not an ANSI terminal mirror. It cannot universally reproduce arbitrary custom TUI dialogs supplied by unrelated extensions. It can mirror decisions implemented through its integration surface, including the commands-whitelist shell gate.

Development

npm install
npm run check
npm test
npm pack --dry-run