---

summary: "Top-row live activity strip for local Pi sessions running in Ghostty or other terminals." read_when:

• "Starting work in this package workspace."
• "Installing or verifying the activity strip in Pi." system4d: container: "Monorepo package for a local broker + Electron overlay + Pi extension telemetry seam." compass: "Make Pi session activity visible at a glance without changing the operator's normal terminal workflow." engine: "Pi extension emits session telemetry -> local broker aggregates -> top-row Electron strip renders live state." fog: "Main risks are runtime drift across Pi host versions, Electron availability, and stale-session behavior under real long-running work."

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@tryinget/pi-activity-strip

A Pi extension package that gives you a screen-top activity strip showing what your live Pi sessions are doing.

This package is designed for the exact workflow you asked for:

• multiple Ghostty tabs
• multiple Pi sessions
• a persistent top-row ribbon
• fine-grained live detail without changing how you normally run Pi

What it does

• auto-starts a local top-row overlay when Pi starts in a TUI session
• tracks each active Pi session independently
• shows one card per live session
• surfaces:
  • repo/session label
  • current phase
  • current tool or target
  • fine-grained detail text
  • elapsed time plus last-seen freshness
  • state color (thinking, tool, waiting, done, error)
• keeps a local broker so multiple Pi processes can report into one strip

Architecture

Pi session
  -> activity-strip extension
  -> local unix-socket broker
  -> Electron top-row overlay

This is intentionally local-first. It does not require moving your workflow onto pi-server first.

Current scope

Implemented now:

• local per-host broker
• primary-display top-row strip
• one card per active Pi session
• headless-safe telemetry publishing
• explicit open/status/doctor/snapshot/fix-top/stop commands
• local visual capture helpers so the agent can inspect the strip directly

Not implemented yet:

• multi-monitor strip replication
• historical timeline / expand-on-hover detail
• remote observers via pi-server

Installation in Pi

From this package directory:

cd ~/ai-society/softwareco/owned/pi-extensions/packages/pi-activity-strip
pi install "$PWD"

Then for existing Pi tabs:

• run /reload in each tab you want tracked

For new Pi tabs:

• the package will load automatically from your Pi settings

Operator commands

Package-local CLI

npm run strip:open
npm run strip:status
npm run strip:doctor
npm run strip:snapshot
npm run strip:fix-top
npm run strip:stop

or directly:

node ./bin/pi-activity-strip.mjs open
node ./bin/pi-activity-strip.mjs status
node ./bin/pi-activity-strip.mjs doctor
node ./bin/pi-activity-strip.mjs snapshot
node ./bin/pi-activity-strip.mjs fix-top

Pi slash commands

Inside Pi:

/activity-strip
/activity-strip status
/activity-strip doctor
/activity-strip fix-top
/activity-strip stop
/activity-strip-stop

In Pi with UI support:

• /activity-strip status opens a detailed runtime status report when an editor surface is available
• /activity-strip doctor opens the host-compatibility report

Verification commands

Package checks

npm install
npm run check
npm run release:check:quick

Run the strip locally

npm run strip:open
npm run strip:status
npm run strip:doctor
npm run strip:snapshot

Capture what the agent should inspect

npm run capture:strip   # just the Pi activity strip window
npm run capture:top     # top band of the focused output, including the strip + upper window area

These are specifically useful so the agent can inspect the current visual state without you manually posting screenshots.

Simulate multiple sessions

npm run demo:simulate

Real Pi smoke on the live broker

npm run smoke:headless-live

This smoke:

• opens the strip
• runs a real headless Pi session with this extension loaded
• exercises a real tool call
• verifies that the broker observed the session while it was active

Compatibility diagnostics

npm run strip:doctor
node ./bin/pi-activity-strip.mjs doctor --json

Use doctor before opening the strip when the host/display assumptions are uncertain. It reports:

• whether a graphical session is present
• whether Electron can be resolved
• whether Niri-specific top-edge repair is available
• whether the current setup is multi-display even though the strip remains primary-display-only

Environment controls

• PI_ACTIVITY_STRIP_AUTO_START=0
  • disable automatic strip opening on Pi session start
• PI_ACTIVITY_STRIP_CLICK_THROUGH=0
  • make the overlay clickable instead of mouse-transparent
• PI_ACTIVITY_STRIP_ELECTRON_BIN=/path/to/electron
  • override Electron binary discovery
• GLIMPSE_ELECTRON_BIN=/path/to/electron
  • shared Electron override also respected

Practical usage for your Ghostty tabs

If you want this for all current tabs:

1. install the package once with pi install
2. run /reload inside each already-open Pi tab
3. open the strip once with /activity-strip or npm run strip:open
4. from then on, every loaded Pi session should report into the same top-row ribbon

References

• Project vision
• Project resources
• Verification notes
• Next session prompt