pi-compact-tools

Three tool-row styles for Pi: Claude, Codex, and Compact. Switch styles live, hide tool noise with silent mode, and see what codemode scripts actually called.

UI only: no changes to tool execution, model input, or session records. Includes custom-tool rendering and a GitHub Dark theme.

Install

pi install npm:pi-compact-tools

Run /reload or restart Pi, then /compact-tools to choose a style. Try without installing: pi -e npm:pi-compact-tools.

Requires Node.js 22.19+ and Pi 0.85.1+. Pi 1.0.2+ recommended for native renderer integration and styled HTML exports.

Styles

Every style, including off, redraws existing rows immediately, even while tools run. No reload or interruption is needed. Only read-only exploration is grouped; commands that write or execute work keep separate rows.

Claude

Codex

Compact

Silent mode

Toggle with Ctrl+' or /silent; use /silent on and /silent off explicitly. Works with any style. It also hides thinking, intermediate assistant turns, and error/status notices; turn it off to inspect them.

During work: hide tool rows while the activity light keeps moving and the answer still arrives. Turn it off to restore every row.

In a resumed session: hide pages of completed tool calls to see the conversation at a glance.

This changes the display only—not the saved history or the model's context. Set "mode": "silent" to start sessions with it on.

Codemode summaries

Codemode is Pi's tool for scripts that call other tools. Enable it for a session with pi --tools +codemode; use Pi 1.2+ for the native summaries shown here. This extension only renders it.

Completed scripts show outcomes in all three styles: read 3 · bash 1 · edit 3 2. Counts use your theme's success, error, and warning colors—green, red, and yellow in the included theme. Each tool appears once; edits come last.

The two failed edits are intentional. Reload/resume preserves summaries from nested-call records; older hosts without those records keep normal previews. See compatibility details.

Commands and controls

/compact-tools                 # choose style and save scope
/compact-tools claude project  # save for this trusted project
/compact-tools codex global    # save globally
/compact-tools status          # effective settings and paths
/compact-tools off             # restore Pi's native UI live, even while streaming

Without a scope, changes are saved where the style is configured: project or global. A trusted project's own style overrides a global save. /compact-tools off immediately restores native tool rows, unmodified thinking, Pi's working indicator and keyboard behavior, with no grouping or silent hiding—even while a response or tool is running. No reload, abort, or restart occurs. Your selected theme, tool execution, and session history are not changed. Use /compact-tools compact, claude, or codex to enable it again, also live. Your silent-mode choice is retained for when you re-enable a style; /silent while off only updates that saved choice, without hiding native UI.

• Click a row/group or press Ctrl+O to expand/collapse. On Pi 1.5+, output hints follow your configured expand key.
• Ctrl+T changes the thinking display, not the model's reasoning effort.
• Choose github-dark-pro in Pi's /settings for the included theme.

Configuration

Optional: ~/.pi/agent/compact-tools.json or <project>/.pi/compact-tools.json. Trusted project settings override global settings field by field.

{
  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nedleeds/pi-compact-tools/main/schemas/compact-tools.schema.json",
  "style": "compact",
  "mode": "normal",
  "previewLines": 10,
  "auto_compact": { "read": true, "write": true, "edit": false, "bash": true },
  "custom_tools": { "enabled": true, "auto_compact": true, "exclude": [] }
}

auto_compact entries set to true start Compact rows collapsed. Add tool names to custom_tools.exclude to keep their own rendering. All options are described in the linked schema.

Development

Pi 1.5+ shows package changes through its native Extension Updates notice (including collapseChangelog); older hosts keep the extension's own notice.

See development, compatibility, and demo recording. Run npm ci and npm run check before contributing.

License

MIT