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Pi Intercom — RP Fork

This fork is built for roleplay (RP): run a character agent in one terminal, a game/story process in another, and let them communicate naturally.

Key differences from upstream:

• /connect <name> — duplex chat channel: once connected, both sides' messages inject as real user input and responses auto-forward. No tools needed.
• send_message tool — blocking (通话模式) and fire-and-forget (留言模式) support, with deliverAsUser so the peer sees it as a genuine user message.
• Removed contact_supervisor — this fork doesn't integrate with pi-subagents.

User flow: /connect <character-name> → talk naturally → replies flow automatically

Original at npm: pi-intercom v0.6.0 by nicopreme (@nicobailon). Original repository: https://github.com/nicobailon/pi-intercom

Why (RP Use Case)

You're running multiple pi sessions for storytelling: a character agent that speaks in-character, and a game/story process that manages world state, NPCs, and plot. Pi-intercom lets you:

• Duplex character↔game channel — connect them once with /connect story, then just talk. The character's speech arrives as real user input to the game, and the game's narration lands as real user input to the character.
• Agent-to-agent communication — the game agent can send_message to the character agent to push a scene, trigger a dialogue, or deliver a consequence.
• Session awareness — see what other characters/story processes are running, check if they're idle or thinking.

Unlike pi-messenger (shared chat room for multi-agent swarms), pi-intercom is for targeted 1:1 communication where you pick the recipient.

In One Minute

Each pi session that has pi-intercom loaded and enabled connects to a tiny local broker over a local IPC transport. The broker keeps track of connected sessions and routes direct messages to the one you target by name or session ID. The extension gives you both a tool (intercom) and a small overlay UI (/intercom or Alt+M). Incoming messages are rendered inline inside the recipient session, can trigger a turn immediately, and are also stored in Pi session history as extension entries.

Install

```bash
# Install original from npm:
pi install npm:pi-intercom
# Install this fork (requires gh auth):
pi install git:github.com/2722550596/pi-intercom

Then restart Pi. The extension auto-connects to the broker on startup and registers the bundled pi-intercom skill for common coordination patterns.

Recommended: Add this snippet to sessions that need to coordinate:

<pi-intercom>
Coordinate with other local RP sessions (character agents, game/story processes).
Use `/skill:pi-intercom` for patterns.

**When:** Character↔game chat, multi-character scenes, game events to character.
**Not when:** Unrelated processes, trivial messages, or when you can proceed alone.
**Principle:** Prefer `/connect` for sustained dialogue; `send_message` for push events.
</pi-intercom>

A session becomes intercom-connected when all of these are true:

• the pi-intercom extension is installed and loaded in that session
• enabled is not set to false in ~/.pi/agent/intercom/config.json
• the session has started or reloaded after the extension was installed
• the local broker is running or can be auto-started

The session list only shows intercom-connected sessions, not every open Pi process on the machine.

If a session is unnamed, pi-intercom now exposes a runtime-only fallback alias like subagent-chat-1a2b3c4d so other sessions can still target it. That alias is not persisted as the Pi session title, so pi --resume can keep showing the transcript snippet instead of a generic session-... name.

Quick Start

From the Keyboard

Press Alt+M or type /intercom to open the session list overlay:

1. Select a session — Use arrow keys to pick a target session
2. Compose message — Write your message in the compose overlay
3. Send — Press Enter to send, Escape to cancel

From the Agent

The agent can list sessions and send messages using the intercom tool. Tool calls and results render as compact transcript rows so send/ask/reply flows are easy to scan. For common patterns like planner-worker delegation, the bundled pi-intercom skill provides copy-paste ready examples:

// List active sessions
intercom({ action: "list" })
// → **Current session:**
// → • executor (20d43841) — ~/projects/api (claude-sonnet-4) [self, idle]
// → **Other sessions:**
// → • research (6332faab) — ~/projects/api (claude-sonnet-4) [same cwd, thinking]

// Send a message
intercom({ action: "send", to: "research", message: "Check if UserService.validate() handles null" })
// → Message sent to research

// Check connection status
intercom({ action: "status" })
// → Connected: Yes, Session ID: abc123, Active sessions: 3

// Send with attachments (code snippets, files, or context)
intercom({
  action: "send",
  to: "worker",
  message: "Here's the fix:",
  attachments: [{
    type: "snippet",
    name: "auth.ts",
    language: "typescript",
    content: "function validate(user: User) { ... }"
  }]
})

Receiving Messages

When a message arrives, it appears inline in your chat with the sender's info and a reply hint:

**From research** (~/projects/api)

To reply, use the intercom tool: intercom({ action: "reply", message: "..." })

Found the issue — UserService.validate() doesn't check for null input.
See auth.ts:142-156.

The reply hint (enabled by default) points to intercom({ action: "reply", ... }), so recipients do not need raw sender or replyTo IDs. Idle recipients get a new turn immediately; busy interactive recipients receive the message once they go idle. Attachment content is included in the agent-visible body, and messages are rendered inline and stored in Pi session history.

Workflow: Broadcast / Listen (One-Way Channels)

For scenarios where you want asymmetric communication — one session broadcasting output to one or more listeners without automatic replies:

• /cast <name> — broadcast your output to another session. Your messages arrive as intercom notifications (with sender info), so listeners can distinguish multiple casters.
• /listen <name> — receive another session's broadcast. You see their output as intercom messages, and can reply via intercom or send_message tools.

Use Cases

• GM broadcasting to multiple characters — the GM session casts to all player character sessions. Each character receives world events as notifications and can respond individually.
• Observer monitoring — a session listens to a game session's output without injecting messages back.
• Logging/aggregation — a central session listens to multiple workers and aggregates their output.

Setup

# Terminal 1 (caster)                # Terminal 2 (listener)
/name gm                             /name player1

/cast player1                        /listen gm
# or equivalently:
# (player1 runs /listen gm instead)

Now:

• Caster says something → lands as an intercom notification in all listeners
• Listener wants to reply → must use intercom or send_message tools
• One caster, many listeners — cast to multiple sessions
• One listener, many casters — listen to multiple sessions

Commands

Command	Description
/cast <name>	Start broadcasting to a session
/stopcast [name]	Stop broadcasting (to specific session or all)
/listen <name>	Start listening to a session
/unlisten [name]	Stop listening (to specific session or all)

Workflow: Background Mode (Multi-Agent Narration)

For scenarios where you want asynchronous communication — one session broadcasting actions to a narrator without triggering a conversational turn:

• /cast <name> --background — broadcast your output to another session, but messages are written to a JSON queue file instead of triggering the recipient's turn.
• /listen <name> --background — receive another session's broadcast in background mode. Messages accumulate in a queue until the narrator's prompt preset reads them.

Use Cases

• Multi-agent RPG — character agents broadcast their actions in the background; the narrator session reads queued actions and weaves them into the story.
• Asynchronous logging — worker sessions log events without interrupting the main process.
• Batched updates — multiple casters send updates; the narrator processes them all at once.

Setup (Multi-Agent RPG Example)

# Terminal 1 (narrator)              # Terminal 2 (character: alyssa)
/name narrator                       /name alyssa
/preset narrator                     /preset alyssa
/listen alyssa --background          /cast narrator --background
/listen leo --background

# Terminal 3 (character: leo)
/name leo
/preset leo
/cast narrator --background

Now:

• Character acts → send_message to narrator → written to background-queue.json
• Narrator's turn → background-casts slot reads queue, injects into prompt, clears file
• Narrator responds → uses send_message to push scene descriptions to relevant characters

Commands

Command	Description
/cast <name> --background	Start broadcasting in background mode (queued)
/listen <name> --background	Start listening in background mode (queued)
/stopcast [name]	Stop broadcasting (shows if was background)
/unlisten [name]	Stop listening (cleans up background tracking)
/read-casts	Preview queued background messages without clearing
/clear-casts	Manually clear the background message queue

Background Queue File

Messages are stored at ~/.pi/agent/intercom/background-queue.json:

[
  {
    "from": { "id": "abc123", "name": "leo" },
    "text": "我冲进仓库，手电筒扫过四周——天哪，这里有一整排旧世界的电池！",
    "timestamp": 1698765432000
  }
]

The background-casts slot (registered by the project extension) reads this file on each prompt render, formats it as <background_casts> XML, and clears it (one-shot behavior).

Integration with Prompt Presets

To use background casts in a narrator preset (.pi/prompt-presets/narrator.json):

{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "id": "narrator",
  "mode": "replace",
  "items": [
    { "kind": "block", "id": "system", "content": "你是叙述者..." },
    { "kind": "slot", "slot": "background-casts" },
    { "kind": "slot", "slot": "chat-history" }
  ]
}

The background-casts slot is registered by the project extension at .pi/extensions/background-casts.ts. Place it in your project's .pi/extensions/ directory for auto-loading.

The most natural RP setup: connect a character agent to a game/story process via /connect, then both sides talk like normal users. No tool calls needed, no manual message routing.

Setup

Open two terminals and name them:

# Terminal 1 (game/story server)    # Terminal 2 (character agent)
/name story                          /name lian

From either terminal, connect:

/connect story     # from character terminal
# or
/connect lian      # from game terminal

Now everything flows automatically:

• Character says something → lands as user input in the game session
• Game narrates back → lands as user input in the character session
• No tools, no /intercom — just talk normally.

Manual Communication (No /connect)

If you prefer one-off messages without establishing a duplex channel, use the tools:

Send a message and wait for reply (通话模式):

send_message({
  to: "story",
  message: "I cautiously open the creaky door..."
})
// → Blocks until the game session replies with what's behind it

Fire-and-forget (留言模式):

send_message({
  to: "lian",
  message: "You hear footsteps approaching from the corridor.",
  blocking: false
})
// → Returns immediately; the message arrives as a new user message to the character

Receiving Messages

When a message arrives from the other session:

• If connected via /connect: it injects as a real user message — the agent responds naturally as part of its thinking loop.
• If using tools: the message appears inline with sender info and a reply hint.

Quick Status

intercom({ action: "list" })
// → Shows all connected sessions with names, cwd, and live status

Tool Reference

intercom

Parameter	Type	Description
action	string	"list", "send", "ask", "reply", "pending", or "status"
to	string	Target session name or ID (for send/ask, or to disambiguate reply)
message	string	Message text (for send/ask/reply)
attachments	array	Optional file, snippet, or context attachments
replyTo	string	Optional message ID for threading or replying to an ask

intercom actions

intercom actions

list — Returns the current session plus other active intercom-connected sessions with name, short ID, working directory, model, and live status. Status is derived automatically from Pi lifecycle events: idle, thinking, or tool:<name>.

send — Sends a message to the specified session. By default it sends immediately, including in interactive sessions. Set confirmSend: true in config if you want a confirmation dialog for non-reply sends. Replies that include replyTo skip confirmation. Returns delivery confirmation.

ask — Sends a message and waits for the recipient to reply (10-minute timeout). The reply is returned as the tool result. No confirmation dialog. Only one pending ask is allowed per session at a time. Use this when the agent needs the answer to continue working.

reply — Replies to the current intercom-triggered message if there is one. Otherwise it falls back to the single unresolved inbound ask. If multiple asks are pending, pass to or inspect them with pending first. Under the hood this is still a normal send with the exact replyTo value.

pending — Lists unresolved inbound asks with sender, message ID, elapsed time, and a short preview. Useful when replying after the original triggered turn.

status — Shows connection status, session ID, and total count of active sessions (including the current session).

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
Alt+M	Open session list overlay
↑/↓	Navigate session list
Enter	Select session / Send message
Escape	Cancel / Close overlay

Config

Create ~/.pi/agent/intercom/config.json:

{
  "brokerCommand": "npx",
  "brokerArgs": ["--no-install", "tsx"],
  "confirmSend": false,
  "enabled": true,
  "replyHint": true,
  "status": "researching"
}

Setting	Default	Description
brokerCommand	"npx"	Command used to start the local broker process
brokerArgs	["--no-install", "tsx"]	Arguments passed to brokerCommand before the broker script path
confirmSend	false	Show a confirmation dialog before non-reply sends from an interactive session with UI
enabled	true	Enable/disable intercom entirely
replyHint	true	Include reply instruction in incoming messages
status	—	Optional custom status suffix shown after the automatic lifecycle status, for example thinking · researching

For example, if you have Bun installed and want it to start the broker directly, use:

{
  "brokerCommand": "bun",
  "brokerArgs": []
}

Pi-intercom publishes live session status automatically. Sessions register as idle, switch to thinking while the agent is running, show tool:<name> during tool execution, and return to idle on agent completion. If status is set in config, it is appended as context instead of replacing the lifecycle status.

How It Works

graph TB
    subgraph A["Pi Session A"]
        A1[Intercom Client]
        A2[intercom tool]
        A3[UI overlays]
    end

    subgraph Broker["Intercom Broker"]
        B1[Session Registry]
        B2[Message Router]
    end

    subgraph B["Pi Session B"]
        B3[Intercom Client]
        B4[intercom tool]
        B5[UI overlays]
    end

    A1 <-->|Local Socket/Pipe| B1
    B1 --- B2
    B2 <-->|Local Socket/Pipe| B3

The broker is a standalone TypeScript process that manages session registration and message routing. It auto-spawns when the first intercom-enabled session needs it and exits after 5 seconds when the last connected session disconnects. Clients now reconnect automatically if the broker disappears and later comes back.

Messages use length-prefixed JSON over a local socket/pipe transport (4-byte length + JSON payload) to handle fragmentation properly. The protocol includes request correlation for session listing, explicit delivery failures, and validation for malformed or out-of-order messages.

Async extension work (startup, inbound flushes, reconnects, overlays, and relays) no-ops if the session shuts down or reloads before it settles.

Runtime files live at ~/.pi/agent/intercom/:

• broker.sock — Unix domain socket for communication (macOS/Linux only; Windows uses a named pipe instead)
• broker-launch.vbs — Windows helper script used to launch the broker without a console window
• broker.pid — Broker process ID
• config.json — User configuration

Design Decisions

Local IPC instead of TCP. Same-machine only by design. pi-intercom uses Unix sockets on macOS/Linux and a named pipe on Windows, which keeps setup simple and avoids port management.

Auto-spawn with file lock. The broker starts on first connection and exits after 5 seconds idle. There is no daemon to manage. A spawn lock file, keyed by PID and timestamp, prevents duplicate brokers when multiple sessions start at once.

ask stays client-side. The broker still routes plain messages; it does not have a special request/response mode for ask. The client waits for a matching reply before it triggers a new turn, then returns that reply as the tool result. Reply hints make that flow practical by showing the recipient the exact send call to use. Separately, list / sessions now carry a requestId so a delayed session-list reply cannot be mistaken for a newer one.

pi-intercom vs pi-messenger

Aspect	pi-intercom	pi-messenger
Model	Direct 1:1 messaging	Shared chat room
Primary use	User orchestrating sessions	Autonomous agent coordination
Discovery	Broker-based (real-time)	File-based registry
Messages	Private, session-to-session	Broadcast to all agents
Persistence	In Pi session history	Shared coordination files

Use pi-messenger for multi-agent swarms working on a shared task. Use pi-intercom when you want to manually coordinate your own sessions or have one agent reach out to another specific session.

File Structure

~/.pi/agent/extensions/pi-intercom/
├── package.json
├── index.ts              # Extension entry point
├── types.ts              # SessionInfo, Message, protocol types
├── config.ts             # Config loading
├── broker/
│   ├── broker.ts         # Broker process
│   ├── client.ts         # IntercomClient class
│   ├── framing.ts        # Length-prefixed JSON protocol
│   ├── paths.ts          # Platform-specific socket/pipe paths
│   ├── spawn.ts          # Auto-spawn logic with lock file
│   ├── spawn.test.ts     # Broker spawn tests
│   └── paths.test.ts     # Path resolution tests
├── ui/
│   ├── session-list.ts   # Session selection overlay
│   ├── compose.ts        # Message composition overlay
│   └── inline-message.ts # Received message display
└── skills/
    └── pi-intercom/
        └── SKILL.md      # Bundled skill for common patterns

Limitations

• Same machine only — Uses local sockets/pipes, no network support
• No dedicated intercom log — Messages are kept in Pi session history, but there is no separate intercom transcript or inbox
• No attachments UI — file, snippet, and context attachments are supported in the protocol, but not in the compose overlay
• Only connected sessions appear — The list shows Pi sessions that have loaded pi-intercom and successfully registered with the broker, not every open Pi process on the machine
• Broker lifecycle — The broker auto-spawns on first use and exits when idle; sessions reconnect automatically if the broker restarts