pi-mate

Multiple pi coding agents talk as peers through a shared message bus. Each agent runs in its own terminal, discovers others automatically, and communicates directly with any mate. No coordinator, no hierarchy.

Architecture

                   mate-bus
            (Unix Domain Socket)
            /tmp/pi-mate.sock
                    |
        ┌───────────┼───────────┐
        |           |           |
    ┌───▼──┐   ┌───▼──┐   ┌───▼──┐
    │  pi  │   │  pi  │   │  pi  │
    │ mate │   │ mate │   │ mate │
    │ ext  │   │ ext  │   │ ext  │
    └──────┘   └──────┘   └──────┘
   Terminal 1 Terminal 2 Terminal N

Each agent is a full pi session. The bus does not store messages, plan workflows, or make decisions. It registers agents, routes messages, and announces joins and departures. All collaboration logic lives in the agents themselves.

Install

pi install git:github.com/ninebot/pi-mate

Or clone and test:

git clone https://github.com/ninebot/pi-mate
cd pi-mate
pi install .

Usage

Start the bus once:

mate-bus &

Open your agents in separate terminals:

pi-mate --name frontend
pi-mate --name backend
pi-mate                 # auto name: agent-<pid>

Each terminal is a full pi session. Agents auto-connect to the bus and discover each other.

In any terminal, tell an agent to collaborate:

You: collaborate with backend to build a login system.
     I'll handle the frontend login form.
     Backend handle auth API.

The agent uses peer_discover to find backend, then peer_send to send interface specs. The backend agent receives the message, processes it automatically, and responds. The cycle continues until done.

Commands

Command	Description
/pimate join	Connect to bus
/pimate leave	Disconnect from bus
/pimate list	Show online mates

Tools

Tool	Description
peer_discover	List all connected mates
peer_send	Send a message to a specific mate
peer_broadcast	Send a message to all mates