pi-openrouter-session

A pi extension that automatically adds session_id to OpenRouter API requests, enabling you to track and group conversations in the OpenRouter console.

Overview

When using pi with OpenRouter as your LLM provider, each request is typically treated as an isolated interaction. OpenRouter supports a session_id field in the request body that groups related requests together in their console/dashboard.

This extension automatically:

• Captures your pi session name (set via /name <name>) and combines it with a short unique identifier for human-readable grouping
• Falls back to the raw session file identifier when no name is set
• Injects the session_id field into every OpenRouter API request
• Re-resolves the session name on every request, so renaming mid-session takes effect immediately
• Allows you to view conversation threads in the OpenRouter console

Session ID format

Scenario	Example session_id
Named session (/name Refactor auth)	refactor-auth-019dbbc7
Unnamed session	2026-05-06T12-00-00-000Z_019dbbc7-... (filename)
Ephemeral (--no-session)	ephemeral-1234567890-abc123

Why Use This?

• Conversation Tracking: View your pi sessions as grouped conversations in OpenRouter's dashboard
• Cost Analysis: Better understand token usage and costs per session rather than per-request
• Debugging: Easily trace a series of related API calls in the OpenRouter console
• Session Continuity: Maintain logical grouping even across multiple model calls within one pi session

Installation

Prerequisites

• pi installed (npm install -g @mariozechner/pi-coding-agent)
• An OpenRouter API key

Method 1: Install from npm (Recommended)

pi install npm:pi-openrouter-session

To install a specific version:

pi install npm:pi-openrouter-session@1.1.0

Method 2: Install from GitHub

pi install git:github.com/odonnell-anthony/pi-openrouter-session

To install a specific version:

pi install git:github.com/odonnell-anthony/pi-openrouter-session@1.1.0

Method 3: Local Install (Development)

git clone git@github.com:odonnell-anthony/pi-openrouter-session.git
pi install /path/to/pi-openrouter-session

Method 4: Project-Local Install

To share the extension with your team via project settings:

pi install -l npm:pi-openrouter-session

This writes to .pi/settings.json instead of your global settings.

Usage

1. Set Your OpenRouter API Key

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-v1-..."

Or add it to ~/.pi/agent/auth.json:

{
  "openrouter": {
    "type": "api_key",
    "key": "sk-or-v1-..."
  }
}

2. Start pi with OpenRouter

pi --provider openrouter --model "openrouter/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4"

Or select OpenRouter interactively:

1. Start pi
2. Press Ctrl+L to open the model selector
3. Choose an OpenRouter model (e.g., openrouter/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4)

3. Verify the Extension is Working

When you start pi, you should see:

[openrouter-session] Ready, base session ID: 2026-05-06T12-00-00-000Z_019dbbc7-...

On your first OpenRouter request:

[openrouter-session] Using session_id: 019dbbc7

Or check for the notification: "OpenRouter session tracking enabled"

4. View Sessions in OpenRouter Console

1. Visit OpenRouter Console
2. Navigate to the activity/sessions section
3. Your pi conversations will be grouped by session ID

How It Works

Technical Implementation

The extension uses pi's extension API to:

1. Establish base ID (session_start event):

   • Extracts the full filename (without .jsonl) as the stable base ID
   • Pi session filenames have the format <ISO-timestamp>_<uuid> (e.g. 2026-05-06T12-00-00-000Z_019dbbc7-c8c5-748c-8710-3fdf6fefc083)
   • Falls back to generating a random ID for ephemeral sessions (--no-session)

2. Intercept API Requests (before_provider_request event):

   • Detects OpenRouter requests by checking:
     • Model string contains openrouter/
     • Current model's provider is openrouter
   • Resolves the session name via pi.getSessionName() on every request so /name changes are picked up immediately
   • If named: splits the base ID on _, takes the UUID half, strips hyphens, and uses the first 8 chars as a short suffix — e.g. just-testing-019dbbc7
   • If unnamed: uses the full raw base ID
   • Adds session_id to the request payload body

3. Lifecycle Management:

   • Base ID is stable for the entire pi session
   • New session / fork / clone → new base ID, new session_id
   • Renaming via /name mid-session → next request picks up the new name automatically

Request Flow

User sends prompt
    ↓
pi builds OpenRouter API request
    ↓
Extension intercepts (before_provider_request)
    ↓
Adds session_id to payload
    ↓
Request sent to OpenRouter with session tracking

Configuration

Currently, the extension works automatically with no configuration required.

Troubleshooting

Extension Not Loading

1. Check if it's installed:

   pi list
   

   Should show npm:pi-openrouter-session (or git:github.com/odonnell-anthony/pi-openrouter-session if installed from GitHub)

2. Reload extensions in pi:

   /reload
   

3. Check the logs for:

   [openrouter-session] Ready, base session ID: ...
   

   And on the first OpenRouter request:

   [openrouter-session] Using session_id: ...
   

session_id Not Appearing in OpenRouter

1. Verify you're using an OpenRouter model:

   /model
   

   Should show openrouter/...

2. Check that OPENROUTER_API_KEY is set correctly

3. Enable debug logging and check the request payload

Extension Conflicts

If you have other extensions modifying OpenRouter requests, ensure they don't remove the session_id. The before_provider_request handlers run in extension load order.

File Structure

pi-openrouter-session/
├── package.json              # Pi package manifest
├── README.md                # This file
└── extensions/
    └── openrouter-session.ts  # The extension code

Naming Your Sessions

Use pi's /name command to give your sessions meaningful names:

/name Refactor auth module

Once named, subsequent OpenRouter requests will use refactor-auth-module-<id> as the session_id, making it easy to find your sessions in the OpenRouter console.

You can rename at any point in the session — the next API request will use the updated name.

Limitations

• Ephemeral Sessions: Sessions started with --no-session get a random ID that can't be recovered
• Session File Dependent: The base ID is derived from the pi session file name. If you delete/rename the file, the ID changes
• OpenRouter Only: This only works with the OpenRouter provider
• Name length: Session name slugs are capped at 50 characters to keep IDs readable

License

MIT

Related Projects

• pi - The minimal terminal coding harness
• OpenRouter - Unified API for LLM access
• pi-mono - Pi's source code and documentation

Support

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Check pi's documentation
• Join the pi Discord community