pi-static-working-indicator
Replace Pi's animated working spinner with a static dot, so long sessions stop re-rendering while the agent waits.
Package details
Install pi-static-working-indicator from npm and Pi will load the resources declared by the package manifest.
$ pi install npm:pi-static-working-indicator- Package
pi-static-working-indicator- Version
0.1.1- Published
- Oct 24, 2026
- Downloads
- 497/mo · 497/wk
- Author
- fdietze
- License
- MIT
- Types
- extension
- Size
- 4.5 KB
- Dependencies
- 0 dependencies · 1 peer
Pi manifest JSON
{
"extensions": [
"extensions/static-working-indicator.ts"
]
}Security note
Pi packages can execute code and influence agent behavior. Review the source before installing third-party packages.
README
pi-static-working-indicator
A Pi extension that replaces the animated working spinner with a static ●. Long sessions stop re-rendering 12.5 times per second while the agent waits on a tool.
Install
pi install npm:pi-static-working-indicatorStart a new session after installing.
Why
Every spinner frame requests a TUI render, and a render walks the whole transcript. The cost grows with the session, while the only visible change is one character. A single static frame starts no timer. The "Working..." text still shows that the agent is busy.
Measured
Pi 1.3.0, a real 4 MB session, the agent waiting on a 60 s bash tool call. 15 s warmup, 20 s sample, median of 3 interleaved runs, 160×48 terminal:
| TUI mode | Pi CPU, spinner → static | Terminal output, spinner → static |
|---|---|---|
| regular | 32.8% → 3.7% of a core | 7.4 → 0.24 kB/s |
| fullscreen | 6.2% → 1.5% of a core | 7.4 → 0.24 kB/s |
The remaining output is Pi's elapsed-time display on the running tool, which updates once per second.
To reproduce, run python3 bench/drive.py "$(command -v pi)" <regular|fullscreen> <none|extensions/static-working-indicator.ts> <session.jsonl>. It prints CPU percent, terminal reads and bytes.
Scope
Only the main working indicator becomes static, because that is what Pi's setWorkingIndicator API controls. Pi's other loaders keep their spinner: !command runs, compaction, retries and some dialogs. They run rarely or briefly.
Credits
Written by Felix Rath (futile) and published here with his permission.