A VS Code auxiliary-sidebar client for pi, built on pi's RPC protocol. It keeps the agent process in the extension host and renders the conversation in a theme-aware Webview.

Source: https://github.com/dairycode/pi-agent-sidebar

Preview

Pi Agent Sidebar running in the VS Code auxiliary sidebar

Features

Streaming conversation — renders pi's text, reasoning, and tool execution live in the auxiliary sidebar, fully themed to the VS Code color scheme
Session management — persistent session history with search, switching, new sessions, delete, and rename; the last session in the workspace is restored automatically after a VS Code reload
Model and thinking level — switch among configured models and supported thinking levels from themed pickers in the composer
Conversation control — queue follow-up prompts while pi is working, or abort the active run; transient provider errors (overload, rate limit, 5xx, interrupted streams) are retried automatically
Attachments — attach project files by path and paste clipboard images to send to the model
Code references — select code and press Cmd+Esc / Ctrl+Esc to insert an inline @path#line reference at the caret, then jump back to the source with Cmd/Ctrl-click or F12
Editor integration — a right-click Pi Agent submenu explains the selection, refactors it, generates tests, explains reported problems, or explains the whole file, plus a Fix with Pi quick fix for the diagnostic under the cursor
Slash commands — type / in the composer to browse pi's extension commands, prompt templates, and skills, grouped by source with live filtering
Tool timeline — tool calls run inline with file-edit diffs rendered as added, removed, and context lines; path/file.ts:42 references in responses open the file at that line
Commands — rename the current session, export a session to HTML, start a new session, restart the runtime, and inspect logs from the command palette
Status bar — shows the runtime phase and the active model
Native dialogs — pi extension prompts and trusted-domain confirmation are surfaced with native VS Code UI
Security — gated on Workspace Trust, reads strict JSONL, sanitizes Markdown before rendering, and ships a restrictive CSP

Editor Selection Shortcut

Select code in the editor, then press Cmd+Esc on macOS or Ctrl+Esc on Windows and Linux. Pi Agent opens, focuses the composer, and inserts an accent-colored inline reference such as @src/file.ts#10-14 at the caret while retaining the exact selected text as code context. Delete the reference text to detach it. To reopen the source, Cmd/Ctrl-click the marker or place the caret inside it and press F12. With no editor selection, the shortcut only focuses the composer.

Other AI extensions may use the same shortcut. Reassign Pi Agent: Focus Input with Selection in VS Code's Keyboard Shortcuts editor when needed.

Requirements

VS Code 1.129 or newer
pi 0.81.0 or newer installed and authenticated
A trusted workspace folder

Install pi if needed:

npm install -g --ignore-scripts @earendil-works/pi-coding-agent
pi
/login

If VS Code cannot find pi, set piAgentSidebar.binaryPath to an absolute path such as /opt/homebrew/bin/pi.

piAgentSidebar.sessionDirectory accepts an absolute path or a path relative to the active workspace folder; the same resolved directory is used for pi's session storage and the sidebar's history, rename, and deletion.

Security Model

Pi's default coding tools can read, edit, and execute files with the extension host user's permissions. This extension does not sandbox pi. It remains disabled in untrusted workspaces, runs the configured binary without a shell, and only passes --approve for project-local pi resources after VS Code has established workspace trust.

Session files are managed by pi under ~/.pi/agent/sessions. They can contain source code, tool output, and other sensitive conversation data.