pi-minimal-toolcall

Minimalist & less noisy tool-call rendering for Pi.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/605cb58b-cbd3-4dfa-9a0d-41f46472038c

Visual

Shell 1 command (grep -rn "friendlyLabel\|nounFor" ./tests ./src --include="*.test.ts" 2>/dev/null | head -10) ctrl+o to expand
Write 1 file (README.md) +148 -129 ctrl+o to expand
Shell 1 command & Read 1 file ctrl+o to expand
⠋ Read file

Installation

Pi package manager:

pi install npm:@fahmiirsyadk/pi-minimal-toolcall

Git Repository:

pi install git:github.com/fahmiirsyadk/pi-minimal-toolcall

Local clone (for development or pinning to a fork):

git clone https://github.com/fahmiirsyadk/pi-minimal-toolcall.git ~/pi-minimal-toolcall

Then add to your ~/.pi/agent/settings.json:

{
  "extensions": [
    "~/pi-minimal-toolcall/index.ts"
  ]
}

Quick start for customizing

Edit ~/.pi/agent/extensions/pi-minimal-toolcall/config.json (or $PI_CODING_AGENT_DIR/extensions/pi-minimal-toolcall/config.json):

{
  "toolsExpandedByDefault": true,
  "hiddenThinkingLabel": "",
  "registerToolOverrides": { "bash": false },
  "groupingMode": "proximity",
  "showArgOnSummary": "always"
}

Then /reload to apply.

Three starter presets ship in config/presets/ — copy the one you want to your config file:

• calm.json — the defaults (one row per group, collapsed tools, thinking label).
• verbose.json — expanded previews, larger body cap, args on multi-tool rows.
• minimal.json — bare frames, no args, no diff, no ✗, empty thinking label.

What you get (Configuration Option)

| Behavior | Default | How to change | | --- | --- | --- | | Tool rows | collapsed | toolsExpandedByDefault: true | | Thinking | hidden behind thinking label | hiddenThinkingLabel: "..." | | Grouping mode | proximity (any tool call joins until text/thinking) | groupingMode: "consecutive" \| "none" | | Latest arg on summary | single-tool groups only | showArgOnSummary: "always" \| "never" | | Aggregated +N -M | on | showDiffSuffix: false | | Per-tool ✗ | on | showErrorMark: false | | Write expand | full content, syntax-highlighted | writeExpandMode: "summary" \| "both" | | Expanded body cap | 200 lines | expandedBodyMaxLines: <n> | | Spinner | ⠋⠙⠹⠸⠼⠴⠦⠧⠇⠏ @ 80ms | spinnerFrames: ["a","b"], spinnerIntervalMs: <n> | | Per-tool ownership | all 7 built-ins | registerToolOverrides: { "read": false, ... } | | Batch tools (read_files, edit_files, grep_files, find_files) | on | batchToolsEnabled: false | | Debug log | off | debug: true (writes to <agent-dir>/.../debug/debug.log) |

How grouping works

A group is a run of tool calls with no text or thinking between them, regardless of tool name. Frozen when a text or thinking block appears (message_update with text_start / thinking_start), or when a new agent loop starts (agent_start — separates prompts).

read, read, read                  → Read 3 files
read, read, bash, read            → one row (proximity)
text or thinking
bash, bash                        → Shell 2 commands (new group)

groupingMode: "consecutive" restores the old "different tool name = new group" behavior. "none" makes every call its own row.

Batch tools

The package registers four batch tools the model can call instead of repeating built-ins:

| Tool | Input | | --- | --- | | read_files | { paths, offset?, limit? } | | edit_files | { edits: [{ path, oldText, newText }] } | | grep_files | { queries: [{ pattern, path? }] } | | find_files | { queries: [{ pattern, path? }] } |

Each renders as one row; ctrl+o expands to per-item ✓/✗ status plus aggregated output. Partial failures surface per item.

Reload

/reload re-reads config.json and re-registers. Tool ownership, the per-tool grouping session, and the debug-log path all take effect on the next session_start.

Compatibility

• Pi 0.79.0+. Peer dependencies: @earendil-works/pi-coding-agent, pi-ai, pi-tui, typebox (all * range — pi bundles these).
• This package only changes tool-call rendering. We touch two pieces of global UI state on session_start (and only these two — we don't touch the working indicator, the prompt box, or anything else outside our scope):
  • ctx.ui.setToolsExpanded(config.toolsExpandedByDefault) — the resting state of tool output (collapsed vs expanded). ctrl+o toggles it during a session.
  • ctx.ui.setHiddenThinkingLabel(config.hiddenThinkingLabel) — the label on the thinking block.
• Tools registered by other extensions render with their own renderer and break proximity groups.

Development

npm install
npm run check        # typecheck + test
npm run pack:dry     # preview the published tarball

Uses tsc for typecheck and tsx --test for tests. No bundler, no formatter, no linter — keep the dep tree small.

License

MIT