@rupertsworld/pi-dynamic-context

Keeps a pi session's system prompt live and appends user-configured context files. It re-reads prompt resources before every agent turn, so edits and template values take effect without /reload.

pi install npm:@rupertsworld/pi-dynamic-context

Template variables

The extension renders variables in SYSTEM.md, APPEND_SYSTEM.md, startup-loaded AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md files, and configured additional files:

• {{ DATE }} — local date as YYYY-MM-DD
• {{ TIME }} — local time as HH:mm:ss
• {{ TZ }} — host IANA time zone, or its UTC offset when no name is available
• {{ CWD }} — session working directory

Whitespace inside the braces is optional. Unknown uppercase variable names warn once per session and remain unchanged. Other brace content is not treated as a token. Pi's default system prompt is not rendered.

Additional context files

Declare files in <agent-dir>/dynamic-context.json and, for trusted projects, <cwd>/<pi-config-dir>/dynamic-context.json (.pi by default):

{
  "files": [
    "docs/conventions.md",
    "~/notes/global-style.md",
    "/abs/path/also-fine.md"
  ]
}

Relative paths resolve from the agent directory for the global config and from the session working directory for the project config. Global files come first, followed by project files; duplicate resolved paths are included only at their first position.

Both configs and their files are re-read each turn. Readable files are appended to the system prompt in a <dynamic_context> section. A missing config is treated as empty, a malformed config warns once and is treated as empty, and an unreadable configured file warns once and is omitted for that turn.

Refresh and status

Startup-loaded prompt and context files are re-read each turn. If one becomes unreadable, the extension warns once and keeps its last successfully read content. If a startup-loaded file was empty and later gains content, the extension warns once and suggests /reload to pick it up. Pi's startup discovery does not re-run, so a new AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md still requires /reload or a new session.

/dynamic-context reports current variable values and the last-read result for startup-loaded and configured additional files.

Implementation constraint: exact-content substitution via before_agent_start — it never pattern-matches pi's prompt layout, and leaves pieces alone that another extension rewrote.

spec/pi-dynamic-context/index.md is the authority on behavior.