@sagmans/pi-prefix

A prefix key for Pi: press one configurable prefix key, then a second key, to trigger a Pi app action, a slash command, or an extension event.

• Zero-keymap by default. No prefix and no bindings ship with the package. Without configuration the extension is completely inert.
• Your keybindings stay authoritative. A prefix that collides with an active main-editor binding disables pi-prefix and reports the exact keybinding ids. pi-prefix never edits keybindings.json.
• No arbitrary code. Targets are app actions, slash commands, and events. There is no executable target.

Security warning

Pi packages execute with your user privileges. Review this repository before installing. Report vulnerabilities privately (see SECURITY.md).

Install

pi install npm:@sagmans/pi-prefix

Unpinned on purpose: pinned specs are skipped by pi update, so pinning hides future upgrades. Then restart Pi (or run /reload).

Ask your agent

Ask your coding agent to configure pi-prefix for you, for example:

Set up @sagmans/pi-prefix for me: prefix ctrl+x, with m for model picker, h for /hotkeys submitted, and a binding for the open event of the extension I use.

The package ships a skill that guides agents through the same steps.

Configuration

Two layers, merged in order defaults → global → project:

| Layer | Path | When loaded | | --- | --- | --- | | Global | ~/.pi/agent/pi-prefix.json | always | | Project | <project>/.pi/pi-prefix.json | only when the project is trusted |

Project scalar values (prefix, timeoutMs) replace global values. Project bindings add or replace global bindings by normalized key; null removes an inherited binding. Activation needs an effective prefix and at least one effective binding. Any parse or validation error fails the whole effective config with the source path and reason.

~/.pi/agent/pi-prefix.json example:

{
  "$schema": "https://unpkg.com/@sagmans/pi-prefix/schema.json",
  "prefix": "ctrl+x",
  "timeoutMs": 2000,
  "bindings": {
    "m": { "action": "app.model.select" },
    "h": { "command": "/hotkeys", "submit": true },
    "a": { "command": "/third-party-command", "submit": false },
    "o": { "event": "example-extension:open", "payload": { "source": "pi-prefix" } }
  }
}

Trusted project overlay example (<project>/.pi/pi-prefix.json):

{
  "bindings": {
    "o": null,
    "w": { "command": "/project-command", "submit": true }
  }
}

Schema reference

All properties are optional at layer level.

• prefix — one key id, e.g. ctrl+x, f9, alt+shift+p. See Pi's keybinding format (modifier+key, modifiers ctrl, shift, alt, super; aliases esc/return are normalized to escape/enter).
• timeoutMs — positive integer; prefix mode clears after this idle time. Default 2000.
• bindings — map of second key id to exactly one target, or null to remove an inherited binding:
  • { "action": "app.model.select" } — a Pi app action. Unknown or context-only actions notify when pressed instead of throwing.
  • { "command": "/hotkeys", "submit": true } — a slash command. submit: true runs the command immediately; extension commands run without touching the editor draft, anything else replaces the draft and submits. submit: false types the command and stops.
  • { "event": "example-extension:open", "payload": {} } — emits the event name and exact JSON payload through pi.events. The extension that owns the event defines valid names and payloads.

Escape is reserved for canceling prefix mode; a binding on escape loads with a warning and can never dispatch. Enter, tab, and arrows are valid second keys.

Command behavior

With submit: true, extension commands (those listed by /commands with the extension source, e.g. a mode toggle installed from another package) are dispatched directly through Pi's command pipeline and the current editor draft is preserved untouched. Any other command — built-ins like /model or third-party commands Pi reports without the extension source — replaces the draft and submits it through the editor, matching manual typing. With submit: false the command text sits in the editor until you press Enter, which is the right form for commands that take an argument.

Conflicts and /pi-prefix

On startup pi-prefix scans Pi's main-editor bindings. A colliding prefix disables pi-prefix with an error naming the exact keybinding ids. Existing bindings are never changed. Fix by choosing another prefix or rebinding the conflicting action yourself in ~/.pi/agent/keybindings.json, then /reload.

Third-party extension shortcuts cannot be inventoried publicly: Pi reports those collisions under [Extension issues] and resolves them by load order. That limitation is Pi's, not pi-prefix's.

/pi-prefix prints active/inactive state, loaded config paths, trust state, effective prefix, timeout, a binding summary, config errors and warnings, and any Pi keybinding conflicts.

Compatibility

Supports Pi hosts >=0.84.4 <0.88.0; verified against 0.84.4, 0.86.1, 0.87.0, and 0.87.1 (typecheck, test suite, and a live TUI session driving prefix activation, dispatch, draft preservation, and cancel).

pi-prefix builds only on public extension surface: CustomEditor wrapping, the editor-component factory, native shortcut registration, command dispatch, and the extension event bus. Pi 0.85.0-0.87.0 could render working, compaction, and retry status inside the editor border for editors that opted in; pi-prefix did not opt in, and Pi removed that opt-in in 0.87.1, so status renders beside the editor for every editor either way.

What pi-prefix does not do

• No shipped prefix, keymap, or bindings.
• No self-registration protocol for other extensions.
• No arbitrary-code targets and no private Pi APIs.
• No automatic conflict edits; reports only.
• No raw global terminal input interception; activation goes through Pi's native shortcut registration.

Development

npm install
npm run typecheck
npm test
npm pack --dry-run   # package-content gate