summary: "Overview and quickstart for @tryinget/pi-context-overlay." read_when:

• "Starting work in this package workspace." system4d: container: "Monorepo package for Pi context inspection UX." compass: "Keep the overlay operator-focused and host-compatible without collapsing it into lower-level runtime packages." engine: "Template scaffold -> package-specific implementation -> validate in-package and live in Pi." fog: "Main risk is Pi host API drift across custom UI/keybinding helpers."

@tryinget/pi-context-overlay

Context inspector overlay for Pi sessions.

Why this is a standalone package

This feature started as a local operator extension under ~/.pi/agent/extensions/context-overlay. It does not belong in packages/pi-interaction/ because it is not an interaction-runtime primitive like editor ownership, trigger routing, or shared UI/runtime adapters.

@tryinget/pi-context-overlay is a higher-level operator feature:

• registers the /c command
• renders a context inspection overlay
• helps open context-related files in zellij
• ships the context-report prompt

For FCOS-M48 steward-continuity work, this package is the exact Pi wake-up presentation carrier named by ../../docs/project/2026-05-08-fcos-m48-pi-wakeup-carrier.md. That means it participates in wake-up/context presentation; it does not own canonical continuity state.

So the right monorepo home is its own package seam:

• package path: packages/pi-context-overlay
• release component: pi-context-overlay
• package name: @tryinget/pi-context-overlay

This package was re-scaffolded from ~/ai-society/softwareco/owned/pi-extensions-template and then remigrated from the local-only extension implementation.

Commands

• /c — open the context inspector overlay
• /context-report — generate a concise context-window report

Package contents

• extensions/context-overlay.ts — extension entrypoint
• src/ — overlay component, snapshot store, token estimation, grouping logic
• prompts/context-report.md — prompt template for textual context reports

Host lifecycle compatibility

The overlay keeps its in-memory snapshot aligned with the live Pi session by rebuilding from ctx.sessionManager on session_start, session_tree, and session_compact. That keeps the surface current-session-aware without depending on legacy session_switch hooks or inventing a separate history graph inside the package.

Runtime dependencies

This package expects Pi host runtime APIs and declares them as peer dependencies:

• @earendil-works/pi-coding-agent
• @earendil-works/pi-agent-core
• @earendil-works/pi-ai
• @earendil-works/pi-tui

Verify

npm install
npm run check
npm run release:check:quick

See also:

• examples/live-smoke.md
• docs/project/2026-04-01-session-start-surface-compatibility.md
• next_session_prompt.md

Live package activation

pi install /home/tryinget/ai-society/softwareco/owned/pi-extensions/packages/pi-context-overlay

Then in Pi:

/reload