pi-custom-thinking

A pi extension that lets you customize the "Thinking..." loading messages with fun, themed styles inspired by games like The Sims and various creative personas.

Installation

Option 1: Install via npm (recommended)

pi install npm:pi-custom-thinking

Option 2: Install from git

pi install git:github.com/richardanaya/pi-custom-thinking

Option 3: Local development

Clone or copy this extension to your pi extensions directory:

# Clone into global extensions
git clone <repo-url> ~/.pi/extensions/pi-custom-thinking

Then reload pi to load the extension:

/reload

Configuration

Create a ~/.custom-thinking.json file to customize your thinking messages:

{
  "currentStyle": "philosopher",
  "styles": {
    "my-custom": {
      "name": "My Personal Style",
      "messages": [
        "Pondering the meaning of code...",
        "Consulting the documentation gods...",
        "Brewing a fresh response...",
        "Untangling the logic..."
      ]
    }
  }
}

Configuration Options

• currentStyle: The default style to use (built-in or custom)
• styles: Define your own custom styles (merged with built-in styles)
• hiddenLabel (per style): The label shown when thinking blocks are collapsed (Ctrl+T)

Built-in Styles

| Style | Description | |-------|-------------| | loading | Generic loading messages | | creative | Artistic, creative-themed messages | | tech | Tech jargon and ML terminology | | zen | Calm, mindful messages | | pirate | Pirate speak | | chef | Cooking-themed messages | | wizard | Fantasy/wizard-themed | | space | Space and sci-fi themed | | philosopher | Deep philosophical contemplations (default) |

How It Works

The extension hooks into pi's session_start, agent_start, and turn_start events to:

• Set a custom working message via setWorkingMessage — rotates randomly each time the AI starts processing, never showing the same message twice in a row.
• Set a custom hidden-thinking label via setHiddenThinkingLabel — shown when thinking blocks are collapsed with Ctrl+T.

Creating Custom Styles

Add your own styles to ~/.custom-thinking.json:

{
  "styles": {
    "developer": {
      "name": "Developer Life",
      "messages": [
        "It works on my machine...",
        "Have you tried turning it off and on again?",
        "404: Thoughts not found",
        "Compiling sarcasm...",
        "Waiting for CI/CD..."
      ]
    }
  }
}

Your custom styles are merged with the built-in ones, so you can override built-in styles by using the same key.

License

MIT