pi-flex-processing

A tiny pi extension that lets you switch OpenAI API requests between normal processing and Flex processing from the chat UI.

Flex processing lowers cost for supported OpenAI models in exchange for slower responses and occasional resource unavailability.

Install

pi install npm:pi-flex-processing

Usage

Inside pi:

/flex

Opens a simple selector for normal vs flex processing.

Direct commands:

/flex on       # enable OpenAI flex processing where supported
/flex off      # use normal OpenAI processing
/flex toggle   # switch between modes
/flex status   # show current mode

Alias:

/openai-flex

Supported OpenAI Flex models

As of 2026-05-29, OpenAI's Flex pricing table lists:

• gpt-5.5
• gpt-5.5-pro
• gpt-5.4
• gpt-5.4-mini
• gpt-5.4-nano
• gpt-5.4-pro

When flex mode is enabled on an unsupported OpenAI model, the extension warns once and sends normal processing instead (service_tier: "default"). The footer shows openai:flex n/a.

Behavior

• Applies only to pi's openai provider, i.e. the provider that uses OPENAI_API_KEY.
• Supported model + flex mode: sends service_tier: "flex".
• Unsupported model + flex mode: warns and sends service_tier: "default".
• Normal mode: sends service_tier: "default".
• The selected mode is persisted in the current pi session.

Publishing

This repo publishes to npm through GitHub Actions and npm Trusted Publishing when a version tag is pushed.

One-time setup: configure npm Trusted Publishing for this package with GitHub Actions, repository laxman-patel/pi-flex-processing, workflow filename publish.yml, and no environment name.

Release flow:

npm version patch
npm pack --dry-run
git push --follow-tags

The pushed vX.Y.Z tag triggers .github/workflows/publish.yml, verifies the tag matches package.json, and runs npm publish --access public via OIDC trusted publishing.

Package metadata

This repo is structured as a pi package:

{
  "keywords": ["pi-package"],
  "pi": {
    "extensions": ["./extensions/openai-flex.ts"]
  }
}

That makes it discoverable by the pi package gallery at https://pi.dev/packages once published/listed.

Security note

Pi extensions run with your full system permissions. Review any extension before installing it.