pi-manage-todo-list

A Pi extension that replicates VSCode Copilot Chat manage_todo_list tool. Track multi-step work with a structured todo list that persists across sessions and displays live progress in a widget above your editor.

Status: Production-ready. Faithful replication of Copilot's manage_todo_list with enhanced visual feedback and session persistence.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8efa7668-bdd8-4750-9c8b-638f15c32e4a

Features

Core manage_todo_list Tool (Copilot-compatible)

• Two operations: read (retrieve current list) and write (complete replacement)
• TodoItem schema: id, title, description, status (not-started | in-progress | completed)
• Validation: Required fields, valid statuses, complete replacement only
• Multiple in-progress: Supports parallel work and subagents
• Smart warnings: Alerts when todo list is too small (<3 items)
• LLM guidance: CRITICAL workflow — plan → mark in-progress → complete → mark completed → repeat

Enhanced Pi Features

• ✓ Live widget above editor showing real-time progress with status icons
• ✓ Session persistence across switches, forks, and tree navigation
• ✓ Themed display with colors and strikethrough for completed items
• ✓ User commands: /todos (toggle/stats) and /todos clear (reset)
• ✓ Status icons: ✓ completed, ◉ in-progress, ○ not-started
• ✓ Enhanced feedback: Progress stats and continuation instructions in tool responses
• ✓ Small list detection: Warns when todo list might be unnecessary

Install

Option A — Install from npm:

pi install npm:pi-manage-todo-list

Option B — Load directly (dev):

pi -e ~/projects/pi-manage-todo-list/src/index.ts

Option C — Install from local folder:

pi install ~/projects/pi-manage-todo-list

Then run pi normally; the extension auto-discovers.

Usage

LLM-driven (automatic)

The agent automatically uses manage_todo_list for complex multi-step work:

You: Build a REST API with authentication, rate limiting, and tests.

Agent: I'll break this into a structured todo list:
[calls manage_todo_list with write operation]
1. ○ Design API endpoints (not-started)
2. ○ Implement authentication middleware (not-started)
3. ○ Add rate limiting (not-started)
4. ○ Write integration tests (not-started)

Now starting with the first task...
[calls manage_todo_list to mark #1 as in-progress]

The widget displays above your editor:

 Todo List — 0/4 completed
  ◉ 1. Design API endpoints
  ○ 2. Implement authentication middleware
  ○ 3. Add rate limiting
  ○ 4. Write integration tests

User commands

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | /todos | Show completion stats and refresh widget | | /todos clear | Clear entire todo list |

How It Works

State Management:

• In-memory state per session via TodoStateManager
• Persists via details field in tool results
• Auto-reconstructs on session events (start/switch/fork/tree)

Widget:

• Read-only display with progress stats
• Icons, colors, and strikethrough for visual clarity
• Updates after every manage_todo_list call

Tool Rendering:

• renderCall: Shows operation type and item count
• renderResult: Expandable view with status breakdown

Comparison to Copilot

| Feature | Copilot | pi-manage-todo-list | |---------|---------|---------------------| | Tool Schema | Identical | ✓ | | Multiple in-progress | Allowed | ✓ | | Small list warning | Yes (<3 items) | ✓ | | LLM Workflow | Basic | Enhanced with continuation instructions | | Progress Stats | Not in response | ✓ Shows X/Y completed | | UI Visibility | None | Live widget | | Persistence | Conversation only | Session file + tool details | | Visual Feedback | Text only | Themed icons + colors | | User Control | None | /todos commands |

Development

TypeScript check:

npx tsc --noEmit

Test with Pi:

pi -e ./src/index.ts --print "create 3 todos: review code, write tests, deploy"

Project Structure

src/
  types.ts          # TodoItem, TodoDetails, TodoStatus
  state-manager.ts  # In-memory state + validation
  tool.ts           # manage_todo_list tool definition
  ui/
    todo-widget.ts  # Read-only widget above editor
  index.ts          # Extension entry point

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for version history and release notes.

License

MIT (see LICENSE)

Author

tintinweb