pi-scout

A source-distributed Pi package for registering local reference codebases for agent exploration.

[!WARNING] Pi packages can execute arbitrary code through extensions. Review package source before installing any third-party Pi package.

Features

• /scout slash command with a simple TUI flow for registering, listing, and removing reference repositories.
• scout_add tool for cloning a Git repository into a local temporary cache.
• scout_rm tool for agent-driven removal once repositories exist.
• Compact per-turn system prompt guidance with registered repo names and local clone paths.
• Automatic pruning: if the OS cleans a temporary clone, Pi Scout removes that stale entry before adding prompt context.

Registered repositories are cloned under /tmp/pi-scout/<name>-<id> on Unix-like systems, or the OS temp directory on Windows. Set PI_SCOUT_TMPDIR to override the parent temp directory. Pi Scout uses shallow clones with depth 1 by default because it is for code exploration, not history exploration. Pi Scout keeps records in Pi's agent directory and reuses them across sessions while the cloned directories still exist.

Installation

Install from npm:

pi install npm:pi-scout

Install project-locally with Pi's -l flag:

pi install -l npm:pi-scout

During local development from this monorepo:

pi install /path/to/pi-mono/packages/pi-scout

For a one-off test run without installing:

pi -e /path/to/pi-mono/packages/pi-scout --print "list your tools"

This is an npm-compatible TypeScript Pi package. There is no runtime build step.

Configuration

| Variable | Purpose | |---|---| | PI_SCOUT_TMPDIR | Overrides the parent directory for temporary clones. | | PI_OFFLINE=1 | Disables install/update telemetry. | | PI_TELEMETRY=0 | Disables install/update telemetry. |

Quick usage

Open the Pi Scout menu:

/scout

Register a repository directly with a Git URL/path or GitHub shorthand:

/scout https://github.com/owner/repo.git
/scout owner/repo

Ask the agent to register one:

Register https://github.com/owner/repo.git with Pi Scout, then inspect how it implements feature flags.

After a repository is registered, the agent sees its local path in the system prompt and can inspect it with local file tools.

Tools

| Tool | Purpose | |---|---| | scout_add | Clone and register a Git repository as a local reference codebase. Takes only source: Git URL, local path, or GitHub owner/repo shorthand. | | scout_rm | Remove a repository from Pi Scout records, optionally deleting the temporary clone. Available to the model only while repos are registered. |

Notes

• On startup, Pi Scout sends a best-effort install/update telemetry ping once per package version unless Pi telemetry is disabled, offline mode is enabled, or Pi runs in CI.
• Pi Scout uses local file access for exploration. It does not provide web search or remote content-fetching tools.
• Registering a Git URL still uses git clone, so Git may contact the configured remote.
• Registered repositories are intended as read-only references unless the user explicitly asks otherwise.
• The system prompt includes only registered repo names and local paths, not origin URLs or branch metadata.

Development

npm install
npm run check
npm run pack:dry-run