pi-terse-tools

Compress every pi tool call into a tight two-line block: intent on line 1, result summary on line 2.

edit  confirm reasoning renders during the call
  +6/-3 src/index.ts
bash  run the typecheck
  ✓ npx tsc --noEmit
read  check the model registry
  24 lines docs/models.md

Expand any block with C-o to see the full output, diff, or written content.

Install

pi install npm:pi-terse-tools

Or try it for one run:

pi -e npm:pi-terse-tools

What it does

Pi's default tool output is verbose and fills the transcript. This extension re-renders the seven built-in tools (read, write, edit, bash, grep, find, ls) as compact two-line blocks:

• Line 1 — tool name + a one-sentence reasoning the model provides (the why, not the what).
• Line 2 — a colored result summary (✓ / ✗ exit N / lines / matches / diff counts) + the target (path, command, pattern).

The native tool background and padding are preserved, so success (green ✓) and error (red ✗) states still read at a glance. Long lines truncate cleanly with an ellipsis while keeping the leading summary visible.

Reasoning parameter

Each tool gets a required reasoning string parameter. The model states the call's purpose in one sentence using your conversation language. Simple calls may pass an empty string; the block then falls back to showing the target on line 1. The reasoning is stripped before execution, so it never reaches the underlying tool.

Acknowledgements

Inspired by pi-tidy-tools by Mikey O'Brien. This is an independent, minimal reimplementation focused on output compression.

License

MIT