@luan.sh/pi-skills  

@luan.sh/pi-skills adds a skill tool to Pi. The tool loads a skill's SKILL.md into the conversation by exact name, so the model can pull in detailed instructions only when a task needs them. The package also lists available skills in the developer prompt, autocompletes $skill references in the editor, and shows loaded skills as compact rows in the transcript.

Preview

Watch the demo.

Install

pi install npm:@luan.sh/pi-skills

Optional companions:

• pi install npm:@luan.sh/pi-xsettings adds the /xsettings editor for the setting listed below; without it the default applies.
• pi install npm:@luan.sh/pi-developer-messages renders the skill catalogue into the developer prompt; without it the catalogue contribution is registered but nothing displays it.
• pi install npm:@luan.sh/pi-custom-editor renders known $skill references in the editor as pills; without it they stay plain text while typing.

How skills are discovered

At session start the package builds a map of skill name to SKILL.md path from three sources, first match per name wins:

1. Skills Pi has already loaded. Pi exposes each as a command named skill:<name> with source skill; the suffix becomes the tool name.
2. .pi/skills/ under the current directory, only when the project is trusted.
3. .agents/skills/ in the current directory and every ancestor up to the first directory containing .git (or the filesystem root). Each .agents/skills/ tree is walked recursively; a directory containing SKILL.md is a skill. Hidden entries and node_modules are skipped; symlinked directories are followed once. Only SKILL.md files count here, not loose Markdown files.

The tool cannot load a skill by arbitrary path. If the name is not in the map, the call fails with Unknown skill "<name>".

Load a skill

Call the tool with the exact name:

{ "name": "writing-for-agents" }

The tool reads the SKILL.md, removes YAML frontmatter, and sends the body to Pi as a steering message with custom type @luan.sh/pi-skills/loaded:

<skill>
<name>writing-for-agents</name>
<path>/absolute/path/to/SKILL.md</path>
<!-- SKILL.md body without frontmatter -->
</skill>

That message reaches the model as user context and stays in the session history, so later turns can follow it without loading the skill again. The tool result itself is the one-line text Loaded skill "<name>". plus a details object (version: 1) with name, requestedName, filePath, directory, hasSupportingFiles, supportingFiles, supportingFilesTruncated, frontmatterRemoved, sourceChars, loadedChars, loadedTokens, and instructions.

Frontmatter

If SKILL.md starts with ---, everything up to and including the next line beginning with --- is dropped. A file with an opening delimiter but no closing one is sent unchanged.

Supporting files

The loader walks the skill directory recursively and records relative paths of every file except SKILL.md and agents/openai.yaml. At most 256 paths are recorded; supportingFilesTruncated is true when more exist. File contents are never read or appended.

When at least one supporting file exists, the body ends with:

Skill directory: /absolute/path/to/skill

The line is omitted when SKILL.md is alone or when agents/openai.yaml is the only companion. Use the directory to open scripts, assets, or references yourself.

Codemode

Pi 0.99's built-in codemode calls the registered skill tool with tools.skill({ name }). Both direct and nested calls deliver the loaded instructions through the same contextual message.

Prompt catalogue

When skills exist that Pi allows the model to invoke, the package contributes a <skills_instructions> block (priority 50) listing each skill's name and description, plus short rules: use the smallest set of skills, call tools.skill with the exact name inside codemode before acting, load only the supporting files the task needs. Skill filesystem paths are never included. Skills flagged disableModelInvocation are omitted.

Settings

Namespace @luan.sh/pi-skills. Edited via /xsettings when @luan.sh/pi-xsettings is installed; otherwise the default applies.

Key	Default	Meaning
catalogVisibility	when-active	when-active: include the catalogue when skill or codemode is an active tool. always: include it in every prompt. off: never include it.

Transcript rendering

The steering message is hidden from the transcript. The tool call renders as a single row: a lightbulb marker, Skill, the skill name, and an estimated token count (123 tokens or 1.2k tokens). Expanding the row shows the loaded body as Markdown; collapsing hides it again. Failures render as Skill failed with the error text.

In submitted user messages, $name tokens that match a discovered skill are drawn as pills labelled with the skill's display name. References inside inline or fenced Markdown code stay literal. Pills are painted before native selection and overlays, so opening another UI does not remove their colors.

Editor autocomplete

Type $ at the start of the input or after whitespace to list discovered skills; continue typing to filter by substring, case-insensitive. Accepting a suggestion replaces the $query token with $name and keeps any text after the cursor. Each item shows the skill description in muted text when the skill has one.

Pill labels come from interface.display_name in the skill's agents/openai.yaml when present (plain or quoted scalars only), otherwise the skill name. A missing or unreadable file never prevents loading.

This package registers no keyboard actions.

Layout

Responsibility	File
Pi registration and lifecycle	src/extension.ts
Skill discovery, frontmatter, supporting files, display names	src/skills.ts
skill tool schema, execution, and result details	src/tools/skill/definition.ts
Transcript row rendering	src/tools/skill/presentation.ts
Steering message wrapper	src/loaded-skill-context.ts
Developer prompt catalogue	src/prompt.ts
Settings declaration	src/contributions/xsettings.ts
Optional editor pills	src/contributions/editor-highlights.ts
$skill autocomplete	src/ui/autocomplete.ts
Transcript pills for user messages	src/ui/transcript-skills.ts
Public exports	src/index.ts

Troubleshooting

• Unknown skill: the name must match a skill:<name> command or a discovered SKILL.md exactly, including case and punctuation.
• No catalogue in the prompt: check catalogVisibility, make sure skill or codemode is active when it is when-active, and install @luan.sh/pi-developer-messages.
• Loaded text not visible: expand the skill row; the text is already in model context.

Develop

Source: https://github.com/luan/agents, directory harnesses/pi/agent/packages/pi-skills. Run bun run typecheck and bun test test in that directory.