omp-pulse

One line of transcript status in the omp TUI, refreshed on a timer while a turn is running.

The strip reads the session branch omp already keeps and asks omp's smol model role (modelRoles.smol) for a single line. By default it paints that line once, with setWidget (belowEditor). It does not send a prompt, steer, follow-up, or aside into the live turn.

+--------------------------------------------------------------+
|  editor                                                      |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| pulse · editing the status strip                             |  widget, belowEditor (default)
| git · model · ctx                                            |  native statusline
+--------------------------------------------------------------+

belowEditor sits above omp's native statusline. A slot under that statusline is still open upstream (oh-my-pi #11100). setFooter and setHeader are no-ops (oh-my-pi #13473), so this extension does not call them.

surface: "both" paints the same pulse · … line with setWidget and setStatus, so the strip shows up twice. That mode stays available for anyone who wants both chrome slots, and it is usually the wrong setting for a live smoke test. The default is widget, which leaves the native statusline for git, model, and context.

On turn start the line is a local extract of progress since the latest user message: what is done, what is in flight, and what is next. It summarizes the turn, so a string of tool calls does not collapse to the last file or command. Vague lines with no object, such as "Running checks", "Running tests", "Running todo", or "Working", are discarded. A generic Running phase with no command or path does not become the strip; smol rolls the turn up instead. So are lines that stop mid-word, mid-phrase, or mid-clause (a cut that ends on a hanging word), lines that answer with Yes, No, Sure, or Okay, lines that paraphrase the topic (advice or draft content), and lines that are only the latest decision or assistant clause. Smol is instructed to write one finished whole-turn rollup and to rewrite a shorter line instead of cutting one off. The line that remains is a rollup of the whole turn: the goal, the phase, what is done, what is in flight, and what is next. It stays glanceable, within 60 characters, and is rewritten shorter when it does not fit. It is never cut off with an ellipsis. A blocker still surfaces when the latest real step failed. That extract, and the tail sent to the model, leave out the opening user message, so the line does not restate the prompt. Smol rewrites it on the timer (default 7 minutes) and again when the turn ends, if that progress changed. /pulse refreshes on demand.

The in-flight token stream is not on the branch until omp records the message. The strip summarizes persisted session messages, not a second queue.

Install

omp plugin install omp-pulse

From a checkout:

omp plugin link /path/to/omp-pulse

Requires Node 20 or newer and omp with managed timers (ctx.setInterval, omp 18.1 or newer). On an older omp the extension falls back to a raw timer.

Config

Optional file at ~/.omp/agent/omp-pulse/config.json. Environment variables override the file. With neither, the extension resolves omp's smol role (ctx.models.resolve("@smol"), which reads modelRoles.smol) and completes through @oh-my-pi/pi-ai's completeSimple. The API key comes from ctx.modelRegistry.getApiKey. If smol is unresolved, the call fails, or the line is empty, vague, truncated, an answer, a topic paraphrase, or only the latest decision, the strip keeps the local extract.

{
  "intervalMs": 420000,
  "refreshWhileIdle": false,
  "surface": "widget",
  "placement": "belowEditor",
  "maxTranscriptChars": 8000,
  "provider": {
    "timeoutMs": 15000
  }
}

Key	Default	Meaning
intervalMs	420000 (7 min)	Model refresh while a turn is running. Clamped to 1 to 30 minutes. Use 300000 to 600000 for the 5 to 10 minute range.
refreshWhileIdle	false	Also run the model refresh when no turn is active, if the transcript changed.
surface	widget	widget (setWidget only; default), status (setStatus only), or both (same line in both slots, so the strip appears twice; usually wrong for smoke).
placement	belowEditor	aboveEditor or belowEditor.
maxTranscriptChars	8000	Tail of the branch sent to smol.
provider.baseUrl	empty	Leave empty to use omp smol. Set an http(s) URL only to opt into a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint. The extension then POSTs {baseUrl}/chat/completions.
provider.model	empty	Model name for that opt-in endpoint. Ignored when baseUrl is empty.
provider.apiKey	empty	Sent as Authorization: Bearer on the opt-in endpoint when set. Smol uses omp's own credential via modelRegistry.
provider.timeoutMs	15000	Smol or override request timeout.

Environment overrides:

Variable	Overrides
OMP_PULSE_INTERVAL_MS	intervalMs
OMP_PULSE_IDLE	refreshWhileIdle (true/1 or false/0)
OMP_PULSE_SURFACE	surface
OMP_PULSE_PLACEMENT	placement
OMP_PULSE_MAX_CHARS	maxTranscriptChars
OMP_PULSE_BASE_URL	provider.baseUrl
OMP_PULSE_MODEL	provider.model
OMP_PULSE_API_KEY	provider.apiKey
OMP_PULSE_TIMEOUT_MS	provider.timeoutMs
OMP_PULSE_SHOW_VERSION	When 1 or true, the strip is pulse · <version> · <body>. The version is read from package.json. The body budget shrinks so the row stays within 60 characters.

/pulse always includes that version in its notice (omp-pulse <version> · <line>), even when OMP_PULSE_SHOW_VERSION is off.

Smol

Configure the cheap model on omp itself, under modelRoles.smol (and the credentials omp already stores for that provider). omp-pulse does not pick a model id and does not call a localhost chat endpoint.

A config copied from 0.1.3 that still sets provider.baseUrl and provider.model opts out of smol. Remove those two keys to use smol again.

Opt-in OpenAI-compatible endpoint

This is off unless you set both a base URL and a model. It is not the default, and it is separate from the key omp uses for the live turn.

export OMP_PULSE_BASE_URL=https://api.openai.com/v1
export OMP_PULSE_MODEL=gpt-4.1-nano
export OMP_PULSE_API_KEY=sk-...

Use the same base URL shape you would pass to an OpenAI client (.../v1, not the bare host).

Does not join the live turn

omp-pulse never calls prompt, steer, followUp, aside delivery, or sendUserMessage. A timer tick reads ctx.sessionManager.getBranch(), asks smol for one line, and writes that line into chrome.

/pulse does the same refresh when you ask. The command does not enqueue work on the agent.

Typing Status? into the omp prompt is a different path. That text joins the live turn. This strip exists so you do not have to do that.

Develop

npm install
npm test
npm run typecheck

npm test and npm run typecheck are the smoke check. A live omp TUI session is not part of that check.

Publish

The package name on npm is omp-pulse. GitHub Actions publishes it with npm Trusted Publishing (OIDC). The workflow authenticates with the job's OIDC token. There is no npm token in repository secrets.

1. Bump version in package.json (semver).
2. Commit that change on main: chore: release vX.Y.Z.
3. Tag and push. The tag must match the package.json version, with a leading v:

git tag vX.Y.Z && git push origin vX.Y.Z

4. .github/workflows/publish.yml checks out that tag on a GitHub-hosted runner, installs dependencies, runs npm test and npm run typecheck, then runs npm publish --access public. Authentication is the workflow's OIDC token. Provenance is attached automatically.
5. Fleet and installers:

omp plugin install omp-pulse

omp plugin install omp-pulse@latest follows the newest release. Pin a release with omp plugin install omp-pulse@X.Y.Z. Re-run install to move a machine; there is no separate update command.

6. Before the first tag publish succeeds, an operator adds a Trusted Publisher on npmjs.com (package settings → Trusted Publisher):

   • Provider: GitHub Actions
   • Repository: joshuaswarren/omp-pulse
   • Workflow filename: publish.yml (the filename only, not .github/workflows/publish.yml)
   • Allowed action: direct npm publish

Publishers created after 3 Sep 2026 default to staged publish (npm stage publish) only. This workflow calls npm publish, so the publisher has to allow that action. npm does not check the configuration when you save it; a mismatch shows up as ENEEDAUTH or E404 on the first publish.

Pushing the v* tag is how a release is cut. Publishing a GitHub Release starts the same workflow. If that release points at a tag whose version is already on npm, the second run fails because npm rejects the duplicate version.

The pi.extensions field points at ./src/index.ts, which is the layout omp loads for omp plugin install.