pi-live-jobs0.2.0

pi-live-jobs

A small live panel above the pi editor that answers one question while you work:

what did this session set running — the scripts pi started, and the systemd units and timers it started or invoked?

⚙ jobs 1 script · 1 unit  ctrl+shift+j

Press the shortcut (or run /jobs) to expand it:

⚙ jobs 3 scripts · 2 units · 1 timer · this session  ctrl+shift+j
  scripts
    ● 12s  npm run dev
      ● 12s  node bin/dev.js
    ↗ 4m   python3 worker.py · detached
  user units
    ● hdmi-autoconfig.service
    ● mc-chat-bridge.service
  timers
    ◷ marketpulse-scan.timer · in 12m

Units, timers and jobs are session-scoped: a row appears only when this session started the unit or named it on a command line. A unit that was already running when the session began — started at boot, or left behind by an earlier session — stays hidden, so the panel never mixes your sessions together. JOBS_UNIT_SCOPE widens that if you do want machine-wide state.

The collapsed form is one line and sits next to pi-subagents' widget instead of fighting it for the same space: both use setWidget(..., { placement: "aboveEditor" }) with their own widget key (jobs here, agents there), so collapsing or expanding one never moves the other.

What it shows

Section	Source	Notes
scripts	/proc	Live descendants of the pi process: tool commands, MCP servers, the servers and scripts you started. A bash -lc "…" wrapper with a single child is collapsed into that child, and absolute program paths are shortened to the program name.
↗ … detached	remembered pids, PI_SESSION_ID	A process pi started that outlived its parent (nohup … &). Recognised either by remembering the pid and start time (a reused pid is never shown as the old job) or by the session id in its environment, so a job that detached before the first poll is still found.
user units / system units	systemctl	Only units this session touched: one whose activation stamp (ActiveEnterTimestampMonotonic) falls inside the session, or one the session named on a command line (systemctl start …, systemd-run --unit=…, or an explicit foo.service / foo.timer token). Distribution units stay out either way.
timers	systemctl list-timers	Same session filter as the units, with the next elapse.
jobs	systemctl list-jobs	Queued/running jobs (start, stop, …) for units this session asked for. Usually empty.

A process must have lived for JOBS_MIN_AGE_MS (default 400 ms) to get a row, so one-line commands do not flicker through the panel. The expanded panel is capped at 13 lines; the header counts still say what did not fit, and the sections are ordered by how quickly they change.

What it does not do

Read-only. It polls /proc and asks systemctl for state; it never starts, stops, signals or kills anything. There is no CPU/memory accounting, no history, and no remote host support — this is a glance, not a process manager.

Every poll is independent and failures are swallowed: no systemd, a permission error or a missing /proc entry simply means an empty section. The panel never interrupts a session.

Install

pi install npm:pi-live-jobs        # after the npm release
pi install git:github.com/FurBlood344324/pi-live-jobs
pi install ./pi-live-jobs          # local checkout

Try it for one run without installing:

pi -e ./pi-live-jobs

Remove with pi remove <source>; reload running sessions with /reload.

Usage

Action	How
Expand / collapse	ctrl+shift+j (configurable) or /jobs
Keep the panel visible while idle	/jobs on
Hide it	/jobs off
Force a refresh + counts	/jobs refresh
One-line status (no widget)	/jobs status

The widget disappears on its own when nothing is active; the expand/collapse choice is remembered for the session. Polling runs every 3 s for the process tree and every 8 s for systemd state.

Configuration

All optional, via environment variables:

Variable	Default	Meaning
JOBS_KEY	ctrl+shift+j	Toggle shortcut. Any pi key id (alt+j, ctrl+shift+u, …).
JOBS_MIN_AGE_MS	400	Minimum process age before it gets a row.
JOBS_UNIT_SCOPE	session	session = only units this session started or named · owner = every active unit whose file lives in your own systemd config · all = every active unit.
JOBS_SYSTEM	1	Include system-scope units from /etc/systemd/system. 0 = user scope only.
JOBS_ALL_UNITS	0	Legacy alias for JOBS_UNIT_SCOPE=all.

JOBS_KEY=alt+j pi

Compatibility

• Linux only (reads /proc and calls systemctl). On other platforms the extension loads and stays inert rather than erroring.
• pi-subagents: separate widget key and the same aboveEditor placement, so both widgets stack. No status-bar key is shared.
• No new transcript entries, no tool changes, no model context; the panel is pure UI.
• systemd ≥ 250 reports timers with their next elapse; older versions fall back to the plain table, so timer rows show names only.
• Developed and tested against pi 1.4.0 (@earendil-works/pi-coding-agent, @earendil-works/pi-tui). Both are peer dependencies supplied by pi and deliberately not bundled.

Development

bun test                           # parsing, ownership and session filter, layout (30 tests)
bun test/live.ts                   # real machine smoke check (spawns a sleep, prints the panel)
bunx tsc --noEmit -p tsconfig.json # typecheck against pi's real types

node_modules/@earendil-works/* in this checkout are symlinks to a local pi install; they are gitignored and only exist for typecheck/tests.

Release

Publishing runs in GitHub Actions with OIDC trusted publishing — no npm token is stored anywhere. A v* tag is the only trigger:

npm version patch --no-git-tag-version   # bump package.json
git commit -am "0.1.1"
git push
git tag v0.1.1 && git push origin v0.1.1  # ← publishes

The workflow (.github/workflows/publish.yml) fails if the tag and package.json version disagree, runs bun install && bun test, then publishes with provenance. Pre-release versions (-rc.1) go to the next dist-tag.

The first release of a new package name still needs one authenticated publish (or an npm trust github pi-live-jobs --repo FurBlood344324/pi-live-jobs --file publish.yml --allow-publish after that publish). After the trusted publisher is registered, tags are enough.

License

MIT