pi-scout

Give Pi proven codebases to learn from before it changes yours.

pi-scout clones and registers reference repositories, then exposes their local paths to the agent for fast, tool-native exploration across sessions.

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

Features

• Reference-driven coding — let Pi inspect real implementations, conventions, and patterns instead of guessing.
• One-step registration — add Git URLs, local paths, or GitHub owner/repo shorthand from /scout or natural-language requests.
• Fast local exploration — shallow-clone references into a reusable private cache compatible with Pi's normal file tools.
• Cross-session memory — keep registered references available while their cached clones exist.
• Clean context — tell the agent only which references exist and where to inspect them; stale clones are pruned automatically.

Registered repositories are cloned in a private, per-user directory under the OS temp directory (<temp>/pi-scout-<uid> on Unix-like systems). Root and clone permissions are restricted to the current user on Unix. 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. Use Pi 1.1.0 or newer and Node.js >=22.19.0 for the structured tool contracts.

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.

Prompt updates

Pi Scout uses the structured prompt API in Pi 1.1.0 or newer. It owns the scout_repos section and updates that section without replacing the full system prompt or other extensions' sections. When the last reference is removed or its directory disappears, the section is removed on the next prompt.

The section contains only repository names, local paths, and read-only usage guidance. Origin URLs, credentials, branch names, and other record metadata are not included.

A deliberate full-prompt override from another extension (systemPrompt or forceSystemPrompt) takes precedence. Scout does not append to or rewrite that override, so its author controls whether reference context is included. Scout tools remain available according to their normal registration rules.

Pi records section updates in the session transcript. Providers that do not support mid-conversation system changes may require a full prompt checkpoint; this does not guarantee cache savings.

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.

Script results and discovery

Both tools declare output schemas and return objects, not strings, in codemode:

• scout_add: { repo }.
• scout_rm: { removed: repo | null, deletedClone: boolean }.
• repo: { id, name, path, branch?, createdAt, lastSeenAt }. Origin/source metadata is deliberately excluded from text, structured results, and renderer details. Pi still records caller arguments; use Git's credential mechanisms, not credentials embedded in source.

After an explicit registration request:

const { repo } = await tools.scout_add({ source: "owner/repo" });
text({ id: repo.id, path: repo.path });

The namespace is scout; tool names are unchanged. Await describeNamespace("scout"), describeTool("scout_add"), or searchTools("reference repository", { namespace: "scout" }) for discovery, including with zero inline budget. When adding the first reference, start a new codemode call before discovering/calling scout_rm: Pi snapshots the callable tools at script start.

Clone/process/storage failures throw and reject scripted calls. A missing removal target is successful { removed: null, deletedClone: false } data. deletedClone: true means deletion was requested and the removal completed; filesystem errors throw, and state removal may already have happened. These tools do not return a structured success object with isError: true. Human-readable direct results and the /scout menu remain available without codemode.

Both tools run sequentially within Pi's dispatch queue. Await dependent calls; this is not a cross-process transaction. Addition is a non-idempotent local mutation that may contact a Git host. Removal is destructive, non-idempotent (repeated names can match different records), and local-only. These advisory hints do not authorize cloning or deletion; existing approval hooks still run.

No optional deferred/codemode exposure setting is added. Direct activation, CLI exclusions, and conditional removal availability remain in force. Explicit defaultTools: ["-scout_rm"] suppresses automatic removal-tool activation. Manually disabling it is retained across prompts and reload, while repos remain. If the repo set becomes empty and later gains a reference, the normal availability transition can activate it again. Use a CLI exclusion for a lasting prohibition.

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.
• Repository state changes are serialized and persisted with atomic file replacement.
• The system prompt includes only registered repo names and local paths, not origin URLs or branch metadata.

Development

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