Interactive Mode

Using Pi in interactive mode with commands and keyboard shortcuts

Interactive Mode

Pi’s interactive mode provides a powerful terminal interface for working with AI agents. The interface consists of four main areas: startup header, message history, input editor, and status footer.

Interface Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Startup Header                                     │ Shows shortcuts, loaded context files, skills
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                     │
│  Messages                                           │ Conversation history, tool calls, results
│                                                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Editor                                             │ Input prompt area (border color = thinking)
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Footer                                             │ Working dir, session, tokens, cost, model
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Starting Interactive Mode

# Basic interactive mode
pi

# With initial prompt
pi "List all TypeScript files in src/"

# Continue previous session
pi -c

# Resume from session selector
pi -r

# With specific model
pi --model anthropic/claude-sonnet-4

# With thinking level
pi --thinking high "Solve this complex problem"

Editor Features

1. File References

   Type @ to open a fuzzy search for project files. Navigate with arrow keys and press Enter to insert the file path.

   @src/core/agent.ts  # References the file
   
2. Path Completion

   Press Tab to autocomplete file paths as you type.

3. Multi-line Input

   Press Shift+Enter (or Ctrl+Enter on Windows Terminal) to add newlines without submitting.

4. Image Input

   • Ctrl+V: Paste images from clipboard
   • Drag & Drop: Drag image files onto the terminal
5. Bash Commands

   Execute bash commands directly from the editor:

   • !command - Runs command and sends output to the LLM
   • !!command - Runs command without sending output

   !git status          # Sends git status to LLM
   !!npm install        # Runs silently
   

Built-in Commands

Type / in the editor to trigger commands:

Authentication & Models

Command	Description
/login	OAuth authentication for providers
/logout	Sign out from OAuth providers
/model	Open model selector
/scoped-models	Enable/disable models for Ctrl+P cycling

Session Management

Command	Description
/resume	Browse and select from previous sessions
/new	Start a new session
/name <name>	Set display name for current session
/session	Show session info (path, tokens, cost)
/tree	Navigate session tree and branch points
/fork	Create new session from current branch
/compact [prompt]	Manually compact context with optional instructions

Export & Sharing

Command	Description
/copy	Copy last assistant message to clipboard
/export [file]	Export session to HTML file
/share	Upload as private GitHub gist with shareable link

Configuration

Command	Description
/settings	Open settings UI (thinking level, theme, message delivery)
/reload	Reload extensions, skills, prompts (themes auto-reload)
/hotkeys	Display all keyboard shortcuts
/changelog	Show version history

Exit

Command	Description
/quit, /exit	Exit Pi

Keyboard Shortcuts

Press /hotkeys to see all shortcuts. Customize in ~/.pi/agent/keybindings.json.

Essential Shortcuts

General

Key	Action
Ctrl+C	Clear editor
Ctrl+C (twice)	Quit Pi
Escape	Cancel/abort current operation
Escape (twice)	Open session tree
Ctrl+D	Exit Pi
Ctrl+Z	Suspend (returns to shell)

Models & Thinking

Key	Action
Ctrl+L	Open model selector
Ctrl+P	Cycle to next scoped model
Shift+Ctrl+P	Cycle to previous scoped model
Shift+Tab	Cycle thinking level (off → minimal → low → medium → high → xhigh)

Display

Key	Action
Ctrl+O	Collapse/expand tool output
Ctrl+T	Collapse/expand thinking blocks

Editor

Key	Action
Ctrl+G	Open external editor (uses $VISUAL or$EDITOR)
Ctrl+V	Paste image from clipboard
Shift+Enter	New line (Ctrl+Enter on Windows Terminal)
Tab	Path completion

Advanced Keyboard Shortcuts

For full editing shortcuts (delete word, undo, etc.), see the keybindings documentation.

Message Queue

Send messages while the agent is working:

1. Steering Messages

   Press Enter to queue a steering message. It’s delivered after the current tool execution, interrupting remaining tools.

   Use this to redirect the agent mid-turn:

   > Agent is running bash commands...
   > You type: "Actually, use Python instead"
   > Press Enter
   > Agent stops after current command and receives your message
   
2. Follow-up Messages

   Press Alt+Enter to queue a follow-up message. It’s delivered only after all work is complete.

   Use this for new requests:

   > Agent is working...
   > You type: "Also check the test coverage"
   > Press Alt+Enter
   > Agent finishes current work, then receives your message
   
3. Managing Queued Messages

   • Escape: Abort and restore queued messages to editor
   • Alt+Up: Retrieve queued messages back to editor

Queue Configuration

In /settings or ~/.pi/agent/settings.json:

{
  "steeringMode": "one-at-a-time",  // or "all"
  "followUpMode": "one-at-a-time",  // or "all"
  "transport": "auto"                // or "sse" or "websocket"
}

• one-at-a-time (default): Waits for response between messages
• all: Delivers all queued messages at once
• transport: Connection type for providers with multiple options

Session Tree Navigation

Press Escape twice or use /tree to navigate your conversation history:

┌─ Session Tree ────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. User: Initial request               [main]    │
│ 2. Assistant: Response                           │
│ 3. User: Follow-up question                      │
│ 4. Assistant: Response                           │
│ └─ 5. User: Alternative question      [branch-1] │ <- Select to continue here
│    6. Assistant: Response                        │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Tree Controls

• Type: Search/filter messages
• ←/→: Page through results
• Ctrl+O: Toggle filter modes (default → no-tools → user-only → labeled → all)
• L: Label entry as bookmark
• Enter: Continue from selected point

Example Workflows

Starting a New Project

# Start Pi with high thinking for planning
pi --thinking high

# In Pi:
> "Create a new TypeScript library for parsing markdown"
> Agent creates files...
> /tree  # Review what was created
> /name markdown-parser
> /session  # Check session location and stats

Continuing Work

# Resume previous session
pi -c

# Or select from list
pi -r

# In Pi:
> "Continue implementing the parser"
> /model  # Switch to faster model for iteration
> Ctrl+P  # Cycle between configured models

Branching for Experiments

# In Pi:
> "Let's try a different approach"
> /fork  # Creates new session from current point
> Agent continues in new branch
> /export experiment.html  # Save for later review

Tips & Tricks

Use Ctrl+P for quick model switching. Configure your favorite models with --models flag:

pi --models "claude-sonnet-4,claude-haiku,gpt-4o"

Paste large code blocks. Pi automatically detects large pastes and offers to collapse them to save tokens.

Label important points in /tree view with the L key to create bookmarks for easy navigation.

Use thinking levels strategically:

• off/minimal: Quick tasks, file operations
• medium: Standard coding tasks
• high/xhigh: Complex debugging, architecture decisions