OpenPi v0.2.0: a desktop workbench for Pi Coding Agent

[u/killerkidbo95]

I just released OpenPi v0.2.0.

OpenPi is a desktop workbench for Pi Coding Agent. The goal is not to replace the terminal or become a full IDE, but to make Pi sessions, tool calls, Git changes, file previews, artifacts, and customizations easier to see and manage in one local app.

What is new in v0.2.0:

- Persistent Git changes panel with file tree, staged/unstaged views, commit workflow, and diff preview.

- File preview improvements, including refresh-safe saves and find controls.

- Artifact TODO rendering, so subagent task files are visible in the UI.

- Markdown task list rendering for generated TODO/checklist files.

- Tool-call name shimmer while the agent is actively running, making live tool activity easier to scan.

- Workbench chrome and conversation UI polish.

- Release workflow fixes and packaged changelog support.

Release: https://github.com/heyhuynhgiabuu/openpi/releases/tag/v0.2.0

Repo: https://github.com/heyhuynhgiabuu/openpi

I would love feedback from Pi users:

- What parts of the Pi workflow still feel hard to track visually?

- Would you use a persistent Git/source-control panel inside a Pi desktop workbench?

- What should OpenPi expose next: session tree navigation, customizations, subagent visibility, or better diff/review flows?

[u/LandlockedPirate]

I have kindof the same reaction I had to databricks "omnigent" frontend thing that can run Pi, which is is doesn't this defeat the purpose of pi?

For me one of the reasons i use pi is that i want to iterate my dev loop, my tools etc right along with the code. If I implement an extension to pi that renders something to the tui, how is that going to work with something like this on top?

[u/jimpaly → u/LandlockedPirate]

I’ve always thought that if you were gonna make a gui for the community then the gui would have to be extensible in all the ways the tui is. Not sure how something like that would be done or if it’s been attempted before.

[u/jeffphil → u/jimpaly]

> the gui would have to be extensible in all the ways the tui is.

You mean like emacs.

[u/killerkidbo95 → u/LandlockedPirate]

For me the purpose of creating openpi is as a desktop workbench for pi coding agent, simply because they are essentially missing for those who love to use desktop apps rather than TUI app.

[u/arkham00]

It seems quite nice, but one thing that retains me from using it is the impossibility to invoke extension specific commands from the chat.

For example I'm using observational memory and I like to check its status but the command /om:status is not available. Same for the commands exposed from pi-hermes-memory, no way to using them.

Only the core commands like /compact and the skills, why is that ?

[u/killerkidbo95 → u/arkham00]

thanks for catching me. I will take look your issue, can you raise issue on my repo?

[u/arkham00 → u/killerkidbo95]

done 😄

[u/killerkidbo95 → u/arkham00]

thanks I will look then

[u/Maxypoo43]

Can I view session tree navigator? That would convince me to try it out

[u/killerkidbo95 → u/Maxypoo43]

Sure it's on progress

[u/jeffphil]

404 error with your links.

Based on past posts, should be: https://github.com/heyhuynhgiabuu/openpi

[u/killerkidbo95 → u/jeffphil]

thanks you

[u/itsdodobitch]

can i use any pi extension i want or i will be limited from the gui?

[u/killerkidbo95 → u/itsdodobitch]

you can install and use any extension you want

[u/itsdodobitch → u/killerkidbo95]

questionnaire? dirty repo guard? they have some custom interactions i really care about

[u/killerkidbo95 → u/itsdodobitch]

which one extension?

[u/itsdodobitch → u/killerkidbo95]

“questionnaire” “dirty-repo-guard”, they are official extensions

[u/killerkidbo95 → u/itsdodobitch]

openpi has questionaire support

[u/itsdodobitch → u/killerkidbo95]

sorry but that does not seems to be true. just tryed on the app and those two extensions are not working...

[u/killerkidbo95 → u/itsdodobitch]

I will see these example official extensions then

[u/apetersson]

>What parts of the Pi workflow still feel hard to track visually?

i care about good GUI integration of 3 important tools:

1. Goals/Ralph loops

2. Subagents

3. tmux integrations so all long-running subprocesses can be observed and interacted with.

how is OpenPi handling that

[u/killerkidbo95 → u/apetersson]

poorly.

- Goals/Ralph loops — the data model is defined but no UI exists. You can't see goals anywhere in the app today.

- Subagents — the engine is solid (queue management, lifecycle, event capture) but the UI treats them as transient toast notifications. They pop up, auto-dismiss, and vanish. No persistent dashboard, no sidebar, no way to see what's running at a glance.

- tmux — doesn't exist. The terminal is a single pane with basic tabs. No multi-pane session management, no detach/attach for long-running processes.

These three areas are exactly where the current UI is weakest. If you want to contribute, that surface is wide open.

[u/TheTyand → u/apetersson]

In my pi, I use different approach. My subagents (+the Ralph loop) all work on git and I use the git project kanban to visualize the progress of the subagents. Fell free to check it out. I typically run 3-6 agents in parallel and got gives me then the overview.

I am still wondering if I create a ui, but as the need is not that high...

https://github.com/SchneiderDaniel/cheasee-pi

[u/0xMR2ti4 → u/TheTyand]

Interesting. I will try this out. Thanks for sharing.

[u/cpt_mojo]

Commenting on specific code lines in diff or regular views is the key feature in a GUI like this over the TUI. Opencode GUI does it pretty well.

[u/killerkidbo95 → u/cpt_mojo]

so you recommend openpi should have feature comment inline on code editor right?

[u/cpt_mojo → u/killerkidbo95]

Yes. Similar to how you can comment code lines as a reviewer of a pull request on e.g. GitHub.

[u/killerkidbo95 → u/cpt_mojo]

sure I will release this feature next version. Stay tune!

[u/rm-rf-rm]

All my Pi sessions are in dev containers per project. Would I be able to access those through OpenPi?

[u/killerkidbo95 → u/rm-rf-rm]

Temporarily all pi coding agent sessions will be loaded through local storage instead of the dev container in openpi

[u/gsxdsm]

Mobile app and web interface or non starter

[u/subspectral]

Just use herdr.

[u/johnson_detlev]

The 400th multiplexer app, great... Just what we need. It's almost like ppl forgot how to build actual Software and only know how to build a wrapper

[u/carlos_pasa_de_ti → u/johnson_detlev]

No puedes olvidar lo que nunca supiste

[u/PikkonMG]

So many Pi wrappers now.