By name: extending-pi description: Guide for extending Pi — decide between skills, extensions, prompt templates, themes, context files, or custom models, then create and package them. Use when someone wants to extend Pi, add capabilities, create a skill, build an extension, or make a Pi package.
Extending Pi
Help the user decide what to build and where to find guidance.
What to build
| Goal | Build a… | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Teach Pi a workflow or how to use a tool/API/CLI | Skill | Read skill-creator/SKILL.md for detailed guidance |
| Give Pi a new tool, command, or runtime behavior | Extension | Read Pi docs: docs/extensions.md |
| Reuse a prompt pattern with variables | Prompt template | Read Pi docs: docs/prompt-templates.md |
| Set project-wide coding guidelines | Context file | AGENTS.md in project root or .pi/agent/ — just markdown |
| Change Pi's appearance | Theme | Read Pi docs: docs/themes.md |
| Add a model or provider | Custom model | Read Pi docs: docs/models.md (JSON) or docs/custom-provider.md (extension) |
| Share any of the above | Package | Read Pi docs: docs/packages.md |
Skill vs Extension — the fuzzy boundary
If bash + instructions can do it, prefer a skill (simpler, no code to maintain). If you need event hooks, typed tools, UI components, or policy enforcement, use an extension.
Examples:
- "Pi should know our deploy process" → Skill (workflow instructions)
- "Pi should confirm before
rm -rf" → Extension (event interception) - "Pi should use Brave Search" → Skill (instructions + CLI scripts)
- "Pi should have a structured
db_querytool" → Extension (registerTool)