pi4py

pi4py packages a Python launcher for the @jamwil/pi-coding-agent npm CLI.

@jamwil/pi-coding-agent is a slow fork of @earendil-works/pi-coding-agent.

The primary use for this is to expose a self-contained pi executable that can be used from python using rpc mode.

What it installs

• a pi console script
• nodejs-wheel-binaries as the bundled Node.js runtime
• a build hook that downloads the pinned @jamwil/pi-coding-agent npm package and packages its standalone JavaScript bundle into the Python wheel

Usage

Install the wheel and invoke the console script with pi from the command line or from Python with subprocess.Popen:

import subprocess

process = subprocess.Popen(["pi", "--help"])
process.wait()

To get the absolute path to the Node.js binary installed by nodejs-wheel-binaries in the active virtual environment:

from pi4py import get_node_binary

node = get_node_binary()

You can also print the path directly from the command line:

pi-node-path

The pi entry point launches the bundled @jamwil/pi-coding-agent CLI with the bundled Node.js executable. The standalone @jamwil/pi-coding-agent bundle is downloaded during wheel build / pip install from sdist.

It also routes npm, npx, node, and corepack lookups to bundled shims and isolates npm global installs under PI_CODING_AGENT_DIR/npm-global by default.

Useful environment variables:

• PI4PY_NPM_PREFIX: override the npm global prefix used by launched pi subprocesses
• PI4PY_SKIP_NPM_BUILD: skip the npm build hook for metadata/debug builds only; the resulting package will not run unless a runtime is already present

Updating the pinned pi version

Sync dependencies, then update the pinned npm version:

uv sync --all-extras
uv run python tools/update_pi_version.py --version 0.84.3-dev.1

Building

uv build

Building downloads the pinned @jamwil/pi-coding-agent npm tarball, extracts its dist/standalone bundle into src/pi4py/_vendor/npm_runtime, and includes that small runtime in the wheel.

Testing the bundled wheel

uv run --no-editable pi --version