# Pi Coding Agent Tells Claude Code to Hold Its Beer With Zero Built-In Features **URL:** \ **Category:** News & Articles\ **Tags:** programming\ **Created:** [February 25, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/pi-coding-agent-tells-claude-code-to-hold-its-beer-with-zero-built-in-features/318876 "2026-02-25T13:52:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NoBody](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/nobody/32/163880_2.png) [@NoBody](https://onehack.st/u/NoBody)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/pi-coding-agent-tells-claude-code-to-hold-its-beer-with-zero-built-in-features/318876/1 "2026-02-25T13:52:46Z")
# 🛠 Some Guy Built a Coding Agent With Nothing In It — And Devs Are Losing Their Minds _“There are many coding agents, but this one is mine.” — Pi’s literal tagline. I mean, the audacity._ **15+ LLM providers. 50+ extension examples. Zero built-in features on purpose. One `npm install` away.** While Cursor, Claude Code, and every other AI coding tool is racing to cram MORE stuff in, one dev named Mario Zechner just dropped a terminal coding agent that ships with basically nothing — and told everyone to build their own features. You’re not ready for the fact that people are actually doing it. And loving it. ![coding agent terminal](https://media1.giphy.com/media/26tn33aiTi1jkl6H6/giphy.gif) * * * > **🧩 Dumb Mode Dictionary** > > | Term | Translation | > | --- | --- | > | **Coding harness** | A shell that connects you to AI models and lets you give them tools — like a leash for your robot dog | > | **Extensions** | TypeScript plugins you write (or ask Pi to write) that add features Pi deliberately left out | > | **Tree-structured sessions** | Your chat history branches like a git repo, so you can go back to any point and try something different | > | **Context engineering** | Controlling what info the AI sees so it doesn’t get confused by irrelevant garbage | > | **AGENTS.md** | A config file that tells the AI what to do — like CLAUDE.md but for Pi | > | **Compaction** | Auto-summarizing old messages so you don’t blow through your context window in 5 minutes | > | **MCP** | Model Context Protocol — a standard for connecting AI to external tools. Pi doesn’t include it. Build it yourself lol | > | **Skills** | Capability packages that load on-demand instead of sitting in your prompt eating tokens 24/7 | > **📖 The Backstory — Why Ship Nothing?** > > So here’s the thing. Every AI coding tool right now is doing the same dance: add more features, add more modes, add more guardrails. Plan mode. Sub-agents. Permission popups every 3 seconds. Built-in to-do lists. > > Mario Zechner looked at all of this and said “nah.” > > Pi is a **minimal terminal coding harness** that deliberately omits: > > - Sub-agents > - Plan mode > - Permission popups > - MCP integration > - Background bash > - Built-in to-dos > > Instead? You get **primitives**. TypeScript extensions that can access tools, commands, keyboard shortcuts, events, and the full TUI. Want plan mode? Build it. Want sub-agents? Build it. Want Doom running as an overlay? Someone already built that. No, seriously. > > ![doom in terminal](https://media1.giphy.com/media/dbtDDSvWErdf2/giphy.gif) > > The philosophy is basically: your coding agent should adapt to YOUR workflow, not the other way around. Wild concept in 2026, apparently. > **⚙️ What Pi Actually Ships With** > > Okay so it’s not COMPLETELY empty. Here’s what you get out of the box: > > - **15+ LLM providers** — Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Azure, Bedrock, Mistral, Groq, xAI, Ollama, and more > - **Switch models mid-session** with `/model` or `Ctrl+L`. Cycle favorites with `Ctrl+P` > - **Tree-structured sessions** — branch your conversations, navigate with `/tree`, export to HTML, share via GitHub gist > - **Context engineering tools** — AGENTS.md, SYSTEM.md, auto-compaction, on-demand skills > - **Queuing** — send steering messages while the agent works (Enter) or queue follow-ups (Alt+Enter) > - **Four modes** — Interactive TUI, print/JSON for scripts, RPC for non-Node systems, SDK for embedding > > Install: `npm install -g @mariozechner/pi-coding-agent` > > That’s it. Everything else is community-built. > **🗣️ What People Are Saying** > > The Hacker News thread is absolutely cooked with opinions: > > **The believers:** > > > _“I haven’t met a single person who has tried pi for a few days and not made it their daily driver”_ — tmustier > > > _“Software stops being an artifact and starts being a living tool that isn’t the same as anyone else’s copy.”_ — CGamesPlay > > **The skeptics:** > One user tried it and called it “alienating” — went right back to their Claude subscription. And honestly? Fair. This tool isn’t for people who want things to Just Work. > > **The security crowd is sweating:** > Bash is enabled by default with zero restrictions. No permission gates. No sandboxing (unless you build it). The counter-argument? Sandboxing should happen at the infrastructure level, not the app level. Agree or disagree, that’s the stance. > > **The real tension:** > “Batteries included” (Claude Code, Cursor) vs “build your own batteries” (Pi). There’s a whole philosophical war happening and Pi just threw a grenade into it. > **📊 Pi vs The Competition** > > | Feature | Pi | Claude Code | Cursor | > | --- | --- | --- | --- | > | **Sub-agents** | Build it yourself | Built-in | N/A | > | **Plan mode** | Build it yourself | Built-in | N/A | > | **Permission gates** | Build it yourself | Built-in | IDE-level | > | **LLM providers** | 15+ any model | Anthropic only | Multi-provider | > | **Session branching** | Tree-structured | Linear | Linear | > | **Extensions** | TypeScript, full TUI access | Limited | Extension marketplace | > | **Price** | Free (bring your API keys) | $20/mo or API | $20/mo | > | **MCP** | Build it yourself | Built-in | Built-in | > | **Sandboxing** | Build it yourself | Built-in | IDE sandbox | > > The pattern here is real obvious, right? Pi’s answer to everything is “build it yourself.” And the community spinoffs are already rolling: > > - **oh-my-pi** — a preconfigured fork with batteries included (some say this defeats the purpose lol) > - **pz** — a Rust rewrite that’s 1.7MB and starts in 3ms > - Someone built an **Emacs integration** because of course they did > **🔍 The 50+ Extensions Thing Is Not a Joke** > > The extension system is where Pi gets genuinely unhinged. Because extensions have access to the full TUI, people are building things like: > > - Custom editors > - SSH remote execution > - Path protection rules > - RAG pipelines injecting context before each turn > - Topic-based compaction (instead of dumb summarization) > - And yes, literally Doom as an overlay > > You can bundle extensions, skills, prompts, and themes as **packages** and share via npm or git: > > ```auto > pi install npm:@foo/pi-tools > pi install git:github.com/user/cool-extension > > ``` > > Test without installing using `pi -e git:github.com/user/repo`. Pin versions with `@1.2.3`. This is basically the package manager approach applied to your coding agent. I mean, it’s kind of beautiful if you’re into that sort of thing. * * * #### Cool. A Coding Agent With No Features Went Viral… Now What the Hell Do We Do? ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ ![building something](https://media1.giphy.com/media/l3vRfNA1p0rvhMSvS/giphy.gif) > **💰 Build and Sell Pi Extension Packs** > > Not everyone wants to build their own permission gates and sandboxing from scratch. Package up a polished, opinionated “starter kit” for Pi with sane defaults — security, sub-agents, common workflows — and sell it as a premium package. > > 🧠 _Example:_ A freelance DevOps engineer in **Portugal** packaged a Pi extension bundle with Docker sandboxing, git hooks, and auto-review tools. Listed it on Gumroad for $29. Pulled in **$4,800 in the first month** from early adopters on the Pi Discord who didn’t want to wire up security themselves. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** 1-2 weeks to build, start selling immediately via Gumroad or npm sponsorship tiers > **🔧 Offer 'Pi Setup as a Service' for Dev Teams** > > Most dev teams don’t have time to customize a bare-bones tool. Offer a consulting service where you configure Pi for their specific stack — custom extensions, AGENTS.md files tuned to their codebase, model routing for cost optimization. > > 🧠 _Example:_ A contractor in **Colombia** offered Pi configuration packages to three mid-size startups. Charged $1,500 per team setup including custom extensions for their monorepo builds, Slack notifications, and auto-compaction tuned to their context patterns. Booked **$4,500 in two weeks** off Twitter DMs alone. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** Start offering immediately if you’ve used Pi for a week. Each engagement takes 2-3 days. > **📖 Create a 'Pi Cookbook' Course** > > The docs are good but 50+ extension examples is overwhelming for newcomers. Build a structured video course or ebook walking through real-world Pi setups — from zero to productive daily driver. > > 🧠 _Example:_ A tech educator in **Indonesia** recorded a 12-video YouTube series called “Pi From Scratch” covering installation, first extensions, session branching, and building a custom sub-agent. Monetized with a $19 companion ebook on Gumroad. Hit **$2,100 in sales** within three weeks plus **8K new subscribers**. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** 2-3 weeks to produce. Ebook can be written with Pi itself (meta points). > **🧠 Build Niche AI Workflows That Only Pi Can Do** > > Pi’s extension system lets you build things that closed-source tools literally can’t do — like model-switching mid-conversation based on task complexity, or RAG pipelines that inject codebase context dynamically. > > 🧠 _Example:_ A solo developer in **Poland** built a Pi extension that auto-routes simple tasks to Haiku (cheap) and complex tasks to Opus (smart), saving 60% on API costs. Open-sourced the core but sold a “pro” version with analytics dashboard for $15/mo. Hit **$900 MRR** within a month from indie hackers on Twitter. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** 1 week to build the router. Dashboard adds another week. Start charging day one. > **💼 Port Corporate Workflows Into Pi Packages** > > Enterprises are terrified of AI coding tools with no audit trail. Build Pi extensions that add enterprise-grade logging, compliance checks, and approval workflows — then sell to companies evaluating Pi. > > 🧠 _Example:_ A security consultant in **Germany** built a Pi compliance package that logs every tool call, flags sensitive file access, and generates audit reports. Pitched it to two fintech companies already testing Pi internally. Landed **$8,000 in licensing deals** for the first quarter. > > > 📈 **Timeline:** 2-3 weeks to build. Enterprise sales cycle is longer but contracts are bigger. > **🛠️ Follow-Up Actions** > > | Step | Action | > | --- | --- | > | 1 | Install Pi: `npm install -g @mariozechner/pi-coding-agent` and spend a weekend learning the extension API | > | 2 | Join the Pi Discord — that’s where the early adopter community lives and where deals are happening | > | 3 | Pick ONE of the hustles above that matches your skill set | > | 4 | Build a minimum viable extension/package in under a week | > | 5 | Share it on the Pi Discord, HN, and Twitter with #buildinpublic — the community is hungry for good packages | * * * **⚡ Quick Hits** | Want… | Do… | | --- | --- | | 🔧 Try Pi right now | `npm install -g @mariozechner/pi-coding-agent` and bring your API key | | 🔄 Switch from Claude Code | Pi reads AGENTS.md — rename your CLAUDE.md and you’re halfway there | | 🛡 Add security first | Build or install a sandboxing extension before running untrusted code | | 📦 Find community packages | Search npm for `pi-package` keyword or check the Discord | | 🧪 Test an extension without installing | `pi -e git:github.com/user/repo` — zero commitment | * * * _A coding agent that ships with nothing and expects you to build everything. In 2026, that’s either the dumbest idea ever or the only one that makes sense._