A desktop shell that treats your coding agent like a coworker, not a chat log

What it does

pi-gui is a desktop app for the pi coding agent — not a new agent, just a serious front end for the existing one. Each task runs in its own thread, optionally isolated in a separate git worktree, so you can run several agents side by side without them trampling each other. A Review tab shows exactly what the agent changed, a real terminal runs your tests, and everything stays in one window.

The interesting bit

It refuses to own your data: pi-gui reads and writes pi’s own session files (JSONL transcripts on disk) rather than keeping a duplicate store, so anything you set up with the pi CLI — sessions, credentials, skills — carries straight over. The Electron boundary is also unusually disciplined: the renderer gets no broad Node access, only a typed IPC surface through a narrow preload bridge.

Key highlights

• Parallel agent threads, each in its own checkout or git worktree, with pinning, grouping and archiving
• Review tab for diffs — uncommitted work, branch vs base, or a single turn — with file-by-file staging
• Fork or rewind a thread from any message; agents can even start and message other threads
• Scheduled tasks (e.g. a weekly dependency check) while the app is open
• Any provider via OAuth, API key or custom endpoint; model and thinking level chosen per thread

Caveats

• Windows builds are not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen will ask you to confirm
• Scheduled tasks only run while the app is open
• Native computer use is not built in — that lives in a separate MCP server

Verdict

If you already use (or are curious about) the pi agent runtime and want to supervise multiple agents with real diffs and a real terminal, this is the front end pi deserved. If you’re on a different agent platform, it’s not a bridge — it’s pi-only by design.