pi Desktop is a desktop app for the Pi coding agent. It is not a separate agent: it runs the pi SDK in a background worker and reads the same files as the terminal CLI (sessions, model logins, settings, and installed extensions), so sessions started in the terminal appear in the sidebar and either client can continue them.
The app adds a graphical layer around each agent turn. Tool calls stream into a timeline as steps (thinking, commands, reads, edits), a Review panel shows the Git diff for the turn, the session, or the whole working tree, and side panels show the session tree, run state, and context window usage. A built-in terminal, a branch picker, and a usage report of tokens and cost across every pi session on the machine sit alongside the chat.
Each session runs in its own worker, so several sessions can work in parallel. The main process routes requests from the renderer to the worker that owns a session, and the worker runs the pi SDK on the local machine or inside a WSL distribution on Windows. Extensions installed for terminal pi load unchanged, with their dialogs, tool cards, and commands mapped to native UI by declarative adapters (36 ship built in).
pi Remote, an Android companion app, connects to the desktop app over an end-to-end encrypted connection on the local network (or an overlay network such as Tailscale) to follow sessions, answer questions, send prompts, and review changes from a phone. Builds exist for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android.
Features
- Timeline: tool calls stream in as steps that fold into one summary line, with per-edit line counts and a files-changed card at the end of each turn
- Review panel: diffs scoped to the turn, the session, or the Git working tree, with per-hunk staging and line comments sent back into the conversation
- Shared state with terminal pi: sessions, logins, settings, and extensions are read from the same store the CLI uses
- Parallel sessions: one worker per session, with configurable limits on how many idle workers stay alive
- Composer: @ file references, slash commands from pi and its extensions, image and file attachments, and steering or queuing messages while a turn runs
- Built-in terminal: tabs and up to four split panes per tab, with Git Bash, PowerShell, cmd, WSL, zsh, or fish shells
- Branches: search, switch, and create local or remote branches, with stash and restore when changes would be overwritten
- Usage report: tokens and cost by day, hour, model, project, and session across desktop and terminal pi sessions
- Session panels: session tree with rewind and fork, run state, and a per-entry context token breakdown
- Extension adapters: declarative adapters map extension dialogs, tool cards, and panels to native UI
- pi Remote: an Android app that follows and drives desktop sessions over an end-to-end encrypted connection
- Themes: light and dark presets, custom colors, fonts, density, and background images
