Pi Coding Agent is a terminal program, installed through npm or an installer script, that gives an AI model read, edit and shell access while you work inside a project folder. You will finish with a verified installation, one connected provider, a read-only smoke test on a fresh branch, and project settings that select your models and reusable commands.

As of October 31, 2026, the machine used for this guide runs Pi 1.4.0, matching npm’s latest tag, with Node v22.23.1 on Apple silicon macOS. You need Git, a terminal and one supported model provider through a subscription, an API key or a local model. For the npm route, you also need Node 22.19 or newer.

You will move from a bare install to a setup you can review: an operational AGENTS.md, a project-local .pi/settings.json, and one deliberately small edit. The newsroom’s daily configuration supplies the examples for command loading, model selection and session storage.

Your working folder determines what Pi discovers. It does not confine filesystem access. Before you give a model shell access, you need to understand which configuration loads, where credentials live, and what your first diff should contain.

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Editor-in-Chief and founder of Implicator.ai. Former ARD correspondent and senior broadcast journalist with 10+ years covering tech. Writes daily briefings on policy and market developments. Based in San Francisco. E-mail: editor@implicator.ai