pi-directory-models

pi-directory-models is a pi extension that selects a model from the nearest ancestor .pi/settings.json.

It is meant for setups where different directory trees should automatically use different models or thinking levels.

What it does

On session start, the extension walks up from the current working directory until it reaches your home directory or the filesystem root.

As soon as it finds an ancestor .pi/settings.json with one of these settings, it applies them:

• defaultProvider
• defaultModel
• defaultThinkingLevel

Missing values fall back to your global ~/.pi/agent/settings.json.

Example

Project root:

{
  "defaultProvider": "github-copilot",
  "defaultModel": "gpt-5",
  "defaultThinkingLevel": "medium"
}

Put that in:

/path/to/company-project/.pi/settings.json

Then every pi session started anywhere inside that project tree will switch to that model automatically.

Requirements

• pi with hosted packages under @earendil-works/*
• extension peer deps: @earendil-works/pi-coding-agent and @earendil-works/pi-agent-core

This extension uses the current session lifecycle API (session_start with event.reason) and is meant for current hosted pi releases.

Install

npm

pi install npm:@claaslange/pi-directory-models

Local path

pi install /absolute/path/to/pi-directory-models

Git

pi install git:github.com/claaslange/pi-directory-models

Package layout

• extensions/index.ts – extension entry point
• package.json – pi package manifest

Development

npm install
npm run check

Useful scripts:

• npm run typecheck
• npm run lint
• npm run lint:fix
• npm run format
• npm run check

Publishing (maintainers)

This repo is set up to publish to npm via GitHub Actions on tags that match vX.Y.Z.

To publish:

1. Update package.json version.
2. Push the commit.
3. Push a matching tag, for example git tag v0.1.0 && git push origin v0.1.0.
4. Configure npm Trusted Publishing for claaslange/pi-directory-models and the publish workflow.

The published package name is @claaslange/pi-directory-models.

Notes

• The nearest matching .pi/settings.json wins.
• If defaultModel is set without defaultProvider, the extension tries to resolve the model by ID from available models.
• If that model ID is ambiguous across providers, the extension shows a warning and asks you to set defaultProvider too.