---
slug: "giladbarnea-pi-time-sense"
source_type: "readme"
source_url: "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/giladbarnea/pi-time-sense@main/README.md"
repo: "https://github.com/giladbarnea/pi-time-sense"
source_file: "README.md"
branch: "main"
---
# pi-time-sense

Long-running agents lose track of time.

`pi-time-sense` quietly gives your Pi agent temporal awareness.

- ✔︎ Cache-friendly
- ✔︎ Behind the scenes; non-disruptive
- ✔︎ Tactful: injects the current time at a configurable cadence

I wanted the equivalent of the agent glancing at a wristwatch.

## Install

```bash
pi install npm:@giladbarnea/pi-time-sense
```

No configuration is required.

## Configure

The default interval is 15 minutes.

Run `/time-sense` to change it. Or edit `~/.pi/agent/pi-time-sense.json`:

```json
{
  "intervalMinutes": 5,
  "slashTimeSenseSettings": true
}
```

`slashTimeSenseSettings` controls whether `/time-sense` is available. It defaults to `true`.

Changes made with `/time-sense` apply immediately. After editing the file, run `/reload`.

## What it does

- Adds a small, hidden timestamp only in response to session activity
- Never wakes an idle agent or starts a turn of its own

```xml
<current-time>Mon 2026-07-13 07:05:13 GMT+3 (session +18m4s)</current-time>
```

## How it works

`pi-time-sense` looks for three opportunities to add the current time:

- You send a message
- A tool call finishes
- A run fully settles

### Why "at most"?

`pi-time-sense` is **opportunistic**. The configured interval sets its cadence, not an alarm.

It hitchhikes on activity already happening in the session.

If the agent does nothing, `pi-time-sense` does nothing.

Technically, each timestamp is:

- Persisted at the end of the transcript
- Visible to the agent ("sensed" by it 🙂)
- Hidden from the UI

## Cache-friendly

Because `pi-time-sense` only appends, the existing prompt prefix remains cacheable. Cache works as usual.