pi-copy-code

A pi package for copying fenced code blocks from assistant messages without terminal selection padding.

pi-copy-code adds one command and one shortcut:

• /copy-code
• ctrl+alt+c

It reads recent assistant messages, extracts fenced code blocks, and copies the raw code text to your clipboard. If there is more than one block (or more than one recent message with code), it opens a small two-pane picker with a live preview. From the picker you can page back through prior responses without leaving the overlay.

Features

• Copy raw fenced code instead of rendered terminal cells.
• Preserve whitespace-sensitive YAML, shell, Python, and heredoc indentation.
• Copy one block immediately when there is only one block in one message.
• Choose between multiple blocks with a preview picker.
• Page back through the last 10 assistant responses that contain code, right from the picker.
• Copy all blocks at once from the picker.
• Edit a selected block in your external editor before copying.
• Clipboard fallback order:
  • native clipboard command when available (pbcopy, wl-copy, xclip, xsel, clip.exe)
  • OSC 52 terminal clipboard sequence when native clipboard commands are unavailable

Install

From npm:

pi install npm:@penumbral-labs/pi-copy-code

From GitHub:

pi install git:github.com/penumbral-labs/pi-copy-code

Or from a local checkout:

cd /path/to/pi-copy-code
pi install "$(pwd)"

Then reload pi:

/reload

For a one-off run without installing:

pi -e npm:@penumbral-labs/pi-copy-code

or, from GitHub:

pi -e git:github.com/penumbral-labs/pi-copy-code

or, from a local checkout:

pi -e "$(pwd)"

Usage

Copy code from the latest assistant message:

/copy-code

or press:

ctrl+alt+c

Edit before copying:

/copy-code edit

When multiple blocks or messages are available, the picker opens:

• ↑ / ↓ or j / k — move block selection within the current response
• → or tab — walk back through older responses; ← or shift+tab — walk toward the current response (only when more than one response has code; wraps around at the ends)
• enter — run the default action
  • /copy-code: copy
  • /copy-code edit: edit, then copy
• e — edit selected block, then copy
• / — fuzzy search blocks in the current response
• esc or q — cancel

When more than one recent response has code, a horizontal tab strip runs across the top of the picker:

Current │ Prev 1 │ Prev 2 │ Prev 3 ›

The newest response is Current on the left; older responses count back as Prev 1, Prev 2, … to the right. The picker starts on Current. Press → (or tab) to walk back through older responses and ← (or shift+tab) to come back toward Current; arrowing past either end wraps around. The strip scrolls horizontally so the box keeps a fixed size even with the full 10 responses; ‹ / › mark responses scrolled off screen.

The first picker item is All code blocks, which copies all blocks in the current response separated by blank lines.

Only the last 10 assistant responses that contain code blocks are surfaced. This bound keeps the picker responsive and never sends anything to the model — it only reads session data already in memory.

External editor setup

Edit mode opens your external editor directly using $VISUAL, then $EDITOR.

For NeoVim:

export VISUAL=nvim
# or
export EDITOR=nvim

If neither variable is set, /copy-code edit shows a warning and cancels.

What counts as a code block?

pi-copy-code extracts fenced markdown blocks from recent assistant messages:

```bash
echo hello
```

~~~python
print("hello")
~~~

Indented markdown code blocks are not currently extracted.

Package shape

The package uses pi's package manifest in package.json:

{
  "keywords": ["pi-package"],
  "pi": {
    "extensions": ["./extensions/copy-code/index.ts"]
  }
}

Core pi packages are peer dependencies, per pi package guidance.

Development

Run tests:

npm test

Check publish contents:

npm pack --dry-run

Test fixture

Ask pi to emit multiple fenced blocks, then run /copy-code:

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: test
data:
  script.sh: |
    if [ -n "$FOO" ]; then
      echo "$FOO"
    fi

from dataclasses import dataclass

@dataclass
class Config:
    host: str
    port: int = 8080

    @property
    def url(self) -> str:
        return f"http://{self.host}:{self.port}"