pi-server

Session multiplexer for pi-coding-agent. Exposes N independent AgentSession instances through WebSocket and stdio transports.

Note: This is a standalone pi server package, not an extension/skills/themes bundle.

Features

• Dual transport: WebSocket (port 3141) + stdio (JSON lines)
• Session lifecycle: Create, delete, list, switch sessions
• Command execution: Deterministic lane serialization per session
• Idempotent replay: Atomic outcome storage with free replay lookups
• Optimistic concurrency: Session versioning for conflict detection
• Extension UI: Full round-trip support for select, confirm, input, editor, interview
• Resource governance: Rate limiting, session limits, message size limits
• Pluggable authentication: AuthProvider abstraction (allow-all, token, IP allowlist, composite)
• Graceful shutdown: Drain in-flight commands, notify clients
• Protocol versioning: serverVersion + protocolVersion for compatibility checks

Installation

npm install pi-app-server

Quick Start

WebSocket

# Start server
npx pi-server

# Connect with wscat
wscat -c ws://localhost:3141

// Create and use a session
ws> {"type":"create_session","sessionId":"my-session"}
ws> {"type":"switch_session","sessionId":"my-session"}
ws> {"id":"cmd-1","type":"prompt","sessionId":"my-session","message":"Hello!"}

stdio

echo '{"type":"create_session","sessionId":"test"}
{"type":"switch_session","sessionId":"test"}
{"id":"cmd-1","type":"prompt","sessionId":"test","message":"Hello!"}' | npx pi-server

Built-in diagnostics use stderr so stdout stays reserved for newline-delimited protocol JSON.

Architecture

src/
├── server.ts               # transports, connection lifecycle, routing glue
├── session-manager.ts      # orchestration: coordinates stores, engines, sessions
├── command-router.ts       # session command handlers, routing
├── command-classification.ts  # pure command classification (timeout, mutation)
├── command-replay-store.ts    # idempotency, duplicate detection, outcome history
├── session-version-store.ts   # monotonic version counters per session
├── command-execution-engine.ts # lane serialization, dependency waits, timeouts
├── resource-governor.ts    # limits, rate controls, health/metrics
├── extension-ui.ts         # pending UI request tracking
├── server-ui-context.ts    # ExtensionUIContext for remote clients
├── validation.ts           # command validation
└── types.ts                # wire protocol types + SessionResolver interface

Core invariants

• For each admitted command, there is exactly one terminal response.
• For each session ID, there is at most one live AgentSession.
• Subscriber session sets are always a subset of active sessions.
• Session version is monotonic and mutation-sensitive.
• Fingerprint excludes retry identity (id, idempotencyKey) for semantic equivalence.

Key abstractions

• SessionResolver — Interface for session access (enables test doubles, future clustering)
• CommandReplayStore — Idempotency and duplicate detection
• SessionVersionStore — Optimistic concurrency via version counters
• CommandExecutionEngine — Deterministic lane serialization and timeout management

Protocol

See PROTOCOL.md for the normative wire contract.

Command → Response

Every command receives exactly one response:

{"id": "cmd-1", "type": "prompt", "sessionId": "s1", "message": "hello"}
{"id": "cmd-1", "type": "response", "command": "prompt", "success": true}

Event Broadcast

Events flow session → subscribers:

{"type": "event", "sessionId": "s1", "event": {"type": "agent_start", ...}}

Extension UI Round-Trip

1. Extension calls ui.select() → server creates pending request
2. Server broadcasts extension_ui_request event with requestId
3. Client sends extension_ui_response command with same requestId
4. Server resolves pending promise → extension continues

Idempotency & Replay

// First request with idempotency key
{"id": "cmd-1", "type": "list_sessions", "idempotencyKey": "key-1"}
{"id": "cmd-1", "type": "response", "command": "list_sessions", "success": true, ...}

// Retry with same key → replayed (free, no rate limit charge)
{"id": "cmd-2", "type": "list_sessions", "idempotencyKey": "key-1"}
{"id": "cmd-2", "type": "response", "command": "list_sessions", "success": true, "replayed": true, ...}

Timeout semantics (ADR-0001)

• Timeout is a terminal stored outcome (timedOut: true), not an indeterminate placeholder.
• Replay of the same command identity returns the same timeout response.
• Late underlying completion does not overwrite the stored timeout outcome.

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build
npm run build

# Run tests
npm test                    # Main test suite
npm run test:integration    # Integration tests
npm run test:fuzz           # Fuzz tests

# Module tests
node --experimental-vm-modules dist/test-command-classification.js
node --experimental-vm-modules dist/test-session-version-store.js
node --experimental-vm-modules dist/test-command-replay-store.js
node --experimental-vm-modules dist/test-command-execution-engine.js

# Type check + lint
npm run check

# Full CI
npm run ci

Release Process

This project uses release-please for automated versioning.

Automated Flow

1. Push to main → release-please creates/updates a release PR
2. Merge the release PR → Creates GitHub release + git tag
3. Verify npm publication after the release until publish automation is fully trusted

Changelog + Commit Policy

Release notes are generated from Conventional Commit messages. CHANGELOG.md is treated as a generated release artifact for released versions rather than a hand-maintained diary.

See docs/release-policy.md for:

• commit-message rules for releasable work
• breaking-change marking (! / BREAKING CHANGE:)
• changelog policy (including no manual [Unreleased] section)
• release review expectations

Manual Release Check

npm run release:check

This validates:

• package.json has required fields
• dist/ exists with compiled files
• Entry point has correct shebang
• npm pack produces expected files
• Full CI passes

Documentation

Document	Purpose
AGENTS.md	Crystallized learnings, patterns, anti-patterns
PROTOCOL.md	Normative wire contract
docs/release-policy.md	Commit, changelog, and release-note policy
ADR-0001	Atomic outcome storage (timeout semantics)
ADR-0007	Session persistence
ADR-0009	Historical authentication proposal (superseded)
ADR-0010	Circuit breaker for LLM calls
ADR-0014	Pluggable connection authentication (implemented)
ADR-0019	Durable command journal foundation (Level 4)
ADR-0021	Command contract registry, protocol-pure stdio, and opaque replay identity
ROADMAP.md	Phase tracking and milestones

License

MIT