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[ARTICLE · art-109412] src=perrotta.dev ↗ pub= topic=developer-tools verified=true sentiment=· neutral

pi: prompt template or skill?

Thiago Perrotta explains that a short, stable request like 'commit (only) what you changed' is best implemented as a prompt template in Pi, which turns a Markdown file in ~/.pi/agent/prompts/ into a /slash command, rather than as a skill, which is a self-contained capability package loaded on-demand for complex workflows. He demonstrates creating a /commit template that instructs the agent to commit only changed files without pushing, and notes that a commit flow with checks or project-specific policy would warrant a skill.

read1 min views1 publishedAug 24, 2026

Problem statement: I often type commit (only) what you changed

in coding agent harnesses. Can I make an abbreviation out of it?

Pi turns a Markdown file in ~/.pi/agent/prompts/

into a /slash command. This one gives me /commit

:

---
description: Commit files changed in this turn without pushing
---
Commit what you changed (only). DO NOT push.
% find ~/.pi/agent/prompts -maxdepth 1 -type f -print -exec sh -c 'printf "%s\n" "--- $1"; cat "$1"' _ {} \;
/Users/thiago.perrotta/.pi/agent/prompts/commit.md
--- /Users/thiago.perrotta/.pi/agent/prompts/commit.md
---
description: Commit files changed in this turn without pushing
---
Commit what you changed (only). DO NOT push.

In Pi, a prompt template is fixed prompt expansion. It is right for a short, stable request:

Prompt templates are Markdown snippets that expand into full prompts. Type /name in the editor to invoke a template, where name is the filename without .md.

A skill is a capability package. Its description is available at startup, but Pi loads its SKILL.md only when task matches or I run

/skill:name

. A skill can carry scripts, references, setup, and a workflow that branches on state:Skills are self-contained capability packages that the agent loads on-demand. A skill provides specialized workflows, setup instructions, helper scripts, and reference documentation for specific tasks.

A commit flow with checks, generated files, partial staging rules, or project specific policy deserves a skill. This one is a couple of words and one constraint, so I choose to keep it simple. ∎

— § —

Reply via [email](mailto:serendipity@perrotta.dev?subject=Reply to: pi: prompt template or skill?)

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