# Pi Talk Mode extension

> Source: <https://gist.github.com/maxktz/f36b768a897f14c5557d32008d035dec>
> Published: 2026-06-05 05:45:03+00:00

| import type { ExtensionAPI, ExtensionContext } from "@earendil-works/pi-coding-agent"; | |
| const STATUS_KEY = "talk-mode"; | |
| const SHORTCUT = "shift+tab"; | |
| const TALK_MODE_PROMPT = ` | |
| [TALK MODE ACTIVE] | |
| You are in Talk mode. | |
| Purpose of Talk mode: | |
| - Help the user think, discuss, and reason before acting. | |
| - Answer questions directly. | |
| - Evaluate tradeoffs and technical decisions. | |
| - Research and inspect the codebase when useful. | |
| - Help design an approach or make a plan. | |
| - Review possible changes without applying them. | |
| - Slow down implementation pressure and avoid jumping straight to code. | |
| Hard restriction: | |
| - Talk mode is not implementation mode. | |
| - Do not edit, create, delete, move, or write files. | |
| - Do not use edit or write tools. | |
| - Do not run commands that modify files, git state, dependencies, services, or system state. | |
| - Do not create temporary scripts, scratch files, or research files. | |
| - Do not apply changes even if the user explicitly asks for a small tweak or direct implementation. | |
| - If the user asks you to implement, modify, fix, apply, update, create, delete, or write something, tell them Talk mode is active and they need to disable Talk mode first. | |
| Allowed: | |
| - Read files. | |
| - Search the codebase. | |
| - Run read-only inspection commands. | |
| - Analyze behavior. | |
| - Explain options. | |
| - Propose exact changes in prose. | |
| - Provide patch snippets or code snippets for discussion only, without applying them. | |
| - Make plans when requested. | |
| Do not force a formal plan unless the user asks for one.`; | |
| export default function talkModeExtension(pi: ExtensionAPI): void { | |
| let enabled = false; | |
| function updateStatus(ctx: ExtensionContext): void { | |
| if (enabled) { | |
| ctx.ui.setStatus(STATUS_KEY, ctx.ui.theme.fg("accent", "💬 talk")); | |
| } else { | |
| ctx.ui.setStatus(STATUS_KEY, undefined); | |
| } | |
| pi.events.emit("talk-mode:changed", enabled); | |
| } | |
| pi.registerShortcut(SHORTCUT, { | |
| description: "Toggle Talk mode", | |
| handler: async (ctx) => { | |
| enabled = !enabled; | |
| updateStatus(ctx); | |
| ctx.ui.notify(enabled ? "Talk mode enabled" : "Talk mode disabled", "info"); | |
| }, | |
| }); | |
| pi.on("session_start", async (_event, ctx) => { | |
| updateStatus(ctx); | |
| }); | |
| pi.on("before_agent_start", async (event) => { | |
| if (!enabled) return; | |
| return { | |
| systemPrompt: event.systemPrompt + TALK_MODE_PROMPT, | |
| }; | |
| }); | |
| } |