pi-map/SKILL.md

name, description

name	description
pi-map	Generates and maintains hierarchical paired project-analysis artifacts (`.pi-map.index.md` + `.pi-map.md`) so Pi agents can navigate and orient in a codebase without reading every source file.

pi-project-map

A Pi skill that creates and maintains one paired analysis artifact set per non-ignored directory:

• .pi-map.index.md — routing-first index
• .pi-map.md — orientation-first rich map

What it does

• scans the project and emits one paired map/index set per directory
• extracts per-file purpose, dependencies, and concepts via an LLM
• extracts exact exports/imports via AST parsing where supported
• patches artifacts incrementally after source edits
• validates stale, missing, broken, or inconsistent paired artifacts
• retrieves relevant context on demand via deterministic metadata scoring
• injects lightweight project-map guidance into agent context according to a configurable mode ladder

Operating model

Tier 0 — protocol

Always read the root .pi-map.index.md and the Project Map Protocol first.

Tier 1 — routing

Use indexes first to decide where to go next. Open the strongest-match .pi-map.md files for orientation.

Tier 2 — source

Read actual source, tests, config, and docs before editing or asserting exact runtime behavior.

Trust boundary:

index routes, map orients, source decides

Agent instructions

When project-map artifacts exist in the repo:

1. start with the root .pi-map.index.md and the Project Map Protocol
2. use indexes first to route into the right directory
3. read the local .pi-map.md plus relevant source before editing
4. run project_map_patch <file> (tool) or project-map patch <file> (CLI) after each source edit
5. run project_map_validate (tool) or project-map validate (CLI) before freshness-sensitive architectural decisions or final handoff
6. for targeted exploration, use project_map_context <query> (tool) or project-map context <query> (CLI)
7. in strict mode, only bypass the protocol-path guard with an explicit marker: [PI_MAP_BYPASS: <brief justification>]

Prompt injection modes

The Pi extension can inject project-map guidance automatically. Behavior is controlled by promptInjectionMode in .pi-project-map.json.

Before init

If no .pi-map.md / .pi-map.index.md artifacts exist, the extension emits a lightweight visible hint to run project_map_init. No synthetic or fake map content is injected.

After init

Once real artifacts exist, the runtime guarantees that the root pair is loaded first:

• root .pi-map.index.md
• root .pi-map.md

Additional directory pairs may be expanded while the configured context budget allows, in shallow-first order.

Mode ladder

Mode	Behavior
off	No automatic injection. Use tools/CLI manually.
advisory	Startup/init hints are shown. Root pair is not auto-loaded; read it manually when needed.
strong (default)	Root pair is auto-loaded, expansion stays within budget, and reinjection runs on relevant turns.
strict	Same as strong, but sensitive edits or architectural claims are guarded unless the protocol path is present or a bypass marker is provided.

The protocol path means the outgoing context contains the canonical injected root-pair block and the trust-boundary text.

Context budget

Default budget: 15% of the active model context window, capped at 100k tokens. The smaller of the relative and absolute values wins. If the runtime cannot discover the context window, it uses the absolute cap.

Retrieval usage

project_map_context (tool) and project-map context (CLI) are on-demand retrieval, separate from automatic injection.

They do not call the LLM. They score paired metadata against the query and return a compact markdown bundle with:

• relevant indexes
• relevant maps
• likely files
• relevant symbols when useful

Always read the suggested indexes first, then maps, then verify critical behavior from source.

Configuration

Create .pi-project-map.json in the project root:

{
  "promptInjectionMode": "strong",
  "contextBudgetPercent": 15,
  "contextBudgetMaxTokens": 100000,
  "tagCap": 8,
  "workflowHintCap": 5,
  "llmProvider": "openai",
  "llmModel": "gpt-4o-mini",
  "ignorePatterns": ["node_modules", ".git", "dist", "build"]
}

Providing ignorePatterns replaces the built-in default list, so include any defaults you want to keep.

Knobs that matter in practice:

• promptInjectionMode — off | advisory | strong | strict
• contextBudgetPercent / contextBudgetMaxTokens — caps automatic map/index injection
• tagCap / workflowHintCap — caps routing metadata per directory
• llmProvider / llmModel / llmBaseUrl — standalone CLI only
• ignorePatterns — discovery exclusions

Tools and commands

Tool (Pi)	CLI command	Purpose
project_map_init	project-map init [path]	Generate all paired artifacts.
project_map_patch	project-map patch <file>	Regenerate the pair for the changed file's directory and refresh ancestors.
project_map_validate	project-map validate [--fix]	Check paired artifacts for staleness and discrepancies; optionally repair.
project_map_reinit	project-map reinit [path]	Force full regeneration.
project_map_context	project-map context <query>	Retrieve a ranked context bundle for a natural-language query.