gentle-shell 🤖 Agent Open source

What it does

Gentle Shell, published on npm as gentle-pi, is a package for the Pi coding agent. It turns Pi into a structured development workspace. It adds a persona called el Gentleman that clarifies scope before building. It sends focused subagents off to map, implement or verify code while one parent session stays in charge. It also adds workspace panels showing tasks, changes and usage. The default everyday workflow is called Organic Driven Development: explore, clarify real decisions, make the approved changes, and run checks that match the size of the change. A more formal spec-driven flow is also available if you choose it.

What is inside

• Shell views: a changes panel grouping edits from the session and its subagents, an agents view with parent and child history, and a runtime status panel
• Workflows: ODD task files for daily work, an optional SDD/OpenSpec flow with proposal, spec, design and task phases, and a configurable strict TDD mode
• Native review: checks one fixed set of changes and returns findings scoped by risk
• Profiles: named routing that assigns models and effort to the orchestrator and review roles
• Safety guards: checks around destructive commands and sensitive paths
• Optional companions: separate packages for memory, web access and cross-session messaging

Works with

Only the Pi coding agent. It is not a plugin for any app listed in this directory.

How to install

pi install npm:[email protected]
gentle-ai sync

Maintenance and safety

The code is MIT-licensed, and the project name and logo are trademarked. Releases are frequent and come with notes. The package installs subsystems through npm lifecycle scripts and changes Pi settings on a global install, so review the installation reference first. Persistent memory is not bundled and has to be installed and set up separately. The README goes into a lot of detail, so expect some time to learn it.

Who should use it

It suits Pi users who want an opinionated, review-heavy workflow with subagents and visible change tracking. People who use Claude Code, Codex or Cursor cannot use it directly.