ayuayue/PiDeck

PiDeck – Desktop Workbench for Pi & DSH Coding Agents

What it is

• PiDeck is an open‑source desktop application (built with Electron + React/TypeScript) that acts as a graphical shell for the pi coding‑assistant CLI and for DSH (DeepSeek Harness). It does not replace pi; it merely launches pi (or DSH) processes in rpc mode and provides a unified UI for managing many projects and many agent sessions.

Who it’s for

• Developers who use the pi or DeepSeek agents locally and want a single window to:
  • Keep separate workspaces for several codebases.
  • Browse, search and export conversation history.
  • See Git status, edit files, run a terminal, and configure models without leaving the UI.
  • Import old Codex/Claude session files and turn them into PiDeck‑compatible history.

Key capabilities

Area	What PiDeck does
Multi‑project workspaces	Add, reorder, and switch between local project folders; each project runs its own isolated pi RPC process.
Session management	Create, rename, duplicate, delete, export (HTML) and restart sessions; supports both pi and DSH back‑ends, plus a “image generation” mode that talks to OpenAI‑compatible image APIs.
Rich input helpers	@‑file references, / command palette, ! shell execution – all from a single chat box.
File & Git integration	File tree with Git status badges, built‑in editor, external‑editor shortcuts, Git branch selector, and a terminal dock tied to the active agent.
Model & credential UI	Visual editors for models.json, auth.json, settings.json; one‑click connection tests; provider‑level usage & balance display; proxy configuration.
Extensions & skill store	Enable/disable built‑in extensions, browse community Skill and Prompt marketplaces, install Chinese prompt collections (XuePrompt).
Desktop polish	System tray, theme switching, desktop pet mascot, toast notifications, Feishu bot sync, LAN‑accessible web UI, process‑monitor & log viewer.
DSH deep integration	Embedded DSH host runs as an Electron utility process (no extra ports). Full session browsing, command completion, usage stats, and credential editing are provided.

How it works

• The Electron main process launches a separate pi --mode rpc process for each session and an embedded DSH host. Communication happens over stdio JSON‑RPC, keeping the agents isolated.
• A preload script exposes a limited window.piDesktop API to the React renderer via contextBridge.
• The renderer (React) shows project lists, chat timelines, file explorer, Git panel, terminal dock, settings, etc.
• Configuration files are edited directly but through a visual UI; changes take effect after the corresponding agent restarts.

Getting started

1. Install the pi CLI and ensure it is on your PATH (pi --version).
2. Download the appropriate installer from the GitHub Releases page (Windows/macOS/Linux). A separate PiDeck Dev pre‑release channel is also offered.
3. Run the app, add a project folder, and create a new pi or DSH session.
4. Use the side‑panel to edit models.json etc., or open the built‑in terminal to run commands.

Development

• Requires Node 20+ and npm.
• Typical workflow: npm install && npm run dev to launch a hot‑reloading Electron window.
• Build commands (npm run dist:*) produce installers for each platform; dist:*:dev creates the parallel development channel.

License & community

• MIT‑licensed, with an active Chinese‑language community (QQ/WeChat groups) and a public issue tracker on GitHub.

In short, PiDeck is a full‑featured desktop IDE‑style wrapper that lets you run multiple local AI coding agents side‑by‑side, keep their conversations organized, and integrate them tightly with your codebase and tooling.

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Repository metadata

• Status: experimental (v0.9.0, 2026‑10‑14)
• Platforms: Windows | macOS | Linux
• Core tech: Electron 38, React 19, TypeScript
• License: MIT

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All details above are taken directly from the project's README.