Install

Install the Pi Coding Agent in VS Code

Four steps, about five minutes: install the Pi CLI, add PiLot Studio, connect a provider, open the GUI. Works on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

PiLot Studio 3.0 requires VS Code 1.105+ and Pi CLI 1.4.0+. Installing Pi from npm also needs Node.js 22.19+; VS Code 1.105 bundles that runtime.

1. Install the Pi CLI

PiLot Studio drives the pi coding agent, so it must be on your machine first:

# macOS & Linux
curl -fsSL https://pi.dev/install.sh | sh

# Windows (PowerShell)
powershell -c "irm https://pi.dev/install.ps1 | iex"

# or via npm
npm install -g --ignore-scripts @earendil-works/pi-coding-agent

Full instructions live at pi.dev. Already have Pi? PiLot Studio detects it — including versions installed via MISE or other managers — and can keep it updated for you.

2. Install PiLot Studio

Search for “PiLot Studio” in VS Code's extension panel, or install directly from Open VSX / the Marketplace. It is free and open source under Apache-2.0.

3. Add an API key (or go local)

Export a key for your provider, or configure it later in PiLot's settings panel:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-…
# or
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-…

Prefer local? Install Ollama and point Pi at it — no keys, no cloud. See providers & BYOK for the full matrix.

4. Open the GUI

Press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+P (Cmd+Shift+Alt+P on macOS) and start chatting. That's the whole setup — you are running the Pi coding agent in VS Code.

First launch: the PiLot Studio welcome view with quick-start templates and the chat input.

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+Shift+Alt+P`	Open PiLot Studio
`Ctrl+Shift+I`	Focus chat input
`Ctrl+Shift+Alt+N`	New session
`Ctrl+Shift+;`	Toggle voice dictation
`Ctrl+Shift+A`	Add file to chat

(macOS: use Cmd instead of Ctrl.)

Inside the PiLot panel, the number keys 1–9 switch sidebar tabs (chat, sessions, models, providers, tools, packages, skills, System Prompt, settings), and 0 opens MCP.

Right-click commands

Explain Code with PI
Refactor Code with PI
Analyze Project with PI
Add File to Chat

Troubleshooting

Pi not detected? Ensure pi is on your PATH, or set pi-agent.binaryPath in VS Code settings.
API errors? Verify the key is valid and restart the extension after changing keys.
MCP server missing? Project servers in .pi/mcp.json load only after the workspace is trusted — the MCP tab says when a project config is being ignored.
Dictation unavailable? Voice uses a local whisper.cpp model: enable pi-agent.voice.enabled and grant microphone access to VS Code.
Still stuck? Open an issue on GitHub.