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Gentleman-Programming

Gentleman-Programming/gentle-shell

A Pi-native terminal workspace that puts parallel coding agents, live tasks, Git changes, and permission controls into one interface.

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What is it?

Gentle Shell is a workspace layer built on the Pi coding agent. It turns a Pi session into a terminal view with a status header, a rail showing uncommitted changes across the session's repository and worktrees, a panel of running subagents with their model, token and cost details, and a TODO card for the plan.

The project focuses on controlled development. The parent agent delegates to focused subagents only when there is a named reason, such as a read-only exploration, parallel implementation of independent units, or an independent verification of a high-risk change. Permission modes (Normal, Auto, and YOLO) control how many confirmations the agent asks for, while destructive operations still require confirmation. It also includes model profiles with fallback chains, background job inspection, audio notifications, and a feature workflow called Organic Driven Development (ODD).

The package is distributed through npm as gentle-pi, and the README describes browser-based installers for macOS, Windows, and Linux that install Node.js, pnpm, Pi, and Gentle Shell when they are missing.

Key features

  • 01Shows uncommitted Git changes across the session's repository and its worktrees.
  • 02Runs subagents as separate processes with live model, token, and cost cards.
  • 03Offers Normal, Auto, and YOLO permission modes while keeping destructive-operation guards.
  • 04Supports named model profiles with ordered fallback models when a provider hits limits.
  • 05Inspects background commands and monitors through /gentle:jobs.

Use cases

  • Running several coding agents on one repository and tracking what each has changed.
  • Delegating exploration or verification to subagents while keeping the parent session in control.
  • Working through long autonomous coding sessions with fewer permission prompts.
  • Adding a structured workspace view on top of the Pi coding agent in the terminal.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Open the gentle-pi package page on npm and follow its Get started instructions

Things to know

  • Built specifically for the Pi coding agent, so you need Pi to use it.
  • Native review needs a filesystem that honors private POSIX modes, and WSL DrvFS mounts without metadata can reject it.

In collections

Open-source AI agent frameworks & appsAI coding assistants & agentsAI agent skill librariesCLI & terminal tools

Topics

#ai-coding#coding-agents#terminal#developer-tools#subagents#llm#git#agent-harness#agent-skills#ai-agents

FAQ

What is gentle-shell?
A Pi-native terminal workspace that puts parallel coding agents, live tasks, Git changes, and permission controls into one interface. Gentle Shell is a workspace layer built on the Pi coding agent. It turns a Pi session into a terminal view with a status header, a rail showing uncommitted changes across the session's repository and worktrees, a panel of running subagents with their model, token and cost details, and a TODO card for the plan.
Is gentle-shell free to use? What license does it have?
gentle-shell is open source under the MIT license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is gentle-shell still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to gentle-shell was on Nov 6, 2026.
What can I use gentle-shell for?
Running several coding agents on one repository and tracking what each has changed. Delegating exploration or verification to subagents while keeping the parent session in control. Working through long autonomous coding sessions with fewer permission prompts. Adding a structured workspace view on top of the Pi coding agent in the terminal.
How do I install gentle-shell?
Open the gentle-pi package page on npm and follow its Get started instructions
Where can I get gentle-shell?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/Gentleman-Programming/gentle-shell

Summary generated by AI from the project's README. GitHub stats refresh daily.

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