Pi Tidy Bots CLI

pi-tidy-bots CLI for agents

You are driving the pi-tidy-bots CLI (fleet runtime for Pi operator bots) as a non-interactive agent: no TTY, scripted, exit codes checked. The CLI owns fleet lifecycle (init, start [--daemon], status, stop, add) and prints classified errors on stderr. Everything else — messaging, transcripts, routines, steering, question cards — is the daemon's HTTP+WS API, which is the real machine interface.

Adapted from scout's verified 0.1.0 CLI sweep; updated for the post-issue-29 CLI (lifecycle commands, --json, strict flags, exit codes).

Exit codes (contract)

Errors are one clean line on stderr: error: <message> [fix: <remedy>]. The lock-conflict message keeps the holder pid. Usage goes to stderr too. Unknown flags are hard errors (error: unknown flag --tiken for start [did you mean --token?]) — never copy flags from memory, use --help.

--json

Global flag. init --json → {"fleetDir":"…","created":true}. start --json (foreground) → one readiness line {"url","port","pid","token"?} (daemon log chatter moves to stderr). stop --json → {"stopped":true,"pid"}. --version --json → {"name","version"}. Human output is the default.

Lifecycle

pi-tidy-bots init "$FLEET"                 # scaffold demo fleet; exit 2 if dir already a fleet
pi-tidy-bots start "$FLEET" --daemon --json
# -> {"url":"http://127.0.0.1:4317","port":4317,"pid":<n>}   pid also in .fleet/daemon.pid
pi-tidy-bots status "$FLEET" --json        # {"pid","port","url","bots":[{name,online,queued}]}
pi-tidy-bots stop "$FLEET" --json          # SIGTERM via pidfile, waits for lock release

• start (foreground) blocks and logs to stdout; --daemon runs detached with the log at .fleet/daemon.log and the pid at .fleet/daemon.pid.
• Non-loopback binds (0.0.0.0 or a LAN IP) auto-enable token auth: a token is minted and stored in .fleet/token if none exists, reused on restart, and printed in the ready block. --rotate-token mints a fresh stored token.
• stop is graceful (children stop, lock released). It exits 1 when nothing is running or the pid refuses to die.

Hot bot onboarding (no restart)

pi-tidy-bots add scout --dir "$FLEET" --title "Research Scout"
# -> scaffolds bots/scout/AGENTS.md + appends the [[bot]] row.

The daemon watches bots.toml (300ms debounce) and reconciles live: added bots spawn and appear in the roster; removed bots stop gracefully (their transcript journal survives); dir/model/routes changes respawn the child resuming its session dir. An invalid manifest edit is refused — the running fleet is kept and a config-error WS event names the problem. Names must match [a-z][a-z0-9-]{1,31}.

The HTTP+WS machine API

Authenticate: Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN (or ?token=; pairing URLs carry #token= in the fragment — read it from location.hash). Feature-detect via GET /api/version → {version, capabilities[]}.

• Roster: GET /api/fleet → per-bot name/title/avatar/online/active/ lastActive/queued/latest. Children spawn async — gate messaging on online:true, not on the ready line.
• Send: POST /api/bots/:name/message {"text":"…", "images"?:[{mediaType,data}]}. Delivery is async ({"accepted":true}); poll the transcript.
• Poll: GET /api/bots/:name/transcript?before=<iso>&limit=<n> → entries with id, role, origin (operator|bot|routine|system), originFrom?, text, ts, steps?, ui?, uiResolved?. Dedupe by id.
• Steer mid-turn: POST /api/bots/:name/steer {"text":"…"}.
• Compaction (reset): POST /api/bots/:name/compact — 409 turn_in_flight while streaming.
• Question cards: entries carry ui; answer via POST /api/bots/:name/ui/<id> with {"value"} / {"confirmed"} / {"cancel":true}. Unanswered cards auto-resolve after 120s.
• Bus (bot→bot, child-only): POST /bus/send needs the per-boot x-fleet-child secret — never call it from a client.
• Error shapes: 401 {"error":"unauthorized"}, 404 {"error":"unknown bot"}, 503 {"error":"runtime_offline"}, 409 {"error":"turn_in_flight"}.

Pitfalls

1. start (foreground) blocks forever — background it yourself, or use --daemon and let the CLI own the pidfile.
2. The readiness line can precede child readiness — poll /api/fleet, gate on online:true.
3. chat is a human TUI — it hangs a non-interactive session. Don't.
4. queued and latest in the roster are advisory.
5. Transcript entries are typed (origin), not string-prefixed — never parse source strings.

Security

Network security is the operator's, not the package's. Loopback is unauthenticated by default; non-loopback binds mint a token automatically (stored at .fleet/token — treat it like a credential). Prefer a tailnet or trusted LAN; --token stays available as an override.

Credits

Adapted from scout's hands-on CLI sweep (0.1.0 verification) and updated for the post-29 CLI surface by forge.