Pi Intercom

Pi Intercom Skill

Use this skill when you need to coordinate work across multiple pi sessions running on the same machine. Pi-intercom enables direct 1:1 messaging between sessions for delegation, context sharing, and collaborative workflows.

When you are supervising pi-subagents, delegated child agents can escalate to you via contact_supervisor if pi-subagents supplied child bridge metadata. This skill covers how to handle those orchestrator-side escalations.

When to Use

• Task delegation: Split work between a planner session and worker sessions
• Context handoffs: Send findings from a research session to an execution session
• Clarification loops: Worker asks questions, planner answers, work continues
• Multi-session workflows: Coordinate between specialized sessions (frontend/backend, research/implementation)
• Cross-codebase peer messages: Message an explicit live peer in another project, or open a visible Herdr project pane when a long-lived conversation is needed

Core Patterns

Pattern 1: Planner-Worker Delegation

The most common pattern. One session holds the big picture, others do hands-on work.

Setup (in each session):

/alias planner   # Terminal 1
/alias worker    # Terminal 2

Planner delegates a task (fire-and-forget):

intercom({
  action: "send",
  to: "worker",
  message: "Task-3: Add retry logic to API client. Key files: src/api/client.ts. Ask if anything's unclear."
})

Worker asks for clarification (blocks until answer):

intercom({
  action: "ask",
  to: "planner",
  message: "Should I use exponential backoff or fixed intervals?"
})
// → Returns the planner's reply as the result

Worker reports completion:

intercom({
  action: "ask",
  to: "planner",
  message: "Task-3 complete. Added exponential backoff (100ms → 1600ms, max 5 retries). Ready for task-4?"
})

Pattern 2: Quick Status Check

Before sending, verify who's connected:

intercom({ action: "list" })
// → Shows all connected sessions with names, cwd, models, and live status (`idle`, `thinking`, `tool:<name>`)

Pattern 3: Reply Naturally

When responding to an inbound ask, prefer reply instead of reconstructing raw IDs:

// In the turn triggered by the ask:
intercom({
  action: "reply",
  message: "Use exponential backoff starting at 100ms."
})

// If replying later and there might be more than one pending ask:
intercom({ action: "pending" })
intercom({ action: "reply", to: "planner", message: "Use exponential backoff starting at 100ms." })

reply still preserves exact threading under the hood by sending the response with the original replyTo value.

Pattern 4: Broadcast to Multiple Workers

Send to multiple sessions in parallel:

const workers = ["worker-1", "worker-2", "worker-3"];
const task = "Check for null pointer exceptions in your assigned files";

// Fire-and-forget to all workers
workers.forEach(w => 
  intercom({ action: "send", to: w, message: task })
);

Pattern 5: Send with Attachments

Share code snippets, files, or context:

intercom({
  action: "send",
  to: "worker",
  message: "Here's the fix for the auth issue:",
  attachments: [{
    type: "snippet",
    name: "auth.ts",
    language: "typescript",
    content: `function validateUser(user: User | null) {
  if (!user) throw new Error("User required");
  return user.email?.includes("@");
}`
  }]
})

Pattern 6: Cross-Codebase Peer Messages

Use to alone to message any explicit live peer on the machine, even when it is in another codebase. Use cwd alone when there should be exactly one live peer in that repo. Use to plus cwd when the directory is a safety guard.

intercom({
  action: "ask",
  cwd: "/path/to/other-repo",
  to: "workbench-agent",
  message: "Which module owns workbench source slices?"
})

Only open a Herdr project pane when you need a durable visible peer session in that repo. For bounded work, prefer pi-subagents with an explicit cwd; the child can use contact_supervisor for owner decisions and regular intercom for explicit peer coordination.

intercom({
  action: "send",
  cwd: "/path/to/other-repo",
  openProjectPaneIfMissing: true,
  message: "Let's discuss the workbench API ergonomics in this repo."
})

If a live session already exists in that cwd, intercom reuses it. If multiple sessions are active there, pass to to select one by name or session ID.

Pattern 7: Handle Subagent Escalations (Orchestrator Side)

When pi-subagents spawns a delegated child and supplies child bridge metadata, that child can reach you through contact_supervisor. You receive a formatted message that includes run metadata:

**From subagent-worker-78f659a3-1**

Subagent needs a supervisor decision.
Run: 78f659a3
Agent: worker
Child index: 0

Which API should I use?

Reply using reply:

// The reply hint in the incoming message will show the exact call:
intercom({ action: "reply", message: "Use the stable v2 API." })

This works because reply resolves the correct sender and message ID automatically.

Three types of escalations to expect:

When a subagent asks:

// In the turn triggered by the incoming ask:
intercom({ action: "reply", message: "Use exponential backoff, max 3 retries." })

When a subagent sends an interview request:

Read the rendered questions in the incoming message and reply with the exact ids in JSON. info questions are context-only and do not need response entries:

intercom({
  action: "reply",
  message: "```json\n{\n  \"responses\": [\n    { \"id\": \"api\", \"value\": \"Stable API\" },\n    { \"id\": \"constraints\", \"value\": \"Keep the public error shape unchanged.\" }\n  ]\n}\n```"
})

If you receive multiple pending asks from different subagents:

intercom({ action: "pending" })
// → Shows all unresolved inbound asks with sender, elapsed time, and preview

intercom({ action: "reply", to: "subagent-worker-78f659a3-1", message: "Use the v2 API." })

Important: Only sessions where pi-subagents supplied child bridge metadata get the contact_supervisor tool. Normal sessions use the regular intercom tool. If you see the formatted supervisor decision/progress update message, treat it as a contact_supervisor escalation. A subagent may use regular intercom for peer coordination, including peers in other directories, but owner decisions and new visible project panes should go through the supervisor.

Key Differences

Visible Peer Sessions

For bounded cross-codebase work, prefer pi-subagents with an explicit cwd. Use intercom({ action: "send", cwd: "/path", openProjectPaneIfMissing: true, ... }) only when a long-lived visible peer session is useful.

If Herdr is unavailable, do not invent a terminal fallback inside this workflow. Ask the user before opening another visible surface manually.

Important Constraints

ask Limitations

• Connected targets only: ask fails immediately when the target is not in the live intercom roster. Use list before asking when liveness is uncertain; use send for non-blocking mailbox delivery.
• Configurable timeout: If no reply arrives before the shared ask timeout, the ask fails. The default is 10 minutes; set PI_INTERCOM_ASK_TIMEOUT_MS to a positive millisecond value to change it.
• One at a time: Cannot have multiple pending asks from the same session
• Cannot self-target: A session cannot ask itself, including through disconnected-mailbox remapping

// Check if already waiting before asking
const result = await intercom({ action: "ask", to: "planner", message: "..." });
if (result.isError && result.content[0].text.includes("Already waiting")) {
  // Use send instead, or wait for current ask to complete
}

send Behavior

• No timeout: Message is delivered or fails immediately
• Sole pending ask inference: If the destination has exactly one pending inbound ask, send attaches its replyTo and reports Reply sent to <target> (inferred from pending ask)
• Ambiguity stays unthreaded: Zero or multiple matching asks leave the send as an ordinary message
• Confirmation dialogs: If confirmSend: true in config, interactive sessions confirm ordinary and inferred sends
• Explicit replies skip confirmation: A caller-supplied replyTo skips the dialog

Best Practices

Use ask for blocking workflows

When the worker needs information to proceed:

// GOOD: Worker blocks until planner responds
const reply = await intercom({
  action: "ask",
  to: "planner",
  message: "API rate limit is 100/min. Should I implement client-side throttling or batching?"
});
// Continue with the answer...

Use send for notifications

When you just want to inform:

// GOOD: Fire-and-forget notification
intercom({
  action: "send",
  to: "reviewer",
  message: "PR #123 is ready for review. Key changes in auth.ts."
});
// Continue immediately, don't wait

Name sessions meaningfully

Use /alias so others can target you easily. It names the current session and is shown in intercom lists, send/reply results, overlays, and incoming headers:

/alias api-worker
/alias frontend-dev
/alias planner

Error Handling

Common Errors and Solutions

"Already waiting for a reply"

// You can only have one pending ask at a time
// Option 1: Use send instead
intercom({ action: "send", to: "planner", message: "..." });

// Option 2: Wait for current ask to complete first

"Cannot message the current session"

// You cannot target yourself
// This usually means you confused session names - double-check the target

"Session not found"

const result = await intercom({ action: "send", to: "worker", message: "..." });
if (!result.delivered) {
  console.log("Failed:", result.reason);
  // → "Session not found" - check the name and list available sessions
  await intercom({ action: "list" });
}

Replies to recently disconnected explicitly named senders can be queued by the broker and delivered if that sender reconnects with the same name and directory. Runtime-only subagent-chat-... aliases are not reconnect identities. New send calls may target a known live or recently disconnected session; blocking ask calls require a live target.

Ask timeout

// The ask will reject with a timeout error
// Default: 10 minutes
// Override: set PI_INTERCOM_ASK_TIMEOUT_MS to a positive millisecond value
// For longer tasks, use send + follow-up ask pattern

Troubleshooting

Session not appearing in list

1. Check intercom is enabled: intercom({ action: "status" })
2. Verify the target session has loaded pi-intercom
3. Ensure both sessions are on the same machine (intercom is same-machine only)

Message not delivered

const result = await intercom({ action: "send", to: "worker", message: "..." });
if (!result.delivered) {
  console.log("Failed:", result.reason);
  // → "Session not found" or delivery failure reason
}

Connection lost

Sessions automatically reconnect if the broker restarts. If persistently disconnected:

intercom({ action: "status" })
// Check if broker is running and restart if needed

Common Workflows

Research → Implementation Handoff

// Research session finds relevant code
intercom({
  action: "send",
  to: "impl-session",
  message: "Found the bug. The issue is in validateUser() - it doesn't check for null.",
  attachments: [{
    type: "snippet",
    name: "validate.ts",
    language: "typescript",
    content: `// Line 45-52 - missing null check
function validateUser(user: User) {
  return user.email?.includes("@"); // crashes if user is null
}`
  }]
});

Pair Debugging

// Session A encounters error
intercom({
  action: "ask",
  to: "session-b",
  message: "Getting 'Cannot read property of undefined' at line 78. Can you check if data.users is populated before this call?"
});

// Session B investigates and replies
intercom({
  action: "reply",
  message: "data.users is null. The fetch failed silently. Add error handling in loadUsers()."
});

Progress Reporting

// Worker sends periodic updates
intercom({ action: "send", to: "planner", message: "Task-1 complete (15min). Starting Task-2." });
// ... work ...
intercom({ action: "send", to: "planner", message: "Task-2 complete (30min). Task-3 blocked - need API key." });
// ... get unblocked ...
intercom({ action: "send", to: "planner", message: "Task-3 complete. All done." });

Long-Running Task with Checkpoints

// For tasks that might exceed the ask timeout, use send + periodic asks

// 1. Initial send with full context
intercom({
  action: "send",
  to: "worker",
  message: "Implement user authentication. This will take 30+ minutes. I'll check in at milestones."
});

// 2. Worker sends progress via send (no timeout)
intercom({ action: "send", to: "planner", message: "Milestone 1: Login form complete (10min)" });

// 3. Worker asks for specific decision when needed
const decision = await intercom({
  action: "ask",
  to: "planner",
  message: "Should we use JWT or session cookies? Need decision to continue."
});
// Continue with decision...