The project's README from github.com/opensec-git/Pi-Bolt. As one markdown file: README.md.
The Pi coding agent, compiled ahead of time to native code.
One executable for Linux x86-64 and ARM64, Android (Termux), macOS on Apple silicon and Windows x64.
No JIT, no Node.js or Bun required.
Install · Benchmarks · Docs · Website
Pi-Bolt is the Pi you already use, with the same commands, sessions, settings, providers and extensions, but every function is compiled to machine code when the executable is built, so nothing is parsed or JIT-compiled at launch. Against Pi as released on Node 24, it writes a 400 KB file 120 times faster, uses 8 times less CPU while a long answer streams, 7 times less over a session and a quarter of the memory; against Pi on stock Bun, much the same.
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d043eb7d-ecb2-4837-a3ee-cbd98079adf9
| Pi on Node 24 | Pi‑Bolt | |
|---|---|---|
| Ready to type | 423 ms | 41 ms 10× sooner |
| Writing a 400 KB file through a tool call | 143.7 s | 1.2 s 120× faster |
| CPU while a long answer streams | 18.6 s | 2.3 s 8× less |
| CPU per prompt, 40 prompts into a session | 352 ms | 46 ms 7.7× less |
| Memory after 40 prompts | 521 MB | 117 MB 4.5× less |
Pi-Bolt 1.0.0 against Pi 1.4.0 as released, Linux x86-64, one CPU. Every platform: Benchmarks.
Linux, macOS, Android (Termux)
curl -fsSL https://pi-bolt.opensec.in/install.sh | sh
Windows (PowerShell)
irm https://pi-bolt.opensec.in/install.ps1 | iex
Or:
powershell -c "irm https://pi-bolt.opensec.in/install.ps1 | iex"brew install opensec-git/tap/pi-bolt, updated with brew upgrade pi-boltscoop bucket add opensec-git https://github.com/opensec-git/scoop-bucket, then
scoop install opensec-git/pi-bolt, updated with scoop update pi-boltgithub:opensec-git/Pi-Bolt with the options in the
installation guide, updated with
mise upgrade --bump github:opensec-git/Pi-Boltnpm install -g --allow-scripts=pi-bolt pi-boltbun add -g --trust pi-boltpi-bolt-avx2-bin-release-git (the x86-64 AVX2 build,
signature checked), paru -S pi-bolt-avx2-bin-release-gitThen, in your project:
pi-bolt # start
pi-bolt update # install the latest release
pi-bolt update --rollback # put back the build it replaced
pi-bolt update --channel beta # take pre-releases too
New to Pi? Run /login to connect a provider. Your Pi configuration in ~/.pi/agent is used as is. Pi-Bolt installs next to Pi as pi-bolt, so both can stay installed;
running the installer again updates, reinstalls or uninstalls it.
The installer verifies the release signature and offers three optional extensions by OpenSec:
opensec-pi-subagents: specialized agents in separate sessions,
parallel workflows and scheduled jobs.opensec-pi-todo: a todo list for the model, shown as a live panel above the
editor.opensec-pi-fff: pi-fff's fast fuzzy find, grep and @-mentions, at full
speed on the default build.The default build has no JIT: Pi's own code is compiled machine code, and an extension loaded at run time is interpreted. Light
extensions don't notice. For extensions that do heavy work (search, parsing) or use bun:ffi, install the JIT build. Pi itself
stays compiled, so it is within about 5% of the default.
# macOS, Linux ARM64, Termux
curl -fsSL https://pi-bolt.opensec.in/install.sh | PIBOLT_VARIANT=arm64-jit sh
# Linux x86-64
curl -fsSL https://pi-bolt.opensec.in/install.sh | PIBOLT_VARIANT=x64-jit sh
On Windows, run $env:PIBOLT_VARIANT = "x64-jit" before the PowerShell command. With npm, keep PIBOLT_VARIANT set in your
shell profile; it is read on every run. pi-bolt --version then ends in JIT on, and pi-bolt update keeps the build you
chose.
On the default build, an extension that needs the JIT (it calls into a native library through bun:ffi) fails with a line that
names the extension and gives the command that switches to the JIT build.
Download a build from the latest release, check it against
SHA256SUMS, unpack it and run ./pi (on Windows, pi-bolt.exe).
| Download | For |
|---|---|
pi-bolt-linux-x64.tar.xz |
Linux, CPUs with AVX2 (Intel Haswell, AMD Zen and later) |
pi-bolt-linux-x64-baseline.tar.xz |
Linux, any x86-64 CPU |
pi-bolt-linux-arm64.tar.xz |
Linux ARM64, any 64-bit ARM CPU (Raspberry Pi 3 and later, AWS Graviton, Ampere) |
pi-bolt-darwin-arm64.tar.xz |
macOS, Apple silicon |
pi-bolt-win32-x64.zip |
Windows x64; compiled code on CPUs with AVX2, bytecode on others |
-jit builds are for heavy use of plugins loaded at run time; the runtime and kit archives are what pi-bolt compile builds
with (compiling plugins in). In Termux, use the installer: it sets the executable's loader to Termux's glibc
(Android).
In Termux from F-Droid or GitHub (the Google Play version has no glibc packages), run the same
curl ... | sh command. Pi-Bolt is a glibc program and Android's libc is not glibc, so the installer first installs Termux's
glibc (pkg install glibc-repo && pkg install glibc, after asking), sets it as the executable's loader, and links pi-bolt
into $PREFIX/bin.
pi-bolt is a small launcher that starts Pi-Bolt in Android's time zone and without Termux's LD_PRELOAD (a library of
Android's libc, which glibc cannot load); the programs Pi-Bolt starts get it back. The installer copies Termux's resolv.conf
and hosts to $PREFIX/glibc/etc, where Termux's glibc reads them.
pi-bolt --acp runs Pi-Bolt in the agent panel of Zed, JetBrains IDEs, VS Code, Neovim and other
ACP editors, with your Pi settings, extensions, skills and sessions. Setuppi-bolt --mcp is an MCP server; other agents give Pi-Bolt a task with
its prompt tool and continue the session in later calls. Setupgrep and find tools are on by default and search in-process, following .gitignore, with
nothing to install. With opensec-pi-fff or @ff-labs/pi-fff loaded,
FFF's search tools are used instead.pi-bolt compile compiles the extensions installed on this machine into your Pi-Bolt (Linux and macOS)
with the release's own compiler, where they run as machine code; pi-bolt update compiles them into each new release.
Pluginspi-bolt doctor prints a plain-text report of your installation to paste into an issue. Detailspi-bolt update installs the latest release, and --rollback puts back the build it replaced.Pi extensions work unchanged. The default build has no JIT, so an extension loaded at run time is interpreted; compile the ones
you use every day into Pi-Bolt with pi-bolt compile, or use the JIT build.
In Zed's settings.json (other editors):
"agent_servers": {
"Pi-Bolt": { "type": "custom", "command": "/full/path/to/pi-bolt", "args": ["--acp"], "env": {} }
}
In Claude Code (other clients):
claude mcp add pi-bolt -- /full/path/to/pi-bolt --mcp
Pi-Bolt uses Pi's agent directory (~/.pi/agent) and shared packages list. Ordinary pi-bolt install and pi-bolt remove
update that shared list, just as Pi does, and drop Pi-Bolt's own entry for that package, so both load what the shared list
declares. Add --pi-bolt to change only Pi-Bolt's overrides. Using fictional package names:
pi-bolt install --pi-bolt npm:@example/bolt-tools
pi-bolt remove --pi-bolt npm:@example/shared-tools
piBolt.packages extends the shared list. A -source entry excludes an inherited package from Pi-Bolt without changing Pi;
other shared packages remain inherited. See Configuration.
{
"packages": ["npm:@juicesharp/rpiv-todo"],
"piBolt": { "packages": ["-npm:@juicesharp/rpiv-todo", "npm:opensec-pi-todo"] }
}
pi-bolt doctor prints a report of your installation, in plain text to paste into an issue: the build and how it was installed,
whether the release's signature verifies, which extensions are compiled in, run at run time or fail to load, how Pi's packages
and piBolt.packages differ, the Herdr and editor setup, and the problems it finds, such as another pi-bolt earlier on your
PATH. It prints no keys or tokens, and shows your home folder as ~. pi-bolt doctor --offline leaves out the release
signature and the check for a newer version.
In a Herdr pane, Pi-Bolt shows up as pi-bolt (idle, working or blocked), and a Herdr restart reopens the
same conversation in the same pane. There is nothing to install; "-builtin:herdr" in the extensions setting turns it off.
Restoring a session needs Herdr 0.9.2 or later. To start other agents in Herdr panes from Pi-Bolt, install
pi-herdr: pi-bolt install npm:@andrewjacop/pi-herdr.
Pi-Bolt 1.0.0 against Pi 1.4.0 as released on npm, run by stock Bun 1.4.4 and by Node 24, doing the same work against the same local model; lower is better.
| Benchmark | Pi-Bolt | Pi on Bun | Pi on Node 24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writing a 400 KB file through a tool call, s | 1.2 | 194.8 | 143.7 |
| CPU, streaming a 60,000-character answer, s | 2.34 | 21.92 | 18.62 |
| CPU per prompt, prompts 21 to 40 of a session, ms | 46 | 328 | 352 |
| CPU, interactive session, ms | 167 | 1,087 | 1,180 |
| Memory after 40 prompts, MB | 117 | 309 | 521 |
| Ready to type, ms | 41 | 366 | 423 |
| Benchmark | Pi-Bolt | Pi on Bun | Pi on Node 24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writing a 400 KB file through a tool call, s | 1.3 | 164.1 | 134.5 |
| CPU, streaming a 60,000-character answer, s | 2.32 | 18.82 | 18.19 |
| CPU per prompt, prompts 21 to 40 of a session, ms | 42 | 280 | 299 |
| CPU, interactive session, ms | 156 | 1,021 | 1,099 |
| Memory after 40 prompts, MB | 120 | 299 | 640 |
| Ready to type, ms | 37 | 334 | 390 |
| Benchmark | Pi-Bolt | Pi on Bun | Pi on Node 24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writing a 400 KB file through a tool call, s | 0.6 | 76.2 | 96.7 |
| CPU, streaming a 60,000-character answer, s | 1.35 | 7.10 | 6.47 |
| CPU per prompt, prompts 21 to 40 of a session, ms | 17 | 111 | 149 |
| CPU, interactive session, ms | 80 | 485 | 523 |
| Memory after 40 prompts, MB | 89 | 746 | 1,363 |
| Ready to type, ms | 24 | 120 | 151 |
| Benchmark | Pi-Bolt | Pi on Bun | Pi on Node 24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writing a 400 KB file through a tool call, s | 1.8 | 131.0 | 110.1 |
| CPU, streaming a 60,000-character answer, s | 2.69 | 44.86 | 39.01 |
| CPU per prompt, prompts 21 to 40 of a session, ms | 53 | 278 | 379 |
| CPU, interactive session, ms | 213 | 1,266 | 1,286 |
| Memory after 40 prompts, MB | 79 | 286 | 378 |
| Ready to type, ms | 78 | 300 | 363 |
GitHub's runners for Linux (pinned to one CPU) and Windows (2 cores; memory there is the working set); macOS on an Apple M5,
not pinned. Node 22, the method and the raw data: bench/results/2026-10-23-stock-bun-1.0.0.
Against PiG 0.5.1 (Pi ported to Go): Pi-Bolt against PiG. Every other result, and the method: docs/BENCHMARKS.md.
The compiler builds on oven-sh/WebKit#743. Pi-Bolt ports it to x86-64 and macOS
and adds its own code generation and runtime work (docs/ARCHITECTURE.md). packages/ is the Pi release
named in sources.json with Pi-Bolt's changes on top; the engine changes are in patches/.
Bug reports, benchmarks on other hardware and fixes are welcome: see CONTRIBUTING.md. Report security issues privately, as described in SECURITY.md.
git clone https://github.com/opensec-git/Pi-Bolt.git && cd Pi-Bolt
scripts/fetch-runtime.sh # the released Pi-Bolt runtime (or build it: docs/BUILDING.md)
scripts/prepare-pi.sh # builds the Pi in this repository
scripts/build-pi.sh # out/pi-bolt/pi
tests/aot/run.sh # engine tests
MIT. Release executables include Bun (MIT), JavaScriptCore (LGPL-2.0 and BSD), ICU (Unicode License) and Pi (MIT); see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.
[!NOTE] Pi-Bolt is an independent fork of Pi, not affiliated with Pi's authors or with Oven.
Built on Pi by Mario Zechner and contributors, and Bun by Oven.
Pi-Bolt is the Pi you already use, with the same commands, sessions, settings, providers and extensions, but every function is compiled to machine code when the executable is built, so nothing is parsed or JIT-compiled at launch.