interactive-shell
Installation
SKILL.md
Interactive Shell (Skill)
Last verified: 2026-01-18
Foreground vs Background Subagents
Pi has two ways to delegate work to other AI coding agents:
| Foreground Subagents | Dispatch Subagents | Background Subagents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tool | interactive_shell |
interactive_shell (dispatch) |
subagent |
| Visibility | User sees overlay | User sees overlay (or headless) | Hidden from user |
| Agent model | Polls for status | Notified on completion | Full output captured |
| Default agent | pi (others if user requests) |
pi (others if user requests) |
Pi only |
| User control | Can take over anytime | Can take over anytime | No intervention |
| Best for | Long tasks needing supervision | Fire-and-forget delegations | Parallel tasks, structured delegation |
Foreground subagents run in an overlay where the user watches (and can intervene). Use interactive_shell with mode: "hands-free" to monitor while receiving periodic updates, or mode: "dispatch" to be notified on completion without polling.
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