From c3abf23f448c06a3de548962843b8dc6c01c86dc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Stephen Zweibel Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2026 20:41:47 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Plainer wording in the CAIL Pi guide Replaces the two question openers in Sign in with plain conditionals, drops the paired contrast and colon list in Install and Before you start, moves "skip this step" ahead of the web-search commands, and says what the Windows PowerShell setting and the full-screen default do. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 --- src/pages/docs/cail-pi.astro | 24 ++++++++++++------------ 1 file changed, 12 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-) diff --git a/src/pages/docs/cail-pi.astro b/src/pages/docs/cail-pi.astro index bf8fde0..3cf4cf7 100644 --- a/src/pages/docs/cail-pi.astro +++ b/src/pages/docs/cail-pi.astro @@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ const base = import.meta.env.BASE_URL;

What it is

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Pi works a lot like Claude Code, but it's open source and can talk to any model provider. CAIL Pi is a small Pi package that adds the Lab's gateway as a provider and lets you sign in with CUNY Login, so whatever you do in Pi comes out of your monthly allowance. Pi asks the gateway which models are available every time it starts, so you never have to update a model list. On Windows, CAIL Pi also turns on Pi's PowerShell tool, after backing up Pi's settings file.

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Pi works a lot like Claude Code, but it's open source and can talk to any model provider. CAIL Pi is a small Pi package that adds the Lab's gateway as a provider and lets you sign in with CUNY Login, so whatever you do in Pi comes out of your monthly allowance. Pi asks the gateway which models are available every time it starts, so you never have to update a model list. On Windows, CAIL Pi also turns on Pi's PowerShell tool so Pi runs commands in PowerShell, and it backs up Pi's settings file before changing it.

The code is on GitHub and the package is on npm.

@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ const base = import.meta.env.BASE_URL;

Before you start

  • Lab model access. If you don't have it yet, request access.
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  • A terminal: Terminal on macOS, PowerShell on Windows. You don't need to install Node.js or Git first. Pi's installer takes care of what it needs.
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  • A terminal, such as Terminal on macOS or PowerShell on Windows. You don't need to install Node.js or Git first, because Pi's installer adds what it needs.
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ const base = import.meta.env.BASE_URL; 
irm https://pi.dev/install.ps1 | iex
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Press Enter to accept Pi's suggestions. It installs Node.js too if your computer needs it. When it asks "Start pi now?", type n, because the next step runs in the terminal, not inside Pi. If it says your shell isn't using the new install yet, open a new terminal window.

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Press Enter to accept Pi's suggestions. It installs Node.js too if your computer needs it. When it asks "Start pi now?", type n, because you'll run the next command in the terminal. If it says your shell isn't using the new install yet, open a new terminal window.

Then add CUNY AI Lab to Pi. The command is the same on every system.

pi install npm:@cuny-ai-lab/cail-pi
@@ -69,9 +69,9 @@ const base = import.meta.env.BASE_URL; 
pi

Inside Pi, type /login cail and choose Sign in with CUNY AI Lab. Your browser opens the Lab's sign-in page. Sign in with CUNY Login, click Connect Pi, and go back to Pi.

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Pi then shows a message ending in "no default model is configured for provider "cail"". That's expected. Type your first message and Pi answers with DeepSeek V4 Flash.

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Working on another computer over SSH? Pi shows a link instead of opening a browser. Open it on any computer, click Connect Pi, and paste the code it shows into Pi.

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Prefer an API key? Choose Sign in with an API key instead and paste a personal key from your dashboard. The API key guide shows how to create one.

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Pi then shows a message ending in "no default model is configured for provider "cail"". You can ignore it. Send your first message, and Pi answers with DeepSeek V4 Flash.

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If you're working on another computer over SSH, Pi shows a link instead of opening a browser. Open the link on any computer, click Connect Pi, and paste the code it shows into Pi.

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To use an API key instead, choose Sign in with an API key and paste a personal key from your dashboard. The API key guide shows how to create one.

@@ -81,12 +81,12 @@ const base = import.meta.env.BASE_URL;

Add web search (optional)

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Two community packages, separate from CAIL Pi, let Pi search the web and ask you questions. Quit Pi first by typing /quit, then run:

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Two community packages, separate from CAIL Pi, let Pi search the web and ask you questions. If you already have them, skip this step. Otherwise, quit Pi by typing /quit and run:

pi install npm:pi-web-access
 pi install npm:pi-ask-user
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pi-web-access lets Pi search the web and read pages. Searches go through Exa's free service and need no key. If a whole room searches at the same moment, some searches can be refused briefly, and Pi can try again. pi-ask-user lets Pi stop and ask you to choose between options before it goes ahead. If you already have them, skip this step.

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pi-web-access lets Pi search the web and read pages. Searches go through Exa's free service and need no key. If a whole room searches at the same moment, some searches can be refused briefly, and Pi can try again. pi-ask-user lets Pi stop and ask you to choose between options before it goes ahead.

@@ -95,20 +95,20 @@ pi install npm:pi-ask-user 
pi update --all
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That updates Pi and all of your Pi packages, CAIL Pi included. Your saved key, your settings, and the packages LazyPi installed, web search among them, stay as they are. On Windows, if PowerShell blocks pi, type pi.cmd update --all.

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That updates Pi and all of your Pi packages, CAIL Pi included. Your saved key, your settings, and the packages LazyPi installed, including web search, stay as they are. On Windows, if PowerShell blocks pi, type pi.cmd update --all.

If you still have the older pi-workshop package, remove it so the CUNY AI Lab provider isn't loaded twice: pi remove npm:@cuny-ai-lab/pi-workshop.

Troubleshooting

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Start with the health check. Type /cail inside Pi. It shows whether the gateway answers, whether your key is saved and accepted, how many CUNY AI Lab models you can use, and which model is active. On Windows it also checks that Pi's PowerShell tool is on. It never shows your key.

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For most problems, start by typing /cail inside Pi to run the health check. It shows whether the gateway answers, whether your key is saved and accepted, how many CUNY AI Lab models you can use, and which model is active. On Windows it also checks that Pi's PowerShell tool is on. It never shows your key.

"No API key found for the selected model"
Type /login cail and sign in.
"Your CUNY AI Lab sign-in has expired"
A sign-in lasts 180 days. Type /login cail and sign in again.
"Your CUNY AI Lab access is not active yet"
Signing in works only for accounts with Lab model access. Your dashboard shows how to request it.
"That API key was not accepted"
Look for missing or extra characters and paste it again with /login cail. Keys are personal, so make sure it's the one issued to you.
No CUNY AI Lab models in /model
Pi lists them once you're signed in. If /cail says your key is fine but the list stays empty, restart Pi.
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Pi takes over the whole terminal window
That's Pi's default. To keep your terminal's normal scrollback, add "tuiMode": "regular" to Pi's settings file (~/.pi/agent/settings.json, or %USERPROFILE%\.pi\agent\settings.json on Windows), or start Pi with pi --tui-mode regular.
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Pi takes over the whole terminal window
Pi runs full screen by default. To keep your terminal's normal scrollback, add "tuiMode": "regular" to Pi's settings file (~/.pi/agent/settings.json, or %USERPROFILE%\.pi\agent\settings.json on Windows), or start Pi with pi --tui-mode regular.
Windows: "running scripts is disabled on this system"
Pi's installer works around this, so pi normally works. If the policy changed after you installed, type pi.cmd instead of pi. You don't need to change the execution policy.
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ pi install npm:pi-ask-user

Privacy and security

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Signing in creates a personal key for this computer, named "Pi on" and the computer's name, that expires after 180 days. It appears in your dashboard, where you can revoke it. Signing in again from the same computer replaces that key. A key you pasted yourself is never replaced.

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Signing in creates a personal key for this computer, named "Pi on" and the computer's name, that expires after 180 days. It appears in your dashboard, where you can revoke it. Signing in again from the same computer replaces it, but a key you pasted yourself is never replaced.

Pi saves the key on your computer in ~/.pi/agent/auth.json, which only you can read on macOS and Linux. CAIL Pi sends the key only to the Lab's gateway, with each model request and when /cail checks it. It never shows the key in messages or the health check.

If you add pi-web-access, your searches go to Exa and pages are fetched directly from your computer.

If you prefer, you can set the AILAB_API_KEY environment variable instead of signing in. Pi uses it only when no key is saved.