pi-heartbeat

SkillDev tools

Configure periodic health checks via HEARTBEAT.md and the /heartbeat command.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the pi-heartbeat skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by espennilsen/pi in extensions/pi-heartbeat/skills/pi-heartbeat/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Pi Heartbeat Extension

Runs a periodic health-check prompt as an isolated subprocess.

Setup

  1. Enable via --heartbeat flag, /heartbeat on, or settings.json:

    { "pi-heartbeat": { "enabled": true, "intervalMinutes": 15 } }
    
  2. Create a HEARTBEAT.md in your project root with check items:

    # Heartbeat Checklist
    - [ ] Check git status — any uncommitted changes?
    - [ ] Check disk space — anything over 90%?
    - [ ] Review td list for blocked tasks
    
  3. If the agent responds with HEARTBEAT_OK, the result is suppressed. Any other response is treated as an alert and sent via pi-channels.

Configuration (settings.json)

{
  "pi-heartbeat": {
    "enabled": false,
    "intervalMinutes": 15,
    "activeHours": { "start": "08:00", "end": "22:00" },
    "route": "ops",
    "showOk": false,
    "prompt": null
  }
}
  • enabled: Start heartbeat on session start
  • intervalMinutes: Check frequency (default: 15)
  • activeHours: Only run during these hours (null = always)
  • route: pi-channels route for alerts (default: "ops")
  • showOk: Also send HEARTBEAT_OK results to the channel
  • prompt: Custom prompt (overrides HEARTBEAT.md)

Commands

  • /heartbeat on — Start periodic checks
  • /heartbeat off — Stop checks
  • /heartbeat status — Show run stats
  • /heartbeat run — Run a check immediately

Events

  • heartbeat:check — Emitted when a check starts
  • heartbeat:result — Emitted with { ok, response, durationMs }

Signals

GitHub stars
118
Forks
13
Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
pi-heartbeat
Source
github.com/espennilsen/pi