Put your home AI workstation to work
Install the add-on, configure OpenRouter, start your first conversation, add Skills, build videos, create backups, and troubleshoot common problems. The guide includes 22 chapters and three appendices, designed to take about 10 minutes each. Find the Sales Handbook, Prompt Library, and Skill Handbook in the Resource Hub.
Getting started
Meet your home AI workstation
Understand what Pi Agent adds to Home Assistant and review the HA basics you need before starting.
02Install Pi Agent
Add the repository, install the add-on, and understand why the first start takes longer.
03Open Pi Agent from the sidebar
Learn why the sidebar entry appears, who can see it, and how access works on other devices.
04Tour the Pi Agent workspace
Find the composer, model selector, Session history, and toolbar without getting lost.
Start a conversation
Create your first API key with OpenRouter
Create and secure an OpenRouter API key for the recommended first provider setup.
06Add OpenRouter in the Models panel
Enter the OpenRouter endpoint, key, and a current model ID, then use Test to verify the connection.
07Start your first conversation
Ask a real household question, assess the response, and learn how to follow up effectively.
08What is a Session?
Learn why conversations are separate Sessions, how forks work, and how to export or remove them.
09Read reasoning blocks, tool cards, and diffs
Understand the expandable reasoning, tool-call, and diff panels shown beside a response.
Use multiple providers
Why connect more than one AI provider?
Balance cost, speed, availability, privacy, and quality by keeping more than one provider available.
11Compare the supported AI providers
Compare OpenRouter, GLM, OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, Groq, and MiniMax in one place.
12What is a reasoning model?
Learn why some models spend extra time reasoning and when that trade-off is worthwhile.
13Switch AI models during a conversation
Send the same task to different models to compare their strengths and trade-offs.
Teach the agent with Skills
What is a Skill?
Think of a Skill as an operating procedure that teaches the agent a repeatable task.
15Install a Skill from GitHub
Search for a Skill, install it from a repository, and confirm that Pi Agent can discover it.
16Write your first Skill
Create a SKILL.md file for a household task, test it, and share it from GitHub.
Build video workflows
Build a video from script to final MP4
Use the bundled tools for scripting, narration, capture, editing, subtitles, and upload preparation.
18Why the first video-tools download is large
Learn what the first-start video download installs, where it is stored, and when it runs again.
19Upload finished videos to Google Drive
Authorize rclone once, verify the remote, and upload completed files to a controlled folder.
Maintain Pi Agent
Back up conversations, Skills, and keys
Understand what an HA backup includes, what it excludes, and how to verify a restore.
21Upgrade Pi Agent safely
Back up first, read version notes, and handle provider-key migration from older releases.
22Troubleshooting guide
Diagnose authentication, billing, Ingress, video, Skill, and restart failures by symptom.
Appendices
Configuration reference
Reference for log_level, timezone, reset_video_tools, and env_vars.
BProvider key reference
Application and configuration reference for seven supported AI providers.
CPi Agent internal architecture
How s6-overlay, the nginx shim, pi-web, persistent data, and Skill discovery fit together.