feat(pi): allow hiding or compacting the Engram status row in the Pi footer

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Assessment

Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Newbie friendliness
68/100
Issue type
Feature
Clarity
Mostly clear
Activity status
Active
Tech stack
javascript, node.js
Domain
cli

Research direction

Start in plugin/pi, then read its README and the code that sets the engram extension status at session start and after mem_* calls. Check how the Pi plugin reads persistent user configuration and how tests cover status updates. Done means users can choose to hide or compact the status, the default remains unchanged, and the choice persists across plugin updates.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

status:needs-review type:feature
Existing Issue Search
  • I searched existing issues and will add evidence to a canonical tracker when applicable.
🔍 Observed Consequence

In Pi, gentle-engram always reports its state as an extension status (key engram), for example 🧠 svodka · ready after session start, and 🧠 svodka · ✓ 4 results after memory tool calls. Pi renders extension statuses on a separate footer row, so the plugin permanently takes one extra terminal line in every session.

For most of the session the row carries no actionable information: the project name repeats the working directory that the footer already shows, and ready only confirms the normal state. Users who want a compact footer have no supported way to hide or shorten this row. The only options are to patch the installed package (lost on every update) or to write a custom footer extension that filters the engram key.

💡 Desired Outcome

Users can choose to keep the Engram status out of the Pi footer, or to show it only when it needs attention (for example offline, ambiguous project, or a failed memory call). The default behavior can stay as it is today. The choice persists across plugin updates.

📦 Affected Area

Other

Release Context

gentle-engram 0.5.1 (Pi plugin, plugin/pi), Pi 1.4.0, Linux

🔄 Workarounds and Constraints

Current workaround: a custom Pi footer extension that hides the engram status key from the extension status row and renders a compact form inside the main footer row. This works only for users who already maintain a custom footer.

Constraint observed: the plugin README lists no environment variable or setting that controls the status output, and the status is set at session_start and after every mem_* tool call, so clearing it once from another extension does not last.

📎 Additional Context

Affected area is the Pi plugin (plugin/pi); "Other" was chosen because the dropdown has no Pi plugin option.

Footer example (second row is the Engram status):

~/source/projects/svodka | main | claude-bridge claude-fable-5-1 | high | 0/1.0M 0.0% (auto)
🧠 svodka · ready
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Merged PRs (30d)
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