From 5b95ccf830d74f7bd483b6c293a6f5b6ba5f81a0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Armin Ronacher <armin.ronacher@active-4.com>
Date: Sun, 4 Jan 2026 18:12:55 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Add consistent, configurable image placeholders (#442)

* Add consistent, configurable image placeholders

* Kill the placeholders
---
 packages/coding-agent/README.md               |  1 -
 .../src/modes/interactive/interactive-mode.ts | 27 ++-----------------
 2 files changed, 2 insertions(+), 26 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/README.md b/packages/coding-agent/README.md
index 6ac16480..1858f9d1 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/README.md
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/README.md
@@ -671,7 +671,6 @@ Global `~/.pi/agent/settings.json` stores persistent preferences:
 | `retry.baseDelayMs` | Base delay for exponential backoff | `2000` |
 | `terminal.showImages` | Render images inline (supported terminals) | `true` |
 | `images.autoResize` | Auto-resize images to 2000x2000 max for better model compatibility | `true` |
-
 | `doubleEscapeAction` | Action for double-escape with empty editor: `tree` or `branch` | `tree` |
 | `hooks` | Additional hook file paths | `[]` |
 | `customTools` | Additional custom tool file paths | `[]` |
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/interactive/interactive-mode.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/interactive/interactive-mode.ts
index fff4267d..17638154 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/interactive/interactive-mode.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/modes/interactive/interactive-mode.ts
@@ -143,10 +143,6 @@ export class InteractiveMode {
 	// Custom tools for custom rendering
 	private customTools: Map<string, LoadedCustomTool>;
 
-	// Clipboard image tracking: imageId -> temp file path
-	private clipboardImages = new Map<number, string>();
-	private clipboardImageCounter = 0;
-
 	// Convenience accessors
 	private get agent() {
 		return this.session.agent;
@@ -847,35 +843,19 @@ export class InteractiveMode {
 			}
 
 			// Write to temp file
-			const imageId = ++this.clipboardImageCounter;
 			const tmpDir = os.tmpdir();
 			const fileName = `pi-clipboard-${crypto.randomUUID()}.png`;
 			const filePath = path.join(tmpDir, fileName);
 			fs.writeFileSync(filePath, Buffer.from(imageData));
 
-			// Store mapping and insert marker
-			this.clipboardImages.set(imageId, filePath);
-			this.editor.insertTextAtCursor(`[image #${imageId}]`);
+			// Insert file path directly
+			this.editor.insertTextAtCursor(filePath);
 			this.ui.requestRender();
 		} catch {
 			// Silently ignore clipboard errors (may not have permission, etc.)
 		}
 	}
 
-	/**
-	 * Replace [image #N] markers with actual file paths and clear the image map.
-	 */
-	private replaceImageMarkers(text: string): string {
-		let result = text;
-		for (const [imageId, filePath] of this.clipboardImages) {
-			const marker = `[image #${imageId}]`;
-			result = result.replace(marker, filePath);
-		}
-		this.clipboardImages.clear();
-		this.clipboardImageCounter = 0;
-		return result;
-	}
-
 	private setupEditorSubmitHandler(): void {
 		this.editor.onSubmit = async (text: string) => {
 			text = text.trim();
@@ -1003,9 +983,6 @@ export class InteractiveMode {
 			}
 
 			// If streaming, use prompt() with steer behavior
-			// Replace image markers with actual file paths
-			text = this.replaceImageMarkers(text);
-
 			// This handles hook commands (execute immediately), slash command expansion, and queueing
 			if (this.session.isStreaming) {
 				this.editor.addToHistory(text);