de-fork pi-subagents: upstream npm extension, format-based pin checks

The lpb-stack/pi-subagents fork is retired. pi installs upstream
@tintinweb/pi-subagents from npm (versionless pin, updated via
'pi update --extensions'), so pi-subagents is no longer a git repo the
stack clones, symlinks, or tags.

- repos.py: drop pi-subagents from WORKSPACE_REPOS/UPSTREAM_REMOTES;
  replace the hardcoded NPM_EXTENSION_PACKAGES with a pin-format
  classifier (git_extension_pin) — a git:github.com/lpb-stack/<ext>@
  pin is version-tracked, every npm:/bare package is presence-only
- validate: pin checks classify every package the same way (git forks
  version-checked, all npm/bare presence-checked); drop the stale
  git-clone existence check for pi-subagents
- CI: drop pi-subagents from the tag job and the docs clone loop
- docs/skills: 4 stack repos / 1 fork, retired-fork note, versionless
  npm pin examples

Author: localpibox

.github/workflows/build-and-publish.yml

@@ -304,14 +304,12 @@ jobs:
           # dev pipeline: dev branches; main pipeline: stable branches
           if [ "${GITHUB_REF_NAME}" = "main" ]; then
             declare -A REPO_BRANCHS=(
-              ["lpb-stack/pi-subagents"]="lpb"
               ["lpb-stack/lemonade-pi-plugin"]="lpb"
               ["lpb-stack/config"]="main"
               ["lpb-stack/lpb-memory"]="main"
             )
           else
             declare -A REPO_BRANCHS=(
-              ["lpb-stack/pi-subagents"]="lpb-dev"
               ["lpb-stack/lemonade-pi-plugin"]="lpb-dev"
               ["lpb-stack/config"]="dev"
               ["lpb-stack/lpb-memory"]="dev"
@@ -398,10 +396,10 @@ jobs:
           VERSION=$(git show origin/main:VERSION | tr -d '[:space:]')
           mkdir -p ws/git
           git clone --quiet https://github.com/lpb-stack/config.git ws/config
-          for r in lpb-memory pi-subagents lemonade-pi-plugin; do
+          for r in lpb-memory lemonade-pi-plugin; do
             git clone --quiet "https://github.com/lpb-stack/$r.git" "ws/git/$r"
           done
-          for d in ws/config ws/git/lpb-memory ws/git/pi-subagents \
+          for d in ws/config ws/git/lpb-memory \
                    ws/git/lemonade-pi-plugin; do
             git -C "$d" fetch --quiet --depth 1 origin tag "$VERSION"
             git -C "$d" checkout -q "$VERSION"

.pi/skills/localpibox-docs-workflow/SKILL.md

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ from `gh-pages` at `https://lpb-stack.github.io/devstack/<version>/`).
 
 **Branch facts** (for "branch off X / PR to X" lines in CONTRIBUTING files):
 default branch is `dev` for devstack/config/lpb-memory, `lpb-dev` for the
-forks (pi, pi-subagents, lemonade-pi-plugin). `main`/`lpb` are stable
+lemonade-pi-plugin fork. `main`/`lpb` are stable
 branches written by `lpb-devstack release promote` — not PR targets.
 
 ## GitHub-Compatible Mermaid

.pi/skills/localpibox-repo-workflow/SKILL.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 name: lpb-stack-repo-workflow
-description: Manage the 6 LocalPibox repos — manual versioning (lpb-devstack bump), stable releases, image builds, lpb.py.
+description: Manage the LocalPibox stack repos — manual versioning (lpb-devstack bump), stable releases, image builds, lpb.py.
 ---
 # LocalPibox Repository Workflow
 
@@ -39,9 +39,10 @@ CI: VERSION changed in pushed commit → tests → build + publish → tag 4 rep
 - **devstack/VERSION** — the only VERSION file in the stack (e.g. `0.0.N-lpb-dev`)
 - **Format:** dev pipeline `0.x.y-lpb-dev`, main pipeline `0.x.y-lpb`
 - **`lpb-devstack bump`** is the **dev release trigger**: before committing a
-  VERSION change it gates on all 5 stack repos being on their dev branch,
-  fully pushed, and committed (CI tags the *remote* dev heads — unpushed or
-  uncommitted local work would ship invisibly). `bump --force` bypasses.
+  VERSION change it gates on every tagged stack repo (all except devstack)
+  being on its dev branch, fully pushed, and committed (CI tags the *remote*
+  dev heads — unpushed or uncommitted local work would ship invisibly).
+  `bump --force` bypasses.
   The docs gate is main-pipeline only (`release promote`).
 - **`lpb-devstack bump`** preserves major.minor, increments patch (or
   `--minor` / `--major` / `--set`), keeps the current suffix, and commits
@@ -67,7 +68,7 @@ CI: VERSION changed in pushed commit → tests → build + publish → tag 4 rep
 | **config** | workspace (agent preset) | `dev` | `main` |
 | **lpb-memory** | workspace + extension | `dev` | `main` |
 | **pi** | reference clone (de-forked — image installs pi from npm at `LPB_PI_VERSION`) | — | — |
-| **pi-subagents** | extension | `lpb-dev` | `lpb` |
+| **pi-subagents** | extension (upstream npm — de-forked 2026-09-10, not a git repo) | — | — |
 | **lemonade-pi-plugin** | extension | `lpb-dev` | `lpb` |
 
 Org: all repos live under **`github.com/lpb-stack`** (migrated from
@@ -81,7 +82,6 @@ the GitHub org and GHCR paths use `lpb-stack`.
 Workspace:
   /home/lpb/workspace/devstack            (real clone, single source)
   /home/lpb/workspace/pi                  (reference clone of the retired fork)
-  /home/lpb/workspace/pi-subagents        (symlink → agent git clone)
   /home/lpb/workspace/lemonade-pi-plugin  (symlink → agent git clone)
   /home/lpb/workspace/lpb-memory          (symlink → agent git clone)
 
@@ -90,7 +90,10 @@ Agent config (cloned from lpb-stack/config by start.sh at container start):
 
 Extension clones (pi loads these per settings.json pins):
   /home/lpb/.pi/agent/git/github.com/lpb-stack/
-      lemonade-pi-plugin, lpb-memory, pi-subagents
+      lemonade-pi-plugin, lpb-memory
+
+  pi-subagents is NOT a git clone — it installs from the upstream npm
+  package (@tintinweb/pi-subagents) per the settings.json pin.
 
 ⚠️ Extensions update at runtime via `pi update --extensions`.
    They are NOT baked into Docker images.
@@ -102,9 +105,9 @@ Extension clones (pi loads these per settings.json pins):
 
 - **`dev`** (devstack, config, lpb-memory): primary development. Default on GitHub.
 - **`main`** (devstack, config, lpb-memory): stable release branch.
-- **`lpb-dev`** (pi-subagents, lemonade-pi-plugin): active development from
+- **`lpb-dev`** (lemonade-pi-plugin): active development from
   upstream + LPB patches. Default on GitHub.
-- **`lpb`** (pi-subagents, lemonade-pi-plugin): stable branch — receives
+- **`lpb`** (lemonade-pi-plugin): stable branch — receives
   clean merges from `lpb-dev` via the release procedure. Divergence from
   `lpb-dev` is normal during active development.
 
@@ -138,7 +141,7 @@ docs sync + review happens at release time via `docs-ready`.
 #    commits DOCS_READY=<stable-version> on the docs branch + pushes)
 lpb-devstack release docs-ready
 
-# 1. Readiness check (all 5 repos + docs verdict, non-destructive, fetches first)
+# 1. Readiness check (all tagged repos + docs verdict, non-destructive, fetches first)
 lpb-devstack release status
 
 # 2. Inspect the exact plan without changing anything

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ has its own scope:
 | [config](https://github.com/lpb-stack/config) | Pi settings, MCP servers, custom skills, subagents presets |
 | [pi](https://github.com/earendil-works/pi) | Upstream of the coding agent core — installed from npm at `LPB_PI_VERSION`, not a stack repo since the 2026-08-31 de-fork; patches go upstream |
 | [lemonade-pi-plugin](https://github.com/lpb-stack/lemonade-pi-plugin) | Qwen thinking + vision support (fork) |
-| [pi-subagents](https://github.com/lpb-stack/pi-subagents) | Centralized subagent model registry (fork) |
+| [pi-subagents](https://github.com/tintinweb/pi-subagents) | Upstream of the subagent model registry — installed from npm, not a stack repo since the 2026-09-10 de-fork |
 | [lpb-memory](https://github.com/lpb-stack/lpb-memory) | Persistent memory / session search extension |
 
 ### Process

README.md

@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ lpb --help       # full usage
 | **VSCodium** | Web-based editor (`:web` image), connects over the OpenVSCode protocol |
 | **lemonade-pi-plugin** (forked) | Model provider for the local **Lemonade** server — Qwen thinking + vision support |
 | **lpb-memory** | Persistent memory + session search for the agent |
-| **pi-subagents** (forked) | Local-first subagent model registry (no hardcoded cloud models) |
+| **pi-subagents** | Subagent model registry — upstream `tintinweb/pi-subagents` installed via npm (no hardcoded cloud models) |
 | **agent-browser** + Chrome | Browser automation tools for the agent |
 | **MCP servers** | Exa (web search), Context7 (library docs), agent-browser |
 | **Lemonade** (host prerequisite) | Local model server — AMD/Strix Halo-optimized, serves GGUF models; on this host or any reachable host; model chosen by the user at setup (no default) |
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ patch.
 | Repo | Upstream | LocalPibox work | Update policy |
 |---|---|---|---|
 | **lemonade-pi-plugin** | `lemonade-sdk/lemonade-pi-plugin` (no stable release) | Qwen thinking + vision support | follow upstream `main`, check periodically |
-| **pi-subagents** | `tintinweb/pi-subagents` (v0.16.1) | centralized local-first subagent model registry | follow upstream; merge + repair as needed |
+| **pi-subagents** | `tintinweb/pi-subagents` (upstream, npm) | installed from upstream npm — no local fork since the 2026-09-10 de-fork; subagent model registry | track upstream releases |
 | **lpb-memory** | *(independent project)* | Pi memory extension (subprocess reviews) | no upstream to track |
 | **config** / **devstack** | — | own | own |
 
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ GitHub Actions (`.github/workflows/build-and-publish.yml`) runs on:
 Versioning is **manual**: `lpb-devstack bump` commits a new `VERSION`, and CI
 builds + tags only when VERSION changed in the pushed commit. Pipeline jobs:
 **VERSION check** → **test** (always) → **build & publish images** →
-**tag repos** (CI tags the other 4 stack repos on their pipeline branches) →
+**tag repos** (CI tags the other 3 stack repos on their pipeline branches) →
 **docs publish** (main pipeline only — publishes the stable docs version,
 gated on the docs being flagged ready via `lpb-devstack release docs-ready`
 before promotion) → **status**. Devstack itself is tracked by its `VERSION`
@@ -315,5 +315,5 @@ devstack/
 - [lpb-stack/pi](https://github.com/lpb-stack/pi) — retired pi fork (reference only; last state `pre-defork-0.0.71`)
 - [lpb-stack/config](https://github.com/lpb-stack/config) — agent config preset
 - [lpb-stack/lemonade-pi-plugin](https://github.com/lpb-stack/lemonade-pi-plugin) — Lemonade provider plugin
-- [lpb-stack/pi-subagents](https://github.com/lpb-stack/pi-subagents) — subagent model registry
+- [tintinweb/pi-subagents](https://github.com/tintinweb/pi-subagents) — subagent model registry (upstream, installed via npm; the `lpb-stack/pi-subagents` fork is retired)
 - [lpb-stack/lpb-memory](https://github.com/lpb-stack/lpb-memory) — persistent memory extension

doc/config-repo.md

@@ -58,16 +58,18 @@ The settings file is **template-driven**, not git-tracked:
 
 ### Example pin format
 
-Extensions are pinned in the `packages` array of `settings.json` as
-`git:<owner>/<repo>@<stack-tag>` strings:
+Extensions are pinned in the `packages` array of `settings.json`. Git forks
+use `git:<owner>/<repo>@<stack-tag>` (version-tracked by the stack); npm
+packages use a bare `npm:<pkg>` specifier with **no version** so pi can
+update them via `pi update --extensions`:
 
 ```json
 {
   "packages": [
     "git:github.com/lpb-stack/lemonade-pi-plugin@0.0.N-lpb-dev",
     "git:github.com/lpb-stack/lpb-memory@0.0.N-lpb-dev",
     "npm:pi-mcp-adapter",
-    "npm:@tintinweb/pi-subagents@0.19.0",
+    "npm:@tintinweb/pi-subagents",
     "npm:pi-powerline-footer",
     "@upstash/context7-mcp"
   ]
@@ -104,9 +106,11 @@ runtime via `pi update --extensions`.
 | Directory | Repo | Role |
 |---|---|---|
 | `lpb-memory/` | `lpb-stack/lpb-memory` | Persistent memory extension |
-| `pi-subagents/` | `lpb-stack/pi-subagents` | Subagent model registry |
 | `lemonade-pi-plugin/` | `lpb-stack/lemonade-pi-plugin` | Lemonade provider plugin |
 
+`pi-subagents` is not here — it de-forked to the upstream npm package
+(installed by pi from the npm registry, not a git clone under `git/`).
+
 ## Runtime State: lpb-memory Dir
 
 The directory `~/.pi/agent/lpb-memory/` holds **runtime state** for the

doc/fork-improvements.md

@@ -8,14 +8,13 @@
 
 ## Repository Map
 
-This stack uses 5 repositories under `github.com/lpb-stack`. Two are forks
-of upstream repos; pi itself is no longer a stack repo (de-forked
-2026-08-31, see the retired-fork note below):
+This stack uses 4 repositories under `github.com/lpb-stack`. One is a fork
+of an upstream repo; pi and pi-subagents are no longer stack repos (de-forked
+2026-08-31 and 2026-09-10 respectively — see the retired-fork notes below):
 
 | Repo | Type | Upstream | Purpose |
 |---|---|---|---|
 | **`lpb-stack/lemonade-pi-plugin`** | Fork | `lemonade-sdk/lemonade-pi-plugin` | Lemonade provider — Qwen thinking protocol, vision, model catalog |
-| **`lpb-stack/pi-subagents`** | Fork | `tintinweb/pi-subagents` | Subagent model registry (local-first) |
 | **`lpb-stack/config`** | Original | — | User settings, skills, agents |
 | **`lpb-stack/devstack`** | Original | — | Docker dev environment + lpb launcher |
 | **`lpb-stack/lpb-memory`** | Original | — | Persistent memory extension |
@@ -96,11 +95,14 @@ more auditable than a formula.
 
 ---
 
-## Pi Subagents (`lpb-stack/pi-subagents`)
+## The Pi-Subagents Fork (`lpb-stack/pi-subagents`) — retired 2026-09-10
 
-Fork of `tintinweb/pi-subagents` (on top of upstream v0.16.1, merged into
-`lpb-dev`). Provides subagent model registry that removes
-Anthropic defaults and makes the stack fully local-first.
+The `lpb-stack/pi-subagents` fork (based on `tintinweb/pi-subagents` v0.16.1,
+last state on `lpb-dev`) is **retired**. pi now installs upstream
+`@tintinweb/pi-subagents` from npm (version tracked in `settings.json`), and
+the local-first behavior the fork provided is handled by the config repo's
+subagent presets — agent `.md` files omit the `model:` field, so subagents
+inherit the session model instead of hardcoded cloud defaults.
 
 ### Key Change: `globalDefaultModel`
 

doc/lpb-config.md

@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ Settings.json is **template-driven**, not git-tracked:
 
 Example pins:
 - Fork extension (stack-versioned): `git:github.com/lpb-stack/lpb-memory@0.0.N-lpb-dev`
-- Upstream npm (fork retired, version follows upstream releases): `npm:@tintinweb/pi-subagents@0.19.0`
+- Upstream npm (no version pin — pi updates it via `pi update --extensions`): `npm:@tintinweb/pi-subagents`
 
 ## lpb-memory Config Lifecycle
 

doc/lpb-devstack.md

@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ partially-tagged stack is a release bug.
 
 | Command | Description |
 |---|---|
-| `lpb-devstack release status` | Pre-flight check: all 5 repos + docs flag, non-destructive |
+| `lpb-devstack release status` | Pre-flight check: all tagged repos + docs flag, non-destructive |
 | `lpb-devstack release docs-ready [--yes]` | Flag the docs branch as reviewed for the next stable release |
 | `lpb-devstack release promote --dry-run` | Inspect plan without making changes |
 | `lpb-devstack release promote` | Promote dev → main (interactive confirmation, blocked until docs are ready) |

scripts/localpibox/stack/__init__.py

@@ -25,11 +25,11 @@
     MIGRATE_KEEP,
     MEMORY_CONFIG_PATH,
     MEMORY_CONFIG_TEMPLATE,
-    NPM_EXTENSION_PACKAGES,
     TAG_REPOS,
     VERSION_RE,
     WORKSPACE_REPOS,
     WORKSPACE_ROOT,
+    git_extension_pin,
     migrate_legacy_layout,
     repo_path,
     stack_repos,
@@ -61,11 +61,11 @@
     "MIGRATE_KEEP",
     "MEMORY_CONFIG_PATH",
     "MEMORY_CONFIG_TEMPLATE",
-    "NPM_EXTENSION_PACKAGES",
     "TAG_REPOS",
     "VERSION_RE",
     "WORKSPACE_REPOS",
     "WORKSPACE_ROOT",
+    "git_extension_pin",
     "bump_version",
     "cmd_release_promote",
     "cmd_release_status",