Ask HN: Why is Pi so good (and some observations)

why is the Pi coding agent so good? Even with it's minimal implementation, Pi performs better than much more complex, sophisticated, and expensive agents.

I can rule out the secret sauce being: - system prompt (i've changed it, awesome performance despite) - underlying model (works great with models other harnesses suck with) - tools, skills, etc. (all generic)

Is there a chance Pi is good because it is just... not a lot of "cognitive effort" for the model?