Crypto: Pi Network Adds Three New Tools for Developers

Pi Network is further expanding its crypto infrastructure. On September 4, the Core Team launched three tools for developers: local storage, an API providing access to staking data specific to each application, and file or video sharing. The project has also consolidated its technical documentation onto a single platform to simplify the transition from development to application launch.

In brief

• Pi Network adds local storage, a staking API, and file sharing.
• Some functions are currently reserved for authorized applications.
• A new documentation centralizes the developer journey.

The first new feature concerns local storage. It arrives a few weeks after Pi Network's migration to protocol v26, another technical project undertaken this summer. Authorized applications in Pi Browser can now store certain data directly on a user's device. Preferences, session states, or similar information no longer need to be stored and served from the developer's own infrastructure.

Pi Network sees this as a way to reduce costs and technical complexity. Data remains on the Pioneer’s device and is not sent to Pi's crypto servers. The functionality must also remain consistent between Android and iOS.

However, there are several limitations. Only whitelisted applications can use this feature. Available space is limited, and old data may be deleted when it reaches saturation. Therefore, this is not guaranteed permanent storage.

The second tool is the Staking Data API. It allows a developer to check the amount of crypto PI actually staked by a user in favor of their application in the Ecosystem Directory Staking. The calculation takes into account the number of PI committed, as well as the duration of the staking. Access to this API is also initially reserved for authorized applications.

The third function is called Pi.shareFile. It allows an application to directly use the phone's native functions to share files, images, or videos. A marketplace, for example, could allow a user to send a photo of a disputed product or a receipt. A game could offer immediate sharing of a screenshot or video clip.

Pi Network is thus continuing work already visible with SLICE and the tests conducted around its Launchpad. This time, the change directly affects the tools available for building applications. The developer documentation has also been revised. Until now, resources were scattered across several spaces: SDK documentation, Community Developer Guide, and GitHub repository. They are now consolidated on a single official domain.

The new journey covers application registration, sandbox, SDKs, authentication, crypto payments, preparation for Mainnet, and launch. Pi Network even adds AI-based assistance for integrating authentication and payments. It’s less spectacular than a new blockchain or a token launch. For a developer, it’s more concrete.

Pi Network must now transform the tools into use.

These new features address a simple problem: having a crypto blockchain is not enough if creating and maintaining applications remains complicated.

For several months, Pi Network has been trying to shift some of its focus towards application utility. In June, the project had already strengthened the Ecosystem Directory Staking, a mechanism allowing users to lock PI to enhance the visibility of certain applications in Pi Browser.

The new API pushes this mechanism a bit further. Applications can now know the effective staking level directly associated with them and potentially build specific functions around their most engaged users.

This strategy aimed at giving more utility to ecosystem applications was already observed during previous upgrades of Pi Network. However, for now, there is no public data to measure the effect of the three new tools on the number of applications created, their usage, or the demand for crypto PI. Pi Network has also not specified how many applications will be allowed to access local storage and the Staking Data API during this initial phase. This will be where the next concrete indicator lies: not the number of functions added, but the number of applications that will actually use them.

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