Demo: Watch on GitHub (12 MB)
What Is Decapod
Like Docker is a runtime for containers, Decapod is a runtime for agents. You set it up once, then agents operate inside a governed environment with persistent state, enforced methodology, proof gates, and coordination primitives.
Agents can write code. But they can't reliably ship because they forget what they built yesterday, treat best practices as vibes, say "done" without evidence, and trip over each other in parallel. Decapod fixes that.
Decapod is not a prompt pack, an agent framework, a hosted SaaS platform, or a review bot. It's infrastructure: the environment where agent work becomes enforceable.
Quickstart
That's it. Agents now operate inside the governed environment. You observe outcomes, review summaries, and merge when proofs pass.
How It Works
Persistent state — Agents persist work to .decapod/: todos, conventions, decisions, proof events. Durable state that survives sessions and model switches.
Enforced methodology — An embedded constitution defines binding contracts for how agents operate. Generated entrypoints (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, GEMINI.md, CODEX.md, OPENCODE.md) require agents to read the constitution, use the control surface, and follow Intent > Architecture > Implementation > Proof. Projects customize via .decapod/OVERRIDE.md.
Proof gates — Agents must satisfy validation gates before claiming completion. If decapod validate fails, the work isn't done. Evidence required, not assertions.
Coordination — A shared backlog with audit trail, shared conventions and preferences, a proof ledger, and policy boundaries. Multiple agents work in parallel without collisions.
CLI Reference
decapod init Bootstrap a project (alias: i)
decapod docs Access methodology documentation (alias: d)
decapod todo Track tasks and work items (alias: t)
decapod validate Validate methodology compliance (alias: v)
decapod govern Governance: policy, health, proofs (alias: g)
decapod data Data: archives, knowledge, context
decapod auto Automation: scheduled, event-driven (alias: a)
decapod qa Quality assurance: verification (alias: q)
Architecture
your-project/
├── AGENTS.md Agent universal contract (generated)
├── CLAUDE.md Claude entrypoint (generated)
├── GEMINI.md Gemini entrypoint (generated)
├── CODEX.md Codex entrypoint (generated)
├── OPENCODE.md OpenCode entrypoint (generated)
└── .decapod/
├── data/ State: SQLite DBs + event logs
├── generated/ Derived artifacts (auto-managed)
├── OVERRIDE.md Project-specific constitution overrides
└── README.md Control plane documentation
Agents interact through the CLI control surface. You don't touch .decapod/data/ directly.
Security
See SECURITY.md. Agents must handle credentials securely — never log, never commit, always rotate. Violations are constitutional breaches.
Contributing
Decapod is built with Decapod. To develop:
Support
License
MIT. See LICENSE for details.