# gate4agent
Universal Rust transport library for CLI AI agents. Spawn, stream, resume — for four different CLI agents through one unified API.
**Not a harness. Not a sandbox.** gate4agent is the thin wiring layer between your Rust app and the CLI agent's subprocess: spawn the binary, write the prompt, read structured events, resume by session id. That's it.
## Supported CLI tools
| Tool | Transport | Pipe mode | ACP | Resume | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Claude Code** | Pipe + PTY + ACP | ✓ stream-json | ✓ via `claude-agent-acp` | ✓ `--resume <id>` | Prompt via stdin |
| **Codex** | Pipe + PTY + ACP | ✓ `--json` | ✓ via `codex-acp` | ✓ `exec resume <id>` | Uses `--full-auto` for non-interactive |
| **Gemini** | Pipe + PTY + ACP | ✓ stream-json | ✓ native `--experimental-acp` | ✓ `--resume <id>` | Prompt via `-p` flag |
| **OpenCode** (`sst/opencode`) | Pipe + ACP | ✓ `--format json` | ✓ native `opencode acp` | ✓ `--session ses_XXX` | 5-event NDJSON schema |
Transport classes:
- **Pipe**: spawn the CLI directly, read NDJSON over stdout
- **PTY**: spawn inside a pseudo-terminal, scrape the screen with vt100 (for agents without structured output)
- **ACP** (Agent Client Protocol): spawn the CLI in ACP mode, communicate via bidirectional JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdio. Multi-turn sessions, structured events, agent→host callbacks (fs, terminal, permissions).
## Quick start
```rust
use gate4agent::{CliTool, SessionConfig, AgentEvent, PipeSession, PipeProcessOptions};
#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
let config = SessionConfig {
tool: CliTool::ClaudeCode,
working_dir: std::env::current_dir()?,
env_vars: vec![],
name: None,
};
let session = PipeSession::spawn(config, "Say hello in 3 words", PipeProcessOptions::default()).await?;
let mut rx = session.subscribe();
while let Ok(event) = rx.recv().await {
match event {
AgentEvent::Text { text, .. } => print!("{text}"),
AgentEvent::SessionEnd { .. } => break,
_ => {}
}
}
Ok(())
}
```
### Resume an existing session
```rust
let opts = SpawnOptions {
resume_session_id: Some("abc-123-session".into()),
..opts
};
```
Each CLI handles resume in its own way — Codex swaps `exec` → `exec resume <id>`, Claude uses `--resume <id>`, OpenCode uses `--session <ses_XXX>`. gate4agent hides the difference behind `SpawnOptions::resume_session_id`.
### Using PipeSession directly (backwards-compatible API)
```rust
use gate4agent::{PipeSession, PipeProcessOptions, ClaudeOptions, SessionConfig, CliTool};
let config = SessionConfig {
tool: CliTool::ClaudeCode,
working_dir: std::env::current_dir()?,
env_vars: vec![],
name: None,
};
let opts = PipeProcessOptions {
claude: ClaudeOptions { model: Some("claude-opus-4".into()), ..Default::default() },
..Default::default()
};
let session = PipeSession::spawn(config, "hello", opts).await?;
```
### ACP Transport (Agent Client Protocol)
```rust
use gate4agent::acp::{AcpSession, AcpSessionOptions};
use gate4agent::{CliTool, AgentEvent};
#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
let session = AcpSession::spawn(
CliTool::Gemini,
&std::env::current_dir()?,
AcpSessionOptions::default(),
).await?;
let mut rx = session.subscribe();
session.prompt("Say hello in 3 words").await?;
while let Ok(event) = rx.recv().await {
match event {
AgentEvent::Text { text, .. } => print!("{text}"),
AgentEvent::TurnComplete { .. } => break,
_ => {}
}
}
session.kill().await?;
Ok(())
}
```
ACP provides multi-turn sessions — call `prompt()` repeatedly without respawning the agent process. The agent can also call back to the host for file access, terminal execution, and permission requests.
### Daemon Transport (skeleton)
`DaemonSession` connects to long-running HTTP/WebSocket agent daemons (OpenCode `serve`, OpenClaw). Not yet functional — API surface documented for future implementation.
## Features
- **Single API for 4 CLIs** — `TransportSession::spawn(tool, cwd, prompt, options)` (Pipe) or `AcpSession::spawn(tool, cwd, options)` (ACP)
- **Backwards-compatible `PipeSession`** — 0.1.x consumers that used `PipeSession::spawn(config, prompt, options)` compile unchanged
- **SessionEnd synthesis** — Codex has no terminal event; gate4agent synthesizes `SessionEnd { result: "exit_code=N", is_error: N != 0 }` on child exit
- **Transport-neutral events** — `AgentEvent::{Text, ToolStart, ToolResult, Thinking, TurnComplete, SessionStart, SessionEnd}`
- **Cross-platform** — Windows (ConPTY + `cmd /C` argv wrapping) and Unix (POSIX PTY + bare exec)
- **Rate-limit detection** — pattern-based session/daily/weekly limit detection per CLI
- **ACP (Agent Client Protocol)** — bidirectional JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdio, multi-turn sessions, agent→host callbacks
- **4 CLI agents** — Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, OpenCode
- **Session history** — per-CLI session listing with workdir scoping, preview extraction, and resume support (Claude JSONL, Codex JSONL, Gemini JSON, OpenCode SQLite)
- **Probe + context tracking** — `probe_all()` discovers installed CLIs (sync, filesystem-only, cached 1h); `ContextTracker` accumulates token usage, computes remaining context window capacity
- **Cure (model discovery)** — `cure()` populates `~/.gate4agent/models.json` with live model metadata from OpenCode cache or OpenRouter, so `discover_capabilities()` returns accurate context windows without hardcoding
## Architecture
```
gate4agent/
├── src/
│ ├── lib.rs — Library root, re-exports
│ ├── core/ — AgentEvent, CliTool, SessionConfig, AgentError
│ ├── transport/ — TransportSession (thin router over PipeSession), SpawnOptions
│ ├── pipe/ — PipeSession, PipeProcess, per-CLI NDJSON parsers + command builders
│ │ └── cli/ — claude.rs, codex.rs, gemini.rs, opencode.rs
│ ├── pty/ — PtyWrapper, PtySession, VTE/screen parsers, per-CLI PTY parsers
│ │ └── cli/ — Per-CLI PTY output parsers
│ ├── acp/ — ACP transport: AcpSession, protocol types, reader loop, host handler
│ │ ├── session.rs — AcpSession::spawn(), prompt(), cancel(), kill()
│ │ ├── protocol.rs — ACP wire types (InitializeParams, SessionUpdate, ContentBlock)
│ │ ├── reader.rs — Blocking JSON-RPC reader loop
│ │ ├── host.rs — AcpHostHandler trait, FilesystemAcpHandler, TerminalAcpHandler
│ │ └── spawn.rs — AcpProcess + per-CLI spawn specs
│ ├── rpc/ — Shared JSON-RPC 2.0 primitives (message, pending, handler, id)
│ │ Used internally by acp/. Not a standalone transport.
│ ├── probe/ — probe_all(), ProbeResult, CliProbe, cache logic
│ ├── context/ — ContextTracker, TurnCompleteData
│ ├── cure/ — Runtime model discovery (OpenCode cache → OpenRouter → hardcoded)
│ ├── daemon/ — DaemonSession, per-daemon adapters [skeleton]
│ ├── history/ — Session history readers (per-CLI format)
│ │ ├── claude.rs — JSONL from ~/.claude/projects/{cwd}/
│ │ ├── codex.rs — JSONL from ~/.codex/sessions/ (event_msg format)
│ │ ├── gemini.rs — JSON from ~/.gemini/tmp/{slug}/chats/
│ │ └── opencode.rs — SQLite from ~/.local/share/opencode/opencode.db
│ └── utils.rs — String utilities
```
## Testing status
| Tool | Pipe | PTY | ACP | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Claude Code** | ✓ live | ✗ | ✓ live | Pipe: stream-json. ACP: via claude-agent-acp adapter |
| **Codex** | ✓ live | ✗ | ✓ live | Pipe: --json. ACP: via codex-acp adapter |
| **Gemini** | ✓ live | ✗ | ✓ live | Pipe: stream-json. ACP: native --experimental-acp |
| **OpenCode** | ✓ live | ✗ | ✓ live | Pipe: --format json. ACP: native `opencode acp` |
All Pipe and ACP transports are live-verified against real CLI output.
PTY parsers existed in 0.1.x and are structurally simple (screen scraping) — low risk of breakage.
## Windows spawn strategy
On Windows, CLI tools are invoked through the appropriate shell:
- **npm-installed CLIs** (claude, codex, gemini, opencode): `cmd /C program.cmd arg1 arg2` — the `.cmd` batch wrapper is detected via PATH lookup
- **Bash scripts** (native binaries without `.cmd` wrapper): `bash -c 'program arg1 arg2'` — fallback when no `.cmd` wrapper exists
- **Unix**: direct `Command::new("program")` — no shell wrapping needed
Arguments are passed individually (not joined into a shell string) to avoid cmd.exe quote-mangling issues.
## Prerequisites
At least one CLI agent must be installed on the host. gate4agent does not install them.
| CLI | Install | ACP mode |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | `npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code` | via `npx @agentclientprotocol/claude-agent-acp` |
| Codex | `npm install -g @openai/codex` | via `npx @zed-industries/codex-acp` |
| Gemini | `npm install -g @google/gemini-cli` | native: `gemini --experimental-acp` |
| OpenCode | `npm install -g opencode-ai` | native: `opencode acp` |
## Versioning
- **0.1.x** — original 3-CLI library (Claude, Codex, Gemini)
- **0.2.0** — breaking: 6 CLIs, `TransportSession`, `AgentEvent` renamed, `PipeSession` removed, OpenClaw fantasy transport
- **0.2.1** — cleanup: OpenClaw removed (was never functional), `PipeSession` restored for 0.1.x compatibility, `TransportSession` is now a thin router over `PipeSession`
- **0.2.2** — parser isolation: NdjsonParser trait extracted, per-CLI parser modules split out
- **0.2.3** — source tree restructure into core/pty/pipe layout; proper pipe builders+parsers for Codex, Gemini, Cursor, OpenCode (research-based, NOT yet tested against live CLI output)
- **0.2.4** — docs update, Codex flags fixed (`--full-auto` replaces removed `--ask-for-approval`)
- **0.2.5** — live integration tests: fixed Codex flags, OpenCode `run` subcommand, Gemini `-p` flag, Windows `cmd /C` quoting; all parsers verified against real CLI output
- **0.2.6** — Gemini + OpenCode live-verified; OpenCode parser rewritten from real CLI output
- **0.2.7** — Cursor removed (no native Windows support, broken headless mode, closed-source CLI). 4 CLI tools remain: Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, OpenCode.
- **0.2.8** — SpawnOptions extended: continue_last, allowed_tools, permission_mode, mcp_config, max_turns, sandbox. Per-CLI builders updated.
- **0.2.9** — Daemon transport skeleton: DaemonSession, DaemonConfig, DaemonType (OpenCode, OpenClaw). Not yet functional — API surface documented for future implementation.
- **0.2.10** — Bidirectional JSON-RPC 2.0 primitives: RpcRequest, RpcResponse, RpcNotification, PendingRequests, HostHandler, MethodRouter. Shared infrastructure for ACP transport.
- **0.2.11** — Critical bugfixes: stale transport_session cleared on exit, send_prompt() returns BrokenPipe instead of silent no-op, OpenCode emits SessionStart, Gemini skips non-JSON banners silently, history readers for Codex/Gemini/OpenCode
- **0.2.12** — Test coverage: Gemini parser (14 tests), Claude parser (+8), builder argv parity (22 tests), PipeSession live test. README/DEBUGGING.md fixed. Examples added.
- **0.2.13–0.2.15** — OpenCode default model, env sanitization, test cleanup, TermCell improvements
- **0.2.16** — **ACP transport**: full Agent Client Protocol (JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdio) implementation. AcpSession with initialize + session/new handshake, multi-turn prompt(), session/update streaming, agent→host callbacks (fs, terminal, permissions). Live-verified with Gemini, OpenCode, Claude, Codex. 199 unit tests.
- **0.2.17** — Cursor removed again (no Windows binary: `node_sqlite3.node` is a Linux ELF, crashes on Windows with "is not a valid Win32 application"; no official Windows build exists). 4 CLI tools remain: Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, OpenCode.
- **0.2.18** — ACP host handler extended: TerminalAcpHandler with real terminal execution, FilesystemAcpHandler root whitelisting.
- **0.2.19** — RpcSession removed: standalone RPC transport was a pre-ACP intermediate step, now superseded by AcpSession. Shared JSON-RPC primitives (message, pending, handler, id) retained in `rpc/` for ACP internal use.
- **0.2.20** — History readers: workdir scoping for Codex (cwd field), Gemini (projects.json slug), OpenCode (directory field). All readers now filter sessions by working directory.
- **0.2.21** — Docs: fixed README Quick Start example, renamed rpc_hello → acp_hello example.
- **0.2.22** — History readers: preview extraction for Codex/Gemini/OpenCode (first real user message), system message filtering (Codex injected XML/AGENTS.md content excluded).
- **0.2.23** — History readers: Codex zombie session filter (sessions with no user input excluded), OpenCode SQLite reader (reads from ~/.local/share/opencode/opencode.db instead of nonexistent ~/.opencode/).
- **0.2.24** — History readers: Codex duplicate message fix (skip `response_item` with role=user), old `.json` session format removed (no cwd field = leaked into all projects).
- **0.2.25–0.2.28** — `CliCapabilities` API: `ModelInfo`, `PermissionModeInfo`, `CliFeatures` per CLI tool. Gemini `--model` flag support, Codex configurable permission modes, Claude conditional `--dangerously-skip-permissions`.
- **0.2.29** — Dynamic model discovery: `discover_capabilities()` reads CLI configs (Codex `~/.codex/config.toml`, OpenCode `opencode.json`). Model picker enrichment at runtime.
- **0.2.30** — **Probe + Context tracking**: `probe_all()` discovers installed CLIs with caching (`~/.gate4agent/probe-cache.json`). `ContextTracker` accumulates tokens per session, computes remaining context. Extended `TurnComplete` with `cache_read_tokens`, `cache_write_tokens`, `reasoning_tokens`, `context_window`, `is_cumulative`. Codex `event_msg/token_count` parser (cumulative totals + `model_context_window`). Claude/Gemini/OpenCode parsers extract cache and reasoning tokens. Fixed Claude model IDs (4 → 4.6). Removed `image_to_prompt_reference()` and `PipeSession::tool()`.
- **0.2.31** — **ContextTracker wired into runtime**: `AgentInstance` now holds a `ContextTracker`, updated on every `TurnComplete` event. `AgentRenderSnapshot` gains `context_percent: Option<f64>` — consumers get live context window usage without any extra work.
- **0.2.37** — **Full OpenCode model catalog + remove Claude aliases**. All 49 OpenCode built-in models (12 free first, 37 paid). Removed redundant `opus`/`sonnet`/`haiku` alias entries from Claude.
- **0.2.36** — **feat: cure runs lazily on first history load or session start**. `ensure_cure_once()` populates `~/.gate4agent/models.json` from OpenCode cache before `tool.capabilities()` is called, so context windows are accurate from the first interaction.
- **0.2.35** — **feat(history): SessionUsage from loaded sessions**. `load_session_with_usage()` extracts token counts from Claude JSONL history. Context tracker is initialized when loading past sessions, so `context_percent` shows real values in UI instead of 0%.
- **0.2.34** — **fix(context): correct usage_percent formula + cure module**. `used_tokens()` now = `input + output + cache_read + cache_write` (matches OpenCode's formula). Per-turn mode: input/cache REPLACE (snapshot), output ACCUMULATES. Codex `event_msg` normalizes `input_tokens` by subtracting `cached_input_tokens` to avoid double-counting. New `cure` module: runtime model discovery from OpenCode disk cache (`~/.cache/opencode/models.json`) with optional OpenRouter fallback (`cure-network` feature). Persists to `~/.gate4agent/models.json`, overlays context windows onto hardcoded capabilities.
- **0.2.33** — **fix(capabilities)**: correct context windows and model IDs for all 4 CLIs — Claude Opus/Sonnet 4.6 → 1M tokens, Codex all → 272K, Gemini preview IDs fixed, OpenCode models updated to current.
- **0.2.32** — **Fix context_percent always 0%**: Initialize `ContextTracker` from model capabilities at `SessionStart` (matches model ID → `context_window`). Reset tracker on new session spawn so stale data doesn't persist across sessions.
See [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md) for what's next and [DEBUGGING.md](DEBUGGING.md) for known issues and mitigations.
## Migration guide
### 0.2.0 → 0.2.1
- **OpenClaw removed** — `CliTool::OpenClaw` no longer exists. If you matched on it, delete that arm. OpenClaw was never functional (unverified daemon protocol, fictional acpx API surface).
- **`PipeSession` restored** — 0.1.x callers that used `PipeSession::spawn(config, prompt, options)` compile again. The `PipeSession` now includes SessionEnd synthesis (previously only in the 0.2.0 `pipe_runner`).
- **`TransportSession`** is now a thin wrapper over `PipeSession`. Its public API (`spawn`, `subscribe`, `session_id`, `send_prompt`, `kill`) is unchanged. Internal: no more `TransportHandle` enum, no dead `Pty` variant.
- **`DaemonNotRunning` / `DaemonProbeTimeout` error variants removed** — they were only reachable via OpenClaw. Remove any match arms for these.
### 0.2.18 → 0.2.19
- **`RpcSession` removed** — if you were using `gate4agent::rpc::RpcSession` or the top-level `gate4agent::RpcSession` / `RpcSessionOptions` / `RpcSessionError` re-exports, migrate to [`AcpSession`] instead. ACP does everything RpcSession did (bidirectional JSON-RPC 2.0, host handlers, multi-turn) but follows the standard Agent Client Protocol.
- **Shared `rpc` primitives unchanged** — `RpcRequest`, `RpcResponse`, `RpcError`, `RpcNotification`, `RpcId`, `HostHandler`, `MethodRouter`, `RejectAllHandler`, `PendingRequests`, `IdGen`, `classify_line` are all still exported. Only the `RpcSession` transport struct is gone.
### 0.1.x → 0.2.1
1. **Events**: `AgentEvent::Pipe*` → neutral names. Rename all match arms:
- `PipeText` → `Text`
- `PipeToolStart` → `ToolStart`
- `PipeToolResult` → `ToolResult`
- `PipeThinking` → `Thinking`
- `PipeTurnComplete` → `TurnComplete`
- `PipeSessionStart` → `SessionStart`
- `PipeSessionEnd` → `SessionEnd`
2. **`PipeSession::spawn`** — signature unchanged: `PipeSession::spawn(config, prompt, options)`. Compiles directly.
3. **`SpawnOptions`**: new unified struct. Fields: `working_dir`, `prompt`, `resume_session_id`, `model`, `append_system_prompt`, `extra_args`, `env_vars`.
4. **`CliTool`** is now non-exhaustive in effect (new variant: `OpenCode`). Add arms or a `_ =>` fallback.
## Support the Project
If you find this tool useful, consider supporting development:
| Currency | Network | Address |
|----------|---------|---------|
| USDT | TRC20 | `TNxMKsvVLYViQ5X5sgCYmkzH4qjhhh5U7X` |
| USDC | Arbitrum | `0xEF3B94Fe845E21371b4C4C5F2032E1f23A13Aa6e` |
| ETH | Ethereum | `0xEF3B94Fe845E21371b4C4C5F2032E1f23A13Aa6e` |
| BTC | Bitcoin | `bc1qjgzthxja8umt5tvrp5tfcf9zeepmhn0f6mnt40` |
| SOL | Solana | `DZJjmH8Cs5wEafz5Ua86wBBkurSA4xdWXa3LWnBUR94c` |
## License
MIT