openlap

Product requirements that agents read. Write a lap, agent builds it.

A lap is one goal, issues to implement, and verification criteria. Agents pick the next open lap and work through it. When they commit, criteria auto-check via webhook. No dashboard, no CLI -- just the MCP server.

Live at openlap.app

Install

1. Admin installs the GitHub App (once per org): https://github.com/apps/openlap-app/installations/new
2. Add the MCP server:

claude mcp add --transport http lap https://openlap.app/mcp

3. Open Claude Code. First message triggers GitHub login in browser. Done.

For project-scoped briefings (filters context to one repo):

claude mcp add --transport http --scope project lap "https://openlap.app/mcp?project=owner/repo"

Project scope overrides global when both exist.

4. Register your repo as a project (once per repo):

create_project owner/repo

What agents see

Briefings -- computed context injected into tool descriptions. Agents see project health, the focused lap's unchecked criteria, staleness signals, and priority collisions without calling any tool. Briefings refresh mid-session after mutations.

Laps -- sorted by priority (0=focus, 1=urgent, 2=high, 3=normal). Agents work on the first open lap. Each lap has a goal, body, and structured criteria.

Criteria -- verification checks on each lap. Agents prove work by committing with LAP-NNN #N in the commit message:

git commit -m "LAP-010 #1 #2 add auth middleware"

The GitHub webhook auto-checks the referenced criteria. When all code criteria pass, the lap auto-closes to done. If manual criteria remain (screenshots, design review), the lap moves to review for human verification.

Focus mode -- set priority=0 on one lap per project. Its unchecked criteria appear in briefings automatically, so agents know what to verify from tools/list alone.

Develop

Prerequisites: Go 1.23+, a GitHub App.

export BASE_URL=http://localhost:7784
export DB_PATH=./openlap.db
cd cmd/anylap && go run .

Local MCP (overrides the remote server):

claude mcp add --transport http lap http://localhost:7784/mcp

Deploy

Hetzner. sky ship --app openlap-1. Secrets via sky deploy --app openlap-1.

Architecture

Agent -> MCP (openlap.app/mcp) -> SQLite

One Go binary serves REST API + MCP protocol. OAuth 2.1 with PKCE, chaining to GitHub for identity. GitHub App installation = team boundary. SQLite with Litestream S3 backup.

See CLAUDE.md for technical reference.