TENEX

Collaborative AI development - A revolutionary context-first development environment where AI agents collaborate autonomously to build software.

What is TENEX?

TENEX represents a paradigm shift in software development. If LLMs have fundamentally changed how we write code, shouldn't our development environments evolve too? TENEX answers this by replacing the traditional text editor with a context-first environment where context, not code, becomes the primary building block.

At its core, TENEX is a sophisticated multi-agent coordination system built on the Nostr protocol. It enables autonomous AI agents to collaborate on complex software development tasks through intelligent routing, phase-based workflows, and continuous learning.

Key Innovation: Intelligent Agent Coordination

Unlike traditional AI assistants where you interact with a single entity, TENEX employs an intelligent routing pattern. The system automatically routes your requests to specialized agents best suited for each task, creating a seamless experience where the right expertise appears exactly when needed.

✨ Key Features

🤖 Multi-Agent Architecture

• Specialized Agents: Agents for planning, execution, and project management fetched from Nostr
• Dynamic Routing: Intelligent task delegation based on agent capabilities and context
• Parallel Execution: Multiple agents can work simultaneously on different aspects of your project
• Custom Agents: Extensible system allowing you to define domain-specific experts

🔄 Phase-Based Workflow

Agents can define phases (for example: planning, execution, review) to structure their own todo lists and to pass phase instructions when delegating. Phases are optional and vary per agent.

🧠 Continuous Learning System

• Agents capture and apply lessons from every interaction
• Cross-conversation knowledge sharing
• Self-improving behavior based on accumulated experience
• Persistent knowledge base stored on Nostr

🔧 Powerful Tool System

• Comprehensive Tools: File operations, code analysis, shell execution, Git integration
• MCP Integration: Model Context Protocol support for dynamic tool loading
• Type-Safe: Comprehensive validation and error handling
• Composable: Tools can be combined for complex operations

🌐 Nostr-Native Architecture

• Decentralized by Design: No central server, peer-to-peer agent communication
• Cryptographic Identity: Each project maintains its own nsec for secure context
• Event Sourcing: Complete audit trail of all agent actions
• Resilient: Continues operating even with network disruptions

🎯 LLM Provider Agnostic

• Support for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, OpenRouter, and more
• Intelligent model selection based on task requirements
• Automatic failover and rate limiting
• Cost optimization through smart routing

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+ or Bun runtime (recommended for development)
• Git for version control integration
• An API key for at least one LLM provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.)

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/tenex-chat/tenex
cd tenex

# Install dependencies
bun install

Configuration

Before you can start using TENEX, you need to set up your LLM provider credentials. From the repo, run:

bun run start -- setup

If you install the daemon launcher from npm, run:

npx @tenex-chat/daemon

Quick Start

1. Create a new project using the TENEX Web Client or iOS client

2. Example interaction:

You: Create a REST API for a todo application with authentication

TENEX: [System routes to Planner]
[Planner creates structured approach]
[Executor implements the API]
[Verification runs tests]
[Documentation is updated]
[Lessons are captured for future use]

📚 Documentation

• Architecture: Core principles, layered architecture, and module organization.
• Contributing: Development workflow, coding guidelines, and testing.
• Testing Status: Current state of the test suite and future improvements.
• NDK Testing: How to use Nostr Development Kit utilities for testing.
• Worktrees: Guide to using Git worktrees for parallel development.

🏗️ Project Structure

src/
├── agents/         # Agent definitions and execution runtime
├── commands/       # User-facing CLI commands
├── conversations/  # Conversation history and state management
├── daemon/         # Long-running background processes and UI
├── events/         # Core event schemas and constants
├── lib/            # Pure, framework-agnostic utilities (zero TENEX dependencies)
├── llm/            # LLM provider abstractions and factories
├── nostr/          # Nostr protocol integration and clients
├── prompts/        # System prompt composition and management
├── services/       # Stateful business logic and orchestration
├── tools/          # Agent tool implementations and registry
└── utils/          # TENEX-specific helper functions

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please read our Contributing Guide for a detailed overview of our development workflow, coding guidelines, and architectural principles.

Development Setup

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Run tests
bun test

# Run tests in watch mode
bun test --watch

# Run type checking
bun run typecheck

# Run architecture linting
bun run lint:architecture

# Build for production
bun run build

🔮 What Makes TENEX Different?

Context Over Code

Traditional IDEs optimize for code editing. TENEX optimizes for context management, recognizing that in the LLM era, maintaining and utilizing context effectively is more valuable than syntax highlighting.

Invisible Complexity

The coordination system operates behind the scenes, presenting a simple conversational interface while managing sophisticated multi-agent collaboration underneath.

Quality by Design

Mandatory verification and reflection phases ensure every task meets quality standards and contributes to the system's collective knowledge.

Truly Decentralized

Built on Nostr from the ground up, not as an afterthought. This enables censorship-resistant, peer-to-peer agent networks with no single point of failure.

🎯 Use Cases

• Rapid Prototyping: Go from idea to working prototype through natural conversation
• Code Migration: Modernize legacy codebases with intelligent refactoring
• Documentation: Automatic generation and maintenance of technical documentation
• Testing: Comprehensive test generation and verification
• Learning: Agents that get better at your specific codebase over time

📈 Roadmap

• [ ] Web-based interface improvements
• [ ] Multi-model ensemble execution
• [ ] Real-time collaborative editing
• [ ] Advanced debugging and profiling tools

📄 License

MIT

📞 Contact & Support

• GitHub Issues: Report bugs or request features
• Nostr: Follow the project at npub1tenex...
• Documentation: Full documentation

Ready to experience the future of software development? Create your first project using the TENEX Web Client and let your AI agents handle the rest.

"The best code is the code you don't have to write. The second best is code written by agents who learn from every line they produce." - TENEX Philosophy