Kortext

Autonomous AI agent runtime — TypeScript + SQLite + React + MCP

Kortext lets AI agent teams (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI) run software projects autonomously. You write a blueprint and approve the gates that matter; the agents pick up tasks, write code, run tests, hand off between each other, and ship — with a real-time dashboard showing what they're doing.

What v3 gives you

• A TypeScript runtime. Single kortext binary. Express 5 backend, React 19 + Tailwind v4 dashboard, better-sqlite3 state store.
• A worker pool with per-task git worktrees. Every task runs in its own .kortext/worktrees/run-<id> branch. Failures get quarantined for postmortem; successes can be merged.
• A blueprint-driven pipeline. Flip status: draft → status: approved in workspace/references/blueprint.md and the analysis → planning → development → testing chain starts on its own.
• First-class approvals. Critical gates queue into pending_questions; the dashboard rings a bell, a toast pops, Slack / Telegram fires. Answer from the UI, the CLI, or an MCP client.
• An MCP server. 15 tools over stdio (for Claude Code / Cursor) and SSE (for the dashboard or remote clients).
• 263 tests, GitHub Actions CI on every push and PR.

Quick start

Requires Node ≥ 22 and Git ≥ 2.30.

# Install
npm install -g kortext

# Scaffold a v3 project (idempotent — safe to re-run)
mkdir my-product && cd my-product
kortext init

# Edit the blueprint
$EDITOR workspace/references/blueprint.md
# (set `status: approved` in the YAML frontmatter when ready)

# Start the runtime (backend + dashboard)
kortext serve
# → backend: http://localhost:3200
# → dashboard: http://localhost:5173

When the blueprint flips to approved, the orchestrator triggers the analysis workflow automatically. Watch the dashboard, answer any approval prompts that surface in the bell menu, and the rest runs on its own.

CLI surface

kortext init [--force]                  scaffold .kortext/, agents/, workflows/, rules/, workspace/
kortext serve [--mode=auto|dev|prod]    backend + dashboard
kortext start <workflow-id> [--executor=mock|claude|codex|gemini]
kortext approve <run-id> [answer]       respond to a pending question
kortext status                          recent runs + open questions
kortext logs [--limit=N] [--actor=…] [--action=…]
kortext cleanup [--quarantine-older-than=Nd] [--branches] [--dry-run]
kortext doctor                          workflow / persona / lock consistency
kortext mcp                             stdio MCP server (for Claude Code / Cursor)
kortext --help | --version

Architecture

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  React Dashboard (Vite + TanStack Router + Tailwind v4)              │
│  Dashboard · Board · Memory · Reports · References · Settings        │
└────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                     │  HTTP / WebSocket
┌────────────────────▼─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Express 5 backend                                                    │
│  /api/runs · /api/handovers · /api/backlog · /api/personas (GET/PUT)  │
│  /api/workflows · /api/doctor · /api/docs/:scope · /api/questions     │
│  /mcp/sse · /mcp/messages         ┌──────────────────────────┐        │
└─────────────────┬─────────────────┤  MCP server (15 tools)   │        │
                  │                 │  stdio · SSE             │        │
                  │                 └──────────────────────────┘        │
┌─────────────────▼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Orchestrator                                                          │
│  Blueprint watcher · Pipeline chainer · Approval queue · Dispatcher    │
└─────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                  │
┌─────────────────▼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Pipeline engine                                                       │
│  Workflow parser · DAG builder · Worker pool · Gate enforcer · Safety  │
└──────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────┘
       │                                                     │
┌──────▼──────────────────────┐               ┌──────────────▼──────────┐
│  Per-run git worktrees      │               │  SQLite state           │
│  .kortext/worktrees/run-<id>│               │  .kortext/kortext.db    │
│  branch kortext/run-<id>    │               │  13 tables · WAL mode   │
└──────┬──────────────────────┘               └─────────────────────────┘
       │
┌──────▼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  CLI executors                                                          │
│  Claude Code · Codex · Gemini CLI (shell-free spawn, stdin prompts)     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

See docs/architecture.md for the long form (SQLite schema, DAG semantics, worker-pool concurrency rules).

Project layout

your-project/
├── AGENTS.md                       # AI runtime pointer (generated)
├── .kortext/
│   ├── kortext.db                  # SQLite state
│   └── worktrees/                  # per-run git worktrees
├── workspace/
│   └── references/
│       └── blueprint.md            # ← you fill this in
├── agents/                         # 14 persona markdowns
├── workflows/                      # 12 workflow markdowns
└── rules/                          # behavior, branching, commands, emergency, models

Personas, workflows, and rules are markdown — edit them in any editor or in the dashboard. SQLite holds the runtime state (runs, backlog, audit log, approvals).

Integrations

Claude Code

claude mcp add kortext -- npx kortext mcp

Once added, Claude Code can call start_pipeline, list_pending_questions, approve_blueprint, and 12 other tools directly.

Slack / Telegram

Set SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL and / or TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN + TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID in your environment. The dispatcher dedupes notifications and posts on:

• Blueprint approval
• Pipeline start / completion
• Step failure
• Pending question waiting for +prime

Documentation

• User Guide — full walkthrough of the autonomous flow
• Architecture — schema, engine, MCP, dashboard
• Changelog — release notes

Requirements

• Node ≥ 22.0.0
• Git ≥ 2.30 (worktree subcommands)
• One of: Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI installed and on $PATH (or use --executor=mock for dry runs)

License

MIT © Eray Endes