Archon/README.md

Archon

The first open-source harness builder for AI coding. Make AI coding deterministic and repeatable.

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Archon is a workflow engine for AI coding agents. Define your development processes as YAML workflows - planning, implementation, validation, code review, PR creation - and run them reliably across all your projects.

Like what Dockerfiles did for infrastructure and GitHub Actions did for CI/CD - Archon does for AI coding workflows. Think n8n, but for software development.

Why Archon?

When you ask an AI agent to "fix this bug", what happens depends on the model's mood. It might skip planning. It might forget to run tests. It might write a PR description that ignores your template. Every run is different.

Archon fixes this. Encode your development process as a workflow. The workflow defines the phases, validation gates, and artifacts. The AI fills in the intelligence at each step, but the structure is deterministic and owned by you.

• Repeatable - Same workflow, same sequence, every time. Plan, implement, validate, review, PR.
• Isolated - Every workflow run gets its own git worktree. Run 5 fixes in parallel with no conflicts.
• Fire and forget - Kick off a workflow, go do other work. Come back to a finished PR with review comments.
• Composable - Mix deterministic nodes (bash scripts, tests, git ops) with AI nodes (planning, code generation, review). The AI only runs where it adds value.
• Portable - Define workflows once in .archon/workflows/, commit them to your repo. They work the same from CLI, Web UI, Slack, Telegram, or GitHub.

What It Looks Like

Here's an example of an Archon workflow that plans, implements in a loop until tests pass, gets your approval, then creates the PR:

# .archon/workflows/build-feature.yaml
nodes:
  - id: plan
    prompt: "Explore the codebase and create an implementation plan"

  - id: implement
    depends_on: [plan]
    loop:                                      # AI loop - iterate until done
      prompt: "Read the plan. Implement the next task. Run validation."
      until: ALL_TASKS_COMPLETE
      fresh_context: true                      # Fresh session each iteration

  - id: run-tests
    depends_on: [implement]
    bash: "bun run validate"                   # Deterministic - no AI

  - id: review
    depends_on: [run-tests]
    prompt: "Review all changes against the plan. Fix any issues."

  - id: approve
    depends_on: [review]
    loop:                                      # Human approval gate
      prompt: "Present the changes for review. Address any feedback."
      until: APPROVED
      interactive: true                        # Pauses and waits for human input

  - id: create-pr
    depends_on: [approve]
    prompt: "Push changes and create a pull request"

Tell your coding agent what you want, and Archon handles the rest:

You: Use archon to add dark mode to the settings page

Agent: I'll run the archon-idea-to-pr workflow for this.
       → Creating isolated worktree on branch archon/task-dark-mode...
       → Planning...
       → Implementing (task 1/4)...
       → Implementing (task 2/4)...
       → Tests failing - iterating...
       → Tests passing after 2 iterations
       → Code review complete - 0 issues
       → PR ready: https://github.com/you/project/pull/47

Previous Version

Looking for the original Python-based Archon (task management + RAG)? It's fully preserved on the archive/v1-task-management-rag branch.

Getting Started

Most users should start with the Full Setup - it walks you through credentials, installs the Archon skill into your projects, and gives you the web dashboard.

Already have Claude Code and just want the CLI? Jump to the Quick Install.

Full Setup (5 minutes)

Clone the repo and use the guided setup wizard. This configures credentials, platform integrations, and copies the Archon skill into your target projects.

Prerequisites - Bun, Claude Code, and the GitHub CLI

Bun - bun.sh

# macOS/Linux
curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

# Windows (PowerShell)
irm bun.sh/install.ps1 | iex

GitHub CLI - cli.github.com

# macOS
brew install gh

# Windows (via winget)
winget install GitHub.cli

# Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt install gh

Claude Code - claude.ai/code

# macOS/Linux/WSL
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

# Windows (PowerShell)
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

git clone https://github.com/coleam00/Archon
cd Archon
bun install
claude

Then say: "Set up Archon"

The setup wizard walks you through everything: CLI installation, authentication, platform selection, and copies the Archon skill to your target repo.

Quick Install (30 seconds)

Already have Claude Code set up? Install the standalone CLI binary and skip the wizard.

macOS / Linux

curl -fsSL https://archon.diy/install | bash

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://archon.diy/install.ps1 | iex

Homebrew

brew install coleam00/archon/archon

Compiled binaries need a CLAUDE_BIN_PATH. The quick-install binaries don't bundle Claude Code. Install it separately, then point Archon at it:

# macOS / Linux / WSL
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
export CLAUDE_BIN_PATH="$HOME/.local/bin/claude"

# Windows (PowerShell)
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
$env:CLAUDE_BIN_PATH = "$env:USERPROFILE\.local\bin\claude.exe"

Or set assistants.claude.claudeBinaryPath in ~/.archon/config.yaml. The Docker image ships Claude Code pre-installed. See AI Assistants → Binary path configuration for details.

Start Using Archon

Once you've completed either setup path, go to your project and start working:

cd /path/to/your/project
claude

Use archon to fix issue #42

What archon workflows do I have? When would I use each one?

The coding agent handles workflow selection, branch naming, and worktree isolation for you. Projects are registered automatically the first time they're used.

Important: Always run Claude Code from your target repo, not from the Archon repo. The setup wizard copies the Archon skill into your project so it works from there.

Web UI

Archon includes a web dashboard for chatting with your coding agent, running workflows, and monitoring activity. Binary installs: run archon serve to download and start the web UI in one step. From source: ask your coding agent to run the frontend from the Archon repo, or run bun run dev from the repo root yourself.

Register a project by clicking + next to "Project" in the chat sidebar - enter a GitHub URL or local path. Then start a conversation, invoke workflows, and watch progress in real time.

Key pages:

• Chat - Conversation interface with real-time streaming and tool call visualization
• Dashboard - Mission Control for monitoring running workflows, with filterable history by project, status, and date
• Workflow Builder - Visual drag-and-drop editor for creating DAG workflows with loop nodes
• Workflow Execution - Step-by-step progress view for any running or completed workflow

Monitoring hub: The sidebar shows conversations from all platforms - not just the web. Workflows kicked off from the CLI, messages from Slack or Telegram, GitHub issue interactions - everything appears in one place.

See the Web UI Guide for full documentation.

What Can You Automate?

Archon ships with workflows for common development tasks:

Workflow	What it does
archon-assist	General Q&A, debugging, exploration - full Claude Code agent with all tools
archon-fix-github-issue	Classify issue → investigate/plan → implement → validate → PR → smart review → self-fix
archon-idea-to-pr	Feature idea → plan → implement → validate → PR → 5 parallel reviews → self-fix
archon-plan-to-pr	Execute existing plan → implement → validate → PR → review → self-fix
archon-issue-review-full	Comprehensive fix + full multi-agent review pipeline for GitHub issues
archon-smart-pr-review	Classify PR complexity → run targeted review agents → synthesize findings
archon-comprehensive-pr-review	Multi-agent PR review (5 parallel reviewers) with automatic fixes
archon-create-issue	Classify problem → gather context → investigate → create GitHub issue
archon-validate-pr	Thorough PR validation testing both main and feature branches
archon-resolve-conflicts	Detect merge conflicts → analyze both sides → resolve → validate → commit
archon-feature-development	Implement feature from plan → validate → create PR
archon-architect	Architectural sweep, complexity reduction, codebase health improvement
archon-refactor-safely	Safe refactoring with type-check hooks and behavior verification
archon-ralph-dag	PRD implementation loop - iterate through stories until done
archon-remotion-generate	Generate or modify Remotion video compositions with AI
archon-test-loop-dag	Loop node test workflow - iterative counter until completion
archon-piv-loop	Guided Plan-Implement-Validate loop with human review between iterations

Archon ships 17 default workflows - run archon workflow list or describe what you want and the router picks the right one.

Or define your own. Default workflows are great starting points - copy one from .archon/workflows/defaults/ and customize it. Workflows are YAML files in .archon/workflows/, commands are markdown files in .archon/commands/. Same-named files in your repo override the bundled defaults. Commit them - your whole team runs the same process.

See Authoring Workflows and Authoring Commands.

Add a Platform

The Web UI and CLI work out of the box. Optionally connect a chat platform for remote access:

Platform	Setup time	Guide
Telegram	5 min	Telegram Guide
Slack	15 min	Slack Guide
GitHub Webhooks	15 min	GitHub Guide
Discord	5 min	Discord Guide

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Platform Adapters (Web UI, CLI, Telegram, Slack,       │
│                    Discord, GitHub)                      │
└──────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┘
                           │
                           ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     Orchestrator                        │
│          (Message Routing & Context Management)         │
└─────────────┬───────────────────────────┬───────────────┘
              │                           │
      ┌───────┴────────┐          ┌───────┴────────┐
      │                │          │                │
      ▼                ▼          ▼                ▼
┌───────────┐  ┌────────────┐  ┌──────────────────────────┐
│  Command  │  │  Workflow  │  │    AI Assistant Clients  │
│  Handler  │  │  Executor  │  │      (Claude / Codex)    │
│  (Slash)  │  │  (YAML)    │  │                          │
└───────────┘  └────────────┘  └──────────────────────────┘
      │              │                      │
      └──────────────┴──────────────────────┘
                           │
                           ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              SQLite / PostgreSQL (7 Tables)             │
│   Codebases • Conversations • Sessions • Workflow Runs  │
│    Isolation Environments • Messages • Workflow Events  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Documentation

Full documentation is available at archon.diy.

Topic	Description
Getting Started	Setup guide (Web UI or CLI)
The Book of Archon	10-chapter narrative tutorial
CLI Reference	Full CLI reference
Authoring Workflows	Create custom YAML workflows
Authoring Commands	Create reusable AI commands
Configuration	All config options, env vars, YAML settings
AI Assistants	Claude and Codex setup details
Deployment	Docker, VPS, production setup
Architecture	System design and internals
Troubleshooting	Common issues and fixes

Contributing

Contributions welcome! See the open issues for things to work on.

Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before submitting a pull request.

License

MIT