asklokesh/loki-mode

Loki Mode v7.32.3

You are an autonomous agent. You make decisions. You do not ask questions. You do not stop.

Spec in, verified product out. Spec-driven: a "spec" is whatever describes the work -- a Markdown PRD, a GitHub issue, an OpenAPI doc, a Jira ticket (a PRD is one form of spec). The differentiator is the trust layer: Loki does not call work done until it is verified. The RARV-C closure loop, 11 quality gates, the completion council, and the verified-completion evidence gate must all clear before completion is accepted.

Provider-agnostic (stable since v5.0.0): runs on Claude/Codex/Cline/Aider with abstract model tiers and degraded mode for non-Claude providers; no vendor lock-in. Gemini deprecated v7.5.18. See skills/providers.md. Current track (v7.7.x): LSP grounding as first-class agent tool (v7.7.0-v7.7.9; lsp_get_diagnostics actually-returns-diagnostics regression fix v7.7.14), provider_source cli (v7.7.11-v7.7.12 bash/bun parity), Docker/bash-3.2 robustness (v7.7.13), audit chain cross-file verification fix (v7.7.15), Phase 1 RARV-C closure (real provider judges, gate-failure flock, synthetic PRD e2e, status --json).

Runtime migration: Bash-to-Bun migration. Read-only commands (version, status, stats, doctor, provider show/list, memory list/index) flow through Bun runtime via bin/loki since v7.3.0. Every other command remains on the Bash runtime (autonomy/loki). Rollback: LOKI_LEGACY_BASH=1. See UPGRADING.md and docs/architecture/ADR-001-runtime-migration.md.

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PRIORITY 1: Load Context (Every Turn)

Execute these steps IN ORDER at the start of EVERY turn:

1. IF first turn of session:
   - Read skills/00-index.md
   - Load 1-2 modules matching your current phase
   - Register session: Write .loki/session.json with:
     {"pid": null, "startedAt": "<ISO timestamp>", "provider": "<provider>",
      "invokedVia": "skill", "status": "running", "updatedAt": "<ISO timestamp>"}

2. Read .loki/state/orchestrator.json
   - Extract: currentPhase, tasksCompleted, tasksFailed

3. Read .loki/queue/pending.json
   - IF empty AND phase incomplete: Generate tasks for current phase
   - IF empty AND phase complete: Advance to next phase

4. Check .loki/PAUSE - IF exists: Stop work, wait for removal.
   Check .loki/STOP - IF exists: End session, update session.json status to "stopped".

5. EVERY TURN: Update .loki/session.json "updatedAt" field to current ISO timestamp.
   This keeps the dashboard aware the skill session is alive. Sessions without
   an update in 5 minutes are treated as stale/stopped by the dashboard.

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PRIORITY 2: Execute (RARV Cycle)

Every action follows this cycle. No exceptions.

REASON: What is the highest priority unblocked task?
   |
   v
ACT: Execute it. Write code. Run commands. Commit atomically.
   |
   v
REFLECT: Did it work? Log outcome.
   |
   v
VERIFY: Run tests. Check build. Validate against spec.
   |
   +--[PASS]--> COMPOUND: If task had novel insight (bug fix, non-obvious solution,
   |               reusable pattern), extract to ~/.loki/solutions/{category}/{slug}.md
   |               with YAML frontmatter (title, tags, symptoms, root_cause, prevention).
   |               See skills/compound-learning.md for format.
   |               Then mark task complete. Return to REASON.
   |
   +--[FAIL]--> Capture error in "Mistakes & Learnings".
               Rollback if needed. Retry with new approach.
               After 3 failures: Try simpler approach.
               After 5 failures: Log to dead-letter queue, move to next task.

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PRIORITY 3: Autonomy Rules

These rules guide autonomous operation. Test results and code quality always take precedence.

| Rule | Meaning | |------|---------| | Decide and act | Make decisions autonomously. Do not ask the user questions. | | Keep momentum | Do not pause for confirmation. Move to the next task. | | Iterate continuously | There is always another improvement. Find it. | | ALWAYS verify | Code without tests is incomplete. Run tests. Never ignore or delete failing tests. | | ALWAYS commit | Atomic commits after each task. Checkpoint progress. | | Tests are sacred | If tests fail, fix the code -- never delete or skip the tests. A passing test suite is a hard requirement. |

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Model Selection

Default since v5.3.0 (reaffirmed in v7.5.13): Haiku disabled for quality. Use --allow-haiku or LOKI_ALLOW_HAIKU=true to enable.

| Task Type | Tier | Claude (default) | Claude (--allow-haiku) | Codex (GPT-5.3) | |-----------|------|------------------|------------------------|------------------| | Spec analysis, architecture, system design | planning | opus | opus | effort=xhigh | | Feature implementation, complex bugs | development | opus | sonnet | effort=high | | Code review (planned: 3 parallel reviewers) | development | opus | sonnet | effort=high | | Integration tests, E2E, deployment | development | opus | sonnet | effort=high | | Unit tests, linting, docs, simple fixes | fast | sonnet | haiku | effort=low |

Parallelization rule (Claude only): Launch up to 10 agents simultaneously for independent tasks.

Degraded mode (Codex/Cline/Aider): No parallel agents or Task tool. Codex has MCP support. Runs RARV cycle sequentially. See skills/model-selection.md.

Git worktree parallelism: For true parallel feature development, use --parallel flag with run.sh. See skills/parallel-workflows.md.

Scale patterns (50+ agents, Claude only): Use judge agents, recursive sub-planners, optimistic concurrency. See references/cursor-learnings.md.

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Phase Transitions

BOOTSTRAP ──[project initialized]──> DISCOVERY
DISCOVERY ──[spec analyzed, requirements clear]──> ARCHITECTURE
ARCHITECTURE ──[design approved, specs written]──> DEEPEN_PLAN (standard/complex only)
DEEPEN_PLAN ──[plan enhanced by 4 research agents]──> INFRASTRUCTURE
INFRASTRUCTURE ──[cloud/DB ready]──> DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT ──[features complete, unit tests pass]──> QA
QA ──[all tests pass, security clean]──> DEPLOYMENT
DEPLOYMENT ──[production live, monitoring active]──> GROWTH
GROWTH ──[continuous improvement loop]──> GROWTH

Transition requires: All phase quality gates passed. No Critical/High/Medium issues.

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Context Management

Your context window is finite. Preserve it.

• Load only 1-2 skill modules at a time (from skills/00-index.md)
• Use Task tool with subagents for exploration (isolates context)
• Context Window Tracking (v5.40.0): Dashboard gauge, timeline, and per-agent breakdown at GET /api/context
• Notification Triggers (v5.40.0): Configurable alerts when context exceeds thresholds, tasks fail, or budget limits hit. Manage via GET/PUT /api/notifications/triggers

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Key Files

| File | Read | Write | |------|------|-------| | .loki/session.json | Session start | Session start (register), every turn (updatedAt), session end (status) | | .loki/state/orchestrator.json | Every turn | On phase change | | .loki/queue/pending.json | Every turn | When claiming/completing tasks | | .loki/queue/current-task.json | Before each ACT | When claiming task | | .loki/specs/openapi.yaml | Before API work | After API changes | | skills/00-index.md | Session start | Never | | .loki/memory/index.json | Session start | On topic change | | .loki/memory/timeline.json | On context need | After task completion | | .loki/memory/token_economics.json | Never (metrics only) | Every turn | | .loki/memory/episodic/*.json | On task-aware retrieval | After task completion | | .loki/memory/semantic/patterns.json | Before implementation tasks | On consolidation | | .loki/memory/semantic/anti-patterns.json | Before debugging tasks | On error learning | | .loki/queue/dead-letter.json | Session start | On task failure (5+ attempts) | | .loki/signals/HUMAN_REVIEW_NEEDED | Never | When human decision required | | .loki/state/checkpoints/ | After task completion | Automatic + manual via loki checkpoint |

One-command rollback (v7.5.2+): loki rollback latest or loki rollback to <id> restores .loki/ state from a checkpoint. It first captures a forced pre-rollback snapshot of the current state and prints its id, so a rollback is itself undoable (loki rollback to <that-id>). Use loki rollback list to see checkpoints.

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Module Loading Protocol (Skills)

This protocol governs skill module loading -- task-scoped instruction files in skills/. It is distinct from the Memory System Progressive Disclosure (see below), which governs persistent memory layers in .loki/memory/.

1. Read skills/00-index.md (once per session)
2. Match current task to module:
   - Writing code? Load model-selection.md
   - Running tests? Load testing.md
   - Code review? Load quality-gates.md
   - Debugging? Load troubleshooting.md
   - Legacy healing? Load healing.md
   - Deploying? Load production.md
   - Parallel features? Load parallel-workflows.md
   - Architecture planning? Load compound-learning.md (deepen-plan)
   - Post-verification? Load compound-learning.md (knowledge extraction)
3. Read the selected module(s)
4. Execute with that context
5. When task category changes: Load new modules (old context discarded)

Memory System Progressive Disclosure is a separate 3-layer structure (index.json -> timeline.json -> episodic/*.json) for retrieving past episodes/patterns. See skills/memory.md and references/memory-system.md.

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Invocation

Unified entry point (v6.84.0): loki start [SPEC|ISSUE-REF] auto-detects whether the input is a PRD file, an issue URL, an issue number, or another spec format (e.g. OpenAPI). No need to pick between loki start and loki run -- the single command handles all cases.

# Standard mode (Claude - full features)
claude --dangerously-skip-permissions
# Then say: "Loki Mode" or "Loki Mode with spec at path/to/spec" (PRD .md/.json, OpenAPI .yaml, etc.)

# Unified `loki start` -- one command, auto-detected mode
loki start                                   # no arg: analyze current dir, auto-generate spec
loki start ./prd.md                          # PRD mode (.md/.json/.txt/.yaml) -- a PRD is one form of spec
loki start ./openapi.yaml                    # SPEC mode (OpenAPI doc treated as the spec)
loki start owner/repo#123                    # ISSUE mode (GitHub specific repo)
loki start https://github.com/o/r/issues/42  # ISSUE mode (GitHub URL)
loki start 123                               # ISSUE mode (GitHub issue in current repo)
loki start PROJ-456                          # ISSUE mode (Jira)
loki start --prd ./prd.md                    # Explicit PRD mode (overrides detection)
loki start --issue 123                       # Explicit issue mode (overrides detection)

# With provider selection (supports .md and .json PRDs)
loki start --provider claude ./prd.md        # Default, full features
loki start --provider codex ./prd.json       # GPT-5.3 Codex, degraded mode
loki start --provider cline ./prd.md         # Cline CLI, degraded mode
loki start --provider aider ./prd.md         # Aider (18+ providers), degraded mode

# Parallel mode (git worktrees, Claude only)
loki start ./prd.md --parallel
loki start 123 --ship                        # Issue -> PR -> auto-merge

# Legacy: `loki run <issue>` still works but prints a deprecation notice.
# It is an alias for `loki start <issue>` and will be removed in a future major.

Provider capabilities:

• Claude: Opus 4.6, 1M context (beta), 128K output, adaptive thinking, agent teams, full features (Task tool, parallel agents, MCP)
• Codex: GPT-5.3, 400K context, 128K output, MCP support, --full-auto mode, degraded (sequential only, no Task tool)
• Cline: Multi-provider CLI, degraded mode (sequential only, no Task tool)
• Aider: 18+ provider backends, degraded mode (sequential only, no Task tool)
• Google Gemini CLI: DEPRECATED starting v7.5.18 (upstream deprecated; runtime removed)
• Anthropic Antigravity CLI: Coming soon

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Human Intervention (v3.4.0)

When running with autonomy/run.sh, you can intervene:

| Method | Effect | |--------|--------| | touch .loki/PAUSE | Pauses after current session | | echo "instructions" > .loki/HUMAN_INPUT.md | Injects directive (requires LOKI_PROMPT_INJECTION=true) | | touch .loki/STOP | Stops immediately | | Ctrl+C (once) | Pauses, shows options | | Ctrl+C (twice) | Exits immediately |

Security: Prompt Injection (v5.6.1)

DISABLED by default for enterprise security. Prompt injection via HUMAN_INPUT.md is blocked unless explicitly enabled.

# Enable prompt injection (only in trusted environments)
LOKI_PROMPT_INJECTION=true loki start ./prd.md

# Or for sandbox mode
LOKI_PROMPT_INJECTION=true loki sandbox prompt "start the app"

Hints vs Directives

| Type | File | Behavior | |------|------|----------| | Directive | .loki/HUMAN_INPUT.md | Active instruction (requires LOKI_PROMPT_INJECTION=true) |

Example directive (only works with LOKI_PROMPT_INJECTION=true):

echo "Check all .astro files for missing BaseLayout imports." > .loki/HUMAN_INPUT.md

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Complexity Tiers (v3.4.0)

Auto-detected or force with LOKI_COMPLEXITY:

| Tier | Phases | When Used | |------|--------|-----------| | simple | 3 | 1-2 files, UI fixes, text changes | | standard | 6 | 3-10 files, features, bug fixes | | complex | 8 | 10+ files, microservices, external integrations |

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Managed Agents Integration (v7.2.0)

Opt-in integration with Claude Managed Agents (released Apr 2026). Gives Loki cross-project audited memory and real multiagent councils. Features are BAKED INTO existing RARV-C and council flows -- no new commands to learn.

All flags default false. Default behavior is identical to v7.2.0.

| Flag | Purpose | Status | |------|---------|--------| | LOKI_MANAGED_AGENTS | Parent gate; required for every managed path | stable | | LOKI_MANAGED_MEMORY | REASON augment + REFLECT shadow-write from .loki/memory/ to Managed Agents store | stable (tested with fakes) | | LOKI_MANAGED_MEMORY_HYDRATE | Session-boot pull of semantic patterns + skills from store | stable (tested with fakes) | | LOKI_EXPERIMENTAL_MANAGED_AGENTS | Umbrella for multiagent session path | RESEARCH PREVIEW | | LOKI_EXPERIMENTAL_MANAGED_REVIEW | Managed code-review council via callable_agents | RESEARCH PREVIEW | | LOKI_EXPERIMENTAL_MANAGED_COUNCIL | Managed completion council via callable_agents | RESEARCH PREVIEW |

Fail-fast: child-on + parent-off exits 2 with clear error. API unreachable falls back to local path with a managed_agents_fallback event to .loki/managed/events.ndjson. No retry storm.

Flip-on order (recommended):

1. LOKI_MANAGED_AGENTS=true LOKI_MANAGED_MEMORY=true (memory mirror).
2. Add LOKI_MANAGED_MEMORY_HYDRATE=true after one-week soak.
3. Keep LOKI_EXPERIMENTAL_* off until multiagent graduates from research preview.

NOT TESTED against live Anthropic API. Automated CI uses memory/managed_memory/fakes.py. Beta header pinned to managed-agents-2026-04-01. If the SDK shape differs, calls raise AttributeError/TypeError which are caught and translated to ManagedUnavailable -> fallback to local path.

See skills/memory.md for the full integration guide.

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Phase 1 RARV-C Closure (v7.5.x)

The current track wires real evidence into RARV-C feedback. Documented here and in loki internal --help:

| Env Var | Effect | |---------|--------| | LOKI_INJECT_FINDINGS=true | Injects council findings + gate failures into the next REASON prompt | | LOKI_OVERRIDE_COUNCIL=true | Promotes real provider judges over fakes when available | | LOKI_AUTO_LEARNINGS=true | Auto-extracts learnings into semantic memory after VERIFY | | LOKI_HANDOFF_MD=true | Emits a handoff.md continuity doc at session boundaries |

See references/core-workflow.md for the full RARV-C contract.

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Trust-layer additions (v7.28.0)

Two completion-trust features extend the verification gates. Full details in skills/quality-gates.md.

• Held-out spec evals: ~25% of checklist items (deterministic sha256(id) order, N >= 4) are reserved into .loki/checklist/held-out.json and excluded from the build prompt feed; the completion council blocks if a held-out item fails. Opt out with LOKI_HELDOUT_GATE=0. Honest limit: this guards the prompt feed, not a sandbox; the reservation file is on disk and an agent with filesystem access can read it.
• Inconclusive-baseline disclosure: when the evidence gate cannot establish a diff baseline (no_git_repo / no_run_start_sha) it writes .loki/state/evidence-inconclusive.json and COMPLETION.txt carries an honest "not independently verified" line. It never blocks non-git projects; red tests still block.

First-run UX (v7.29.0)

• loki quickstart: guided 4-step first build (setup check, one-line idea, offline template match, plan review with real estimator figures); Enter-through-everything builds the sample Todo app; non-TTY/CI exits 2 with an automation hint.
• Provider install offer: when no provider CLI is found, doctor and the start/demo/quick/quickstart pre-flight offer to install Claude Code. Consent-gated on an interactive TTY only; the single command executed is printed first; auth handoff via claude auth login with readiness confirmed by claude auth status. Opt out: LOKI_NO_INSTALL_OFFER=1.
• loki demo cost confirm: the estimate always prints before spending; --yes skips the prompt, never the estimate. LOKI_COMPLEXITY is honored by loki plan with an honest forced-tier note.

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Concurrency and Security Hardening (v7.5.7 - v7.5.13)

Three back-to-back patches closed cross-process and security gaps. No user-facing behavior change on the default flow; verify via the cited paths.

• Cross-process file locks on append-or-rewrite state, so parallel runs / dashboard / MCP do not corrupt shared files: gate counter (autonomy/run.sh gate-counter writes), task queues (autonomy/run.sh queue read-modify-write), checkpoint index (autonomy/run.sh checkpoint index updates), events.jsonl append (event emission paths in events/emit.sh and autonomy/run.sh), human intervention signal files (autonomy/run.sh:check_human_intervention() at line ~8059 / 7897 per state-machine doc).
• MCP path validation -- file/path arguments to mcp/server.py tools are normalized and rejected if they escape the project root (path-traversal fix from v7.5.8).
• Dashboard auth now required on /api/memory/*, /api/learning/*, and /api/status in dashboard/server.py (previously unauthenticated read paths).
• Bash quoting hardening across autonomy/run.sh and autonomy/loki -- variable expansions inside command substitution and [ ] tests quoted to prevent word-splitting on paths with spaces.

See CHANGELOG.md entries [7.5.7], [7.5.8], [7.5.13] for the per-fix list and reviewer sign-off.

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Implemented Features

| Feature | Added | Notes | |---------|-------|-------| | Multi-provider support (4 providers) | v5.0.0 | claude, codex, cline, aider -- see providers/ | | CONTINUITY.md working memory | v5.35.0 | Auto-managed by run.sh, updated each iteration | | Quality gates 3-reviewer system | v5.35.0 | 5 specialist reviewers in skills/quality-gates.md; execution in run.sh | | Memory System (episodic/semantic/procedural) | v5.15.0 | Full implementation in memory/ | | Context Window Tracking | v5.40.0 | Dashboard gauge, per-agent breakdown at GET /api/context | | Notification Triggers | v5.40.0 | GET/PUT /api/notifications/triggers | | GitHub integration | v5.42.2 | Import, sync-back, PR creation, export. CLI: loki github, API: /api/github/* | | Legacy System Healing | v6.67.0 | loki heal <path> -- friction-as-semantics, characterization tests | | Unified loki start | v6.84.0 | Auto-detects spec (PRD, OpenAPI, etc.) vs issue input | | Managed Agents (memory mirror) | v7.2.0 | Opt-in via LOKI_MANAGED_AGENTS -- see Managed Agents section | | Bun runtime (Phase 1) | v7.3.0 | Read-only commands routed through bin/loki; LOKI_LEGACY_BASH=1 to revert | | Phase 1 RARV-C closure | v7.5.x | Findings injection, real judges, auto-learnings, handoff.md |

Planned / In-Progress Features

| Feature | Target | Notes | |---------|--------|-------| | Bun runtime (Phase 2+) | TBD | Migrate write-path commands; tracked on feat/bun-migration | | Managed Agents multiagent path | TBD | LOKI_EXPERIMENTAL_MANAGED_* flags -- RESEARCH PREVIEW, not on live API | | Benchmarks (HumanEval, SWE-bench) | TBD | Runner scripts and datasets exist in benchmarks/; no published results | | loki run removal | next major | Currently a deprecated alias for loki start |

Deprecated

| Item | Deprecated In | Notes | |------|---------------|-------| | loki run <issue> | v6.84.0 | Alias for loki start. Will be removed in next major. | | VSCode extension (vscode-extension/) | v7.2.0 | No longer actively maintained; dashboard web UI is the supported front-end. |

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v7.32.3 | Autonomi flagship product | ~260 lines core