Setup, sync, and runtime for multi-agent workflows. Bootstraps projects with workflow docs and companion tool configurations, keeps them synchronized across upgrades, and provides built-in agent loop subcommands with protocol guidance.
32 behavioral evaluations across Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku. The eval framework tests whether agents follow the edict protocol when driven autonomously through the vessel-native spawn chain (hooks → vessel spawn → edict run).
| Eval | Model | Score | What it tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| E11-L3 | Opus | 133/140 (95%) | Full lifecycle: 2 projects, 3 agents, cross-project coordination, security review cycle — all from a single task-request |
| E10 | Opus+Sonnet | 159/160 (99%) | 8-phase scripted lifecycle: 2 projects, 3 agents, cross-project bug discovery, review block/fix/LGTM |
| E11-L2 | Opus | 97/105 (92%) | Botty-native dev + reviewer: single project, review cycle through real hooks |
| R5 | Opus | 70/70 (100%) | Cross-project coordination: file bugs in external projects via rite channels |
| R4 | Sonnet | 95/95 (100%) | Integration: full triage → work → review → merge lifecycle |
| R8 | Opus | 49/65 (75%) | Adversarial review: multi-file security bugs requiring cross-file reasoning |
Takeaway: The full autonomous pipeline works. Agents spawn via hooks, coordinate across projects via rite channels, review each other's code via seal, and merge work through maw — all without human intervention. Friction comes from CLI typos, not protocol failures. See evals/results/ for all 32 runs and detailed findings.
edict is a Rust CLI (stable edition 2024) that:
- Initializes projects for multi-agent collaboration (interactive or via flags)
- Syncs workflow docs from embedded templates to
.agents/edict/ - Validates health via
doctorcommand - Runs agent loops as built-in subcommands (
dev-loop,worker-loop,reviewer-loop,responder) - Provides protocol commands that guide agents through state transitions (
protocol start,merge,finish, etc.)
It glues together 5 companion tools (rite, maw, br/bv, seal, vessel) into a cohesive workflow and provides the runtime that drives agent behavior.
cargo install edict-cli
# or from source:
cargo install --path .# Bootstrap a new project (interactive)
edict init
# Bootstrap with flags (for agents)
edict init --name my-api --type api --tools bones,maw,seal,rite --reviewers security --no-interactive
# Sync workflow docs after edict upgrades
edict sync
# Check if sync is needed
edict sync --check
# Validate toolchain and project setup
edict doctor
# Run agent loops (typically invoked by vessel spawn, not manually)
edict run dev-loop --agent myproject-dev
edict run worker-loop --agent myproject-dev/worker-1
edict run reviewer-loop --agent myproject-security
# Protocol commands — check state and get guidance at transitions
edict protocol start <bead-id> --agent $AGENT
edict protocol merge <workspace> --agent $AGENT
edict protocol finish <bead-id> --agent $AGENTAfter edict init:
.agents/edict/ # Workflow docs (embedded in binary, synced to project)
docs/
triage.md # Find work from inbox and bones
start.md # Claim bone, create workspace, announce
update.md # Post progress updates
finish.md # Close bead, merge workspace, release claims
worker-loop.md # Full triage-start-work-finish lifecycle
review-request.md # Request code review via seal
review-response.md # Handle reviewer feedback (fix/address/defer)
review-loop.md # Reviewer agent loop
merge-check.md # Verify approval before merge
preflight.md # Validate toolchain health
cross-channel.md # Ask questions, report bugs across projects
report-issue.md # Report bugs/features to other projects
planning.md # Turn specs/PRDs into actionable bones
scout.md # Explore unfamiliar code before planning
proposal.md # Create and validate proposals before implementation
groom.md # Groom backlog
mission.md # Mission-based parallel dispatch (dev-loop)
coordination.md # Multi-agent coordination patterns
design/
cli-conventions.md # CLI tool design for humans, agents, and machines
prompts/
reviewer.md # Generic reviewer prompt template
reviewer-security.md # Security reviewer prompt template
hooks/ # Claude Code event hooks (SessionStart, PostToolUse)
.version # Version hash for sync tracking
AGENTS.md # Generated with managed section + project-specific content
CLAUDE.md -> AGENTS.md # Symlink
.edict.json # Project configuration
The workflow docs in .agents/edict/docs/ define the protocol. These are embedded in the Rust binary as compile-time templates and synced to projects during edict init and edict sync.
When edict updates, run edict sync to pull the latest workflow doc changes.
Agents are spawned automatically via rite hooks when messages arrive on project channels. The spawn chain:
message → rite hook → vessel spawn → edict run responder → edict run dev-loop
Agent loops are built-in Rust subcommands of the edict binary:
edict run responder— Universal router. Routes!dev,!q,!beadprefixes; triages bare messages.edict run dev-loop— Lead dev. Triages work, dispatches parallel workers, monitors progress, merges.edict run worker-loop— Worker. Sequential: triage → start → work → review → finish.edict run reviewer-loop— Reviewer. Processes seal reviews, votes LGTM or BLOCK.edict run triage— Token-efficient triage. Wrapsbv --robot-triagewith scannable output.edict run iteration-start— Combined status snapshot. Aggregates inbox, bones, reviews, claims.
No manual agent management needed — send a message to a project channel and the hook chain handles the rest.
Edict coordinates these specialized tools that work together to enable multi-agent workflows:
| Tool | Purpose | Key commands | Repository |
|---|---|---|---|
| rite | Communication, claims, presence | send, inbox, claim, release, agents |
Pub/sub messaging, resource locking, agent registry |
| maw | Isolated jj workspaces | ws create, ws merge, ws destroy |
Concurrent work isolation with Jujutsu VCS |
| bones | Issue tracking and triage (bn) |
create, next, do, done, triage |
Event-sourced issue tracker with built-in triage |
| seal | Code review | review, comment, lgtm, block |
Asynchronous code review workflow |
| vessel | Agent runtime | spawn, kill, tail, snapshot |
Process management for AI agent loops |
- rite provides the communication layer: agents send messages, claim resources (bones, workspaces), and discover each other
- bones tracks work items and priorities, exposing a triage interface (
bn next,bn triage) - maw creates isolated workspaces so multiple agents can work concurrently without conflicts
- seal enables code review: agents request reviews, reviewers comment, and changes merge after approval
- vessel spawns and manages agent processes, handling crashes and lifecycle
edict configures projects to use these tools, keeps workflow docs synchronized, and runs the agent loops (edict run dev-loop, edict run worker-loop, etc.) that drive the entire workflow.
Edict is a Rust project (edition 2024) with:
- Zero build step beyond
cargo build— workflow docs are embedded at compile time viainclude_str!and rendered withminijinja - Agent loops as subcommands —
dev-loop,worker-loop,reviewer-loop,responderare built into the binary - Protocol commands —
edict protocol start/merge/finishcheck preconditions and output guidance - Config migrations —
edict syncruns version-based migrations to update.edict.jsonand rite hooks
See CLAUDE.md for full architecture docs, development conventions, and companion tool deep dives.
The #projects registry on rite tracks which tools belong to which projects:
# Find who owns a tool
rite history projects -n 50 | grep "tools:.*vessel"
# File bugs in their repo
cd ~/src/vessel
br create --actor $AGENT --owner $AGENT --title="Bug: ..." --type=bug --priority=2
rite send --agent $AGENT vessel "Filed bd-xyz: description @vessel-dev" -L feedbackSee .agents/edict/docs/report-issue.md for full workflow.
Runtime: Rust (stable, edition 2024). Tooling: clippy (lint), rustfmt (format), cargo check (type check).
# From ws/default/ (maw v2 bare repo layout)
maw exec default -- just install # cargo install --path .
maw exec default -- just lint # cargo clippy
maw exec default -- just fmt # cargo fmt
maw exec default -- just check # cargo check
maw exec default -- just test # cargo testThis project uses Jujutsu (jj) for version control and maw for workspace management. Source files live in ws/default/, not at the project root. Run maw exec default -- <command> to execute commands in the workspace context.