# AGENTS.md
Project-level context for AI agents working in this repository.
## Project Overview
Ollie is an AI agent runtime inspired by Plan 9: agent state and behaviors are exposed as files in a 9P namespace. Orchestration, scheduling, and UIs are external — shell scripts, editors, web apps. The core is minimal; capabilities come from composing scripts.
## Repository Layout
Monorepo with Git submodules. Each submodule has its own Go module (except `el` which is Elisp and `kde` which is C++/Qt).
```
ollie/                          ← you are here
├── agent/        (Go)          Agent loop, history, hooks, commands
├── toolsrv/      (Go)          Tool server, registry, sandboxed execution
├── session/      (Go)          Session lifecycle, config, persistence
├── fs/session/   (Go)          9P filesystem tree
├── dbus/         (Go)          D-Bus adapter
├── cmd/          (Go)          Binaries (olliesrv, ollie-9p, ollie-remote)
├── kde/          (C++/Qt6)     KDE integration: plasmoid, GUI, Kate plugin, KRunner, tray
├── el/           (Elisp)       Emacs frontend (ellie.el)
├── agents/                     Agent config JSONs (loaded at runtime)
├── prompts/                    System prompt templates (markdown)
├── tools/                      Tool scripts (file_read, lsp_*, memory_*, etc.)
├── sandbox/                    Landlock sandbox config YAML
├── scripts/                    User-facing CLI scripts:
│   ├── s/                      Session management (sh, bfg, ls, kill, ...)
│   ├── u/                      Utilities (complete, optimize, cascade)
│   └── x/                      Internal/plumbing (elevate, prime, bd, task)
├── doc/                        Architecture docs, usage guide
├── contrib/                    Community scripts
└── experiments/                Trial notes
```
### Canonical source for prompts/tools/skills
Prompt and tool files live in `data/`. The `just install-data` target copies them to `~/.config/ollie/`. **Do not edit `~/.config/ollie/` directly** — changes are overwritten on next install.
| Location | Purpose | Deployed by |
|----------|---------|-------------|
| `data/prompts/`, `data/tools/` | Canonical source for all prompts, tools, and skills | `just install-data` |
| `data/skills/` | Domain knowledge modules (markdown) | `just install-data` |
| `kde/` | KDE-specific tool scripts (`gui_*`) | `just install-kde` |
## Build System
```bash
# Build everything:
just
# Individual targets:
just ninep        # olliesrv + ollie-9p
just acme         # acme frontend
just kde          # KDE integration (cmake with ~/.local prefix)
just ollie-remote # remote execution binary
# Install targets (run automatically by the top-level paths):
just install-data     # agents, prompts, tools, skills → ~/.config/ollie/
just install-scripts  # CLI scripts → ~/.config/ollie/scripts/
just install-contrib  # contrib scripts → ~/bin/
just install-kde      # KDE plugins, desktop file, env → ~/.local/
just install-el       # ellie.el → ~/.config/emacs/ellie/
# Test:
just test         # run all tests
just test-core    # core tests only
just test-9p      # 9p tests only
# Lifecycle:
just uninstall    # remove all installed files
just clean        # remove build artifacts
```
Requires [just](https://github.com/casey/just): `cargo install just`
## Testing
```bash
# All Go tests:
go test ./...
# KDE has integration test scripts:
cd kde && ./test-e2e.sh
```
## Language & Conventions

- **Go** (root module): Go 1.25+, standard library preferred, minimal dependencies.
- **C++20/Qt6/KF6** (kde): CMake build, dual Qt5/Qt6 support where noted.
- **Elisp** (el): single file `ellie.el`.
- **Tool scripts**: Python 3, Bash, or compiled binaries. Must be executable. Metadata lives in a `.meta` sidecar JSON file (see `data/tools/*.meta`).
### Code style
- Go: `gofmt`, short variable names, error returns (no panics), table-driven tests.
- Tool scripts: emit structured output (`STATUS=ok`, `STATUS=error`). Image/LSP tools return JSON content blocks.
- Prompts: markdown, concise, example-driven. Follow the pattern in existing `tools-*.md` files.
## Architecture (key concepts)
1. **Two integration surfaces**: 9P filesystem (sessions at `session/{id}/agent/{aid}/`) and D-Bus (`org.ollie.SessionManager`). Tools, skills, memory on physical filesystem via env vars.
2. **Agent loop** (`agent/loop.go`): Streaming LLM call → parse tool calls → dispatch → loop until no more tool calls or max steps.
3. **Tool dispatch** (`toolsrv/`): `shell` is built-in. All others are external scripts resolved from `OLLIE_TOOLS_PATH`.
4. **Sandbox** (`sandbox/`): Landlock-based. Config in `sandbox/*.yaml` defines filesystem access per profile.
5. **Backends** (`backend/`): Ollama, OpenAI-compatible, Anthropic, Copilot, Kiro, Gemini, CodeWhisperer. Selectable per-session.
6. **Prompts assembled at runtime**: Agent JSON `prompt` array runs shell commands (via `x/prime`) that cat markdown files together. No static prompt file is used directly.
7. **D-Bus** embedded in `olliesrv`: `org.ollie.SessionManager` exposed by the same binary as the 9P server.
## Key Files
| What | Where |
|------|-------|
| Agent loop | `agent/loop.go` |
| Tool server | `toolsrv/server.go` |
| Remote execution | `toolsrv/remote.go`, `cmd/ollie-remote/` |
| Sandbox enforcement | `sandbox/` |
| 9P filesystem | `fs/session/` |
| Session management | `session/session.go` |
| System prompt template | Embedded in binary |
| Agent configs | `agents/*.json` |
| D-Bus adapter | `dbus/` |
| KDE D-Bus client | `kde/plasmoid/plugin/olliedbusclient.cpp` |
| Standalone GUI | `kde/gui/` |
| Kate plugin | `kde/kate/` |
## Environment
Config lives in `~/.config/ollie/env`. Key variables:
- `OLLIE_BACKEND` — default backend (ollama, openai, anthropic, copilot, kiro)
- `OLLIE_MODEL` — default model
- `OLLIE_TOOLS_PATH` — where tool scripts live (default: `~/.config/ollie/tools`)
- `OLLIE_MEMORY_PATH` — persistent memory directory
- `OLLIE_ENABLED_BACKENDS` — backends available for routing
## Adding a new tool
1. Create an executable in `data/tools/`
2. Create a `.meta` sidecar file (`data/tools/<name>.meta`) with JSON metadata:
   ```json
   {"description":"...","prompt":"...","args":{...},"tier":"hot","readOnly":false}
   ```
3. Run `just install-data` to install
## Adding a new prompt
1. Write the markdown file in `data/prompts/`
2. If it should be loaded by default, reference it in `agents/default.json`
3. Run `just install-data` to install
## Submodule workflow
The only remaining submodule is `kde/`. For KDE:
```bash
# Update KDE submodule:
git submodule update --remote --merge kde
# Work in the KDE submodule:
cd kde
# ... make changes, commit ...
git push
cd ..
git add kde
git commit -m "update kde submodule"
```
Each submodule has its own remote at `ssh://lkn@lneely.de:44220/lkn/ollie-{name}.git`.
When cloning, use `--recurse-submodules` or run `git submodule update --init --recursive`.
## Environment
The only remaining submodule is `kde/`. For KDE:
```bash
# Update KDE submodule:
git submodule update --remote --merge kde
# Work in the KDE submodule:
cd kde
# ... make changes, commit ...
git push
cd ..
git add kde
git commit -m "update kde submodule"
```
Each submodule has its own remote at `ssh://lkn@lneely.de:44220/lkn/ollie-{name}.git`.
When cloning, use `--recurse-submodules` or run `git submodule update --init --recursive`.