agento-core 0.1.5

AI Agent Framework — automates tasks using AI agents in Docker containers

Agento

Self-hosted agent automation platform with modular integrations, Python execution runtime, Node.js toolbox, scoped config, and extension modules. Automates tasks using AI agents (Claude Code, OpenAI Codex) in Docker containers.

Why Two Runtimes?

Agento enforces a strict security boundary between the AI sandbox and credentials. The sandbox where agents run has zero access to secrets. The toolbox is the only container that holds credentials, exposed via an MCP server that the agent calls through controlled tool interfaces.

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Docker Network                     │
│                                                       │
│  ┌─────────────┐   ┌─────────────┐   ┌─────────────┐  │
│  │   Sandbox   │   │   Toolbox   │   │     Cron    │  │
│  │   Claude/   │   │   Node.js   │   │    Python   │  │
│  │   Codex     │   │  MCP Server │   │   Consumer  │  │
│  │             │   │             │   │ + Scheduler │  │
│  │ NO secrets  │   │ Credentials │   │  Job Queue  │  │
│  └─────────────┘   └──────┬──────┘   └─────────────┘  │
│                           │                           │
│                     ┌─────┴─────┐                     │
│                     │   MySQL   │                     │
│                     └───────────┘                     │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Quick Start

uv tool install agento-core           # Install the CLI
agento init my-project                # Scaffold a new project
cd my-project
agento up                             # Start Docker Compose
agento setup:upgrade                  # Apply migrations

Architecture

Agento runs three Docker containers on a shared network:

• Cron (Python) -- Job queue consumer, scheduler, CLI host. Manages the lifecycle of agent jobs, runs migrations, and dispatches events. Connects to MySQL for job state, config, and module metadata.
• Toolbox (Node.js) -- MCP credential broker. Registers tools from modules (MySQL adapters, API clients) and exposes them over stdio. The only container with access to secrets.
• Sandbox (Claude Code / OpenAI Codex) -- Ephemeral container where the AI agent executes. Has no credentials, no direct database access. Communicates with the toolbox exclusively through MCP tool calls.

Module System

Agento uses a Magento-inspired modular architecture. Each module is a self-contained package.

Core modules ship with the framework in src/agento/modules/ (jira, claude, codex, core, crypt, agent_view).

User modules live in app/code/ and are deployment-specific (gitignored by default).

Every module contains a module.json manifest and optional companion files:

File	Purpose
module.json	Module manifest (name, version, tools, knowledge)
di.json	Dependency injection configuration
events.json	Observer declarations for event-driven extensibility
config.json	Default config values with field metadata
cron.json	Scheduled job definitions
sql/*.sql	Schema migrations
data_patch.json	Data patches applied during setup

Config follows a 3-level fallback: ENV vars (CONFIG__MODULE__PATH) take highest priority, then DB (core_config_data), then config.json defaults. Config can be scoped per agent_view for multi-tenant setups.

Events use an observer pattern. Modules declare observers in events.json and the framework dispatches events synchronously during lifecycle hooks (job start, job complete, schedule tick, etc.).

Installation

Docker Compose (recommended)

For end users, demos, PoC, and self-hosting:

uv tool install agento-core          # or: pip install agento-core
agento init my-project                # Scaffold project with Docker Compose
cd my-project
agento up                             # Start containers (cron + toolbox + MySQL)
agento setup:upgrade                  # Apply migrations, install crontab

System check

agento doctor                         # Verify prerequisites

Creating Your First Module

agento module:add my-app \
  --description="My application module" \
  --tool mysql:mysql_prod:"Production database (read-only)"

This creates a module in app/code/my-app/ with a module.json, config.json, and knowledge/ directory. Set credentials with:

agento config:set my_app/tools/mysql_prod/host 10.0.0.1
agento config:set my_app/tools/mysql_prod/pass secret123

See Creating a Module for the full guide.

Documentation

Full developer documentation is available in docs/:

• Getting Started -- Install and create your first module
• CLI Reference -- All agento commands
• Module Guide -- Creating and managing modules
• Config System -- 3-level fallback, encryption, ENV vars
• Architecture -- Containers, zero-trust, job queue

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines on setting up a development environment, running tests, and submitting pull requests.

License

MIT. See LICENSE for the full text.