autonomous-claude 1.4.0

Build apps autonomously with Claude Code CLI

autonomous-claude

Build apps autonomously with Claude Code CLI. Uses your existing Claude subscription - no API key required.

Based on Anthropic's long-running agents guide.

Installation

# Install uv if you haven't
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Install autonomous-claude
uv tool install autonomous-claude

Prerequisites

Claude Code CLI:

pnpm add -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
claude login

GitHub CLI - required for issue tracking:

# Install: https://cli.github.com/
gh auth login

Docker - required for secure sandboxed execution:

# Install Docker: https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/
docker --version  # Verify installation

By default, Claude runs in a Docker container with access only to your project directory. Use --no-sandbox to bypass this isolation (not recommended).

Usage

# cd into your project directory first
cd my-project

# Start a new project or add features
autonomous-claude [INSTRUCTIONS]

# Continue work on existing features
autonomous-claude --continue

# Update to latest version
autonomous-claude update

Start a new project

# Create and enter project directory
mkdir notes-app && cd notes-app

# Interactive - prompts for description
autonomous-claude

# With description
autonomous-claude "An Apple Notes clone - local .md storage, folders, rich text, search"

# From a spec file
autonomous-claude ./app-spec.md

Add features to an existing project

cd notes-app

# Add new features
autonomous-claude "Add dark mode and keyboard shortcuts"

Note: If your project has open issues, you'll be asked to confirm. Use --continue to resume without adding new features.

Continue work

Continue implementing existing features where you left off:

cd notes-app
autonomous-claude --continue

Options

Option	Short	Description	Default
--continue	-c	Continue work on existing features	-
--yes	-y	Auto-accept spec (non-interactive mode)	false
--no-sandbox	—	Run without Docker sandbox (not recommended)	false
--model	-m	Claude model	Claude Code default
--max-sessions	-n	Max sessions (Claude Code invocations)	100
--timeout	-t	Timeout per session (seconds)	18000 (5 hours)

Configuration

Create ~/.config/autonomous-claude/config.toml to customize defaults:

[session]
timeout = 18000        # Seconds per session (default: 5 hours)
max_turns = 2000       # Max turns per Claude session
max_sessions = 100     # Max Claude sessions before stopping
spec_timeout = 600     # Timeout for spec generation (10 minutes)

[ralph]
enabled = true         # Enable Ralph Wiggum loop (default: true)
max_iterations = 10    # Max iterations per session before exiting

[sandbox]
enabled = true         # Run in Docker sandbox (default: true)
memory_limit = "8g"    # Container memory limit
cpu_limit = 4.0        # Container CPU limit

Spec Confirmation

Before building, Claude generates a detailed spec from your description. You can review and request changes:

Accept? [y] n
What needs changing? Add offline support and keyboard shortcuts
Updating spec...

Type y (or press Enter) to accept, or describe what to change.

Project Files

The tool creates these files in your project:

File	Purpose
.claude/CLAUDE.md	Project specification (auto-loaded by Claude)
.autonomous-claude/progress.txt	Session notes and progress updates
.autonomous-claude/logs/	Session logs (stdout, stderr, prompts)
init.sh	Dev environment setup script
TODO.md	Human tasks (API keys, credentials) - only if needed

Features are tracked as GitHub Issues with the autonomous-claude label. View progress at https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/issues.

How It Works

New projects

1. Setup: Creates a private GitHub repo (if needed)
2. Session 1 (Initializer): Creates GitHub Issues for each testable feature
3. Sessions 2+ (Coding Agent): Implements features one by one, closing issues when done

Adding features to existing projects

1. Session 1 (Enhancement Initializer): Creates new GitHub Issues for the requested features
2. Sessions 2+ (Coding Agent): Implements the new features

Progress is tracked via GitHub Issues and git commits. Press Ctrl+C to stop, then --continue to resume.

Iterative Sessions (Ralph Wiggum Style)

Each coding session uses the Ralph Wiggum technique for iterative refinement. Instead of exiting on first attempt, Claude iterates within each session until the issue is complete or max iterations (default: 10) is reached.

How it works:

1. Claude starts working on an issue
2. When Claude tries to stop, a Stop hook intercepts and checks completion
3. If issues remain open and iterations < max, Claude is prompted to continue
4. Loop exits when the issue is closed or max iterations reached

Benefits:

• More resilient to transient errors
• Self-correcting (tests fail → fix → retry)
• No human intervention needed for typical debugging cycles

Configuration:

[ralph]
enabled = true         # Disable with false if needed
max_iterations = 10    # Increase for complex tasks

The Stop hook is automatically installed to .claude/hooks/stop_hook.sh in your project.

Example

$ mkdir apple-notes-clone && cd apple-notes-clone
$ autonomous-claude "An Apple Notes clone - web app with local .md file storage, folder organization, rich text editing, and full-text search"

╔═╗╦ ╦╔╦╗╔═╗╔╗╔╔═╗╔╦╗╔═╗╦ ╦╔═╗
╠═╣║ ║ ║ ║ ║║║║║ ║║║║║ ║║ ║╚═╗
╩ ╩╚═╝ ╩ ╚═╝╝╚╝╚═╝╩ ╩╚═╝╚═╝╚═╝
     Claude Code CLI

  Project     /home/user/apple-notes-clone
  Model       Claude Code default

Setting up new project...
...

Security

Docker Sandbox (Default)

By default, all Claude Code executions run inside an isolated Docker container.

Mounts:

Host Path	Container Path	Mode	Why
Project directory	/workspace	rw	Code being built
~/.claude/.credentials.json	/home/node/.claude/.credentials.json	rw	Auth tokens (needs write for refresh)
~/.claude/settings.json	/home/node/.claude/settings.json	ro	User preferences
~/.claude/settings.local.json	/home/node/.claude/settings.local.json	ro	Permission allowlists
~/.claude/CLAUDE.md	/home/node/.claude/CLAUDE.md	ro	Personal instructions
~/.claude/skills/	/home/node/.claude/skills/	rw	User-scoped skills (rw for deps/cache)
~/.config/gh	/home/node/.config/gh	ro	GitHub CLI auth

Settings and gh config are read-only to prevent a sandboxed session from escalating permissions.

Not accessible: ~/.ssh, ~/.aws, or any directory outside your project.

Limits: 8GB RAM, 4 CPUs (configurable). Runs as non-root with all capabilities dropped.

License

MIT - Based on Anthropic's claude-quickstarts