elenchus 0.1.1

Dialectical knowledge base construction via the Elenchus protocol

Elenchus

A standalone system for dialectical knowledge base construction, implementing the Elenchus protocol (Allen 2026) with a DuckDB material base backend.

The respondent develops a bilateral position [C : D] through natural language dialogue with an LLM opponent. Accepted tensions become material implications in a NMMS material base satisfying Containment.

Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• An LLM API key (Anthropic, OpenRouter, or any OpenAI-compatible provider)

Installation

pip install elenchus
export ELENCHUS_API_KEY=sk-ant-...    # or ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

For development:

git clone https://github.com/bradleypallen/elenchus-server.git
cd elenchus-server
pip install -e ".[dev]"

User Guide — full documentation covering concepts, the web interface, CLI, configuration, and a worked example.

Usage

Web interface

elenchus

Options: --port, --model, --api-key, --base-url, --protocol, --data-dir (see elenchus --help).

Open the URL shown in the terminal (default http://localhost:8741). The web interface provides:

• Creating and resuming dialectics
• Natural language dialogue with the LLM opponent
• Live bilateral state display [C : D]
• Tension resolution (accept/contest)
• Material implications accumulating in I
• Derivability queries against the material base

Command line

# Interactive session (in-memory)
elenchus-cli --name "My Inquiry"

# Persistent session (saved to DuckDB file)
elenchus-cli --db my_inquiry.duckdb --name "My Inquiry"

# Resume a saved session
elenchus-cli --db my_inquiry.duckdb

API

# Create a dialectic
curl -X POST http://localhost:8741/api/dialectics \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "prov-o", "topic": "PROV-O Starting Point Terms"}'

# Send a message
curl -X POST http://localhost:8741/api/dialectics/prov-o/message \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": "Entity is a thing with fixed aspects."}'

# Get state
curl http://localhost:8741/api/dialectics/prov-o

# Accept a tension
curl -X POST http://localhost:8741/api/dialectics/prov-o/tensions/1 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"action": "accept"}'

# Check derivability
curl -X POST http://localhost:8741/api/dialectics/prov-o/derive \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"gamma": ["entity_fixed_aspects"], "delta": ["individuation"]}'

# List all dialectics
curl http://localhost:8741/api/dialectics

Architecture

src/elenchus/
├── server.py ──→ opponent.py ──→ LLM API (Anthropic / OpenAI-compatible)
│       ↓
│   dialectical_state.py
│       ↓
│   material_base.py
│       ↓
│   dialectics/*.duckdb
├── static/index.html
├── cli.py
└── pdf_report.py

• server.py: FastAPI app serving the API and static frontend
• opponent.py: LLM oracle — sends state to LLM API (Anthropic or OpenAI-compatible), parses structured responses, applies state transitions
• dialectical_state.py: Definition 4 — S = ⟨[C : D], T, I⟩ backed by DuckDB
• material_base.py: Definition 5 — B = ⟨L_B, |∼_B⟩ with pyNMMS-based derivability
• dialectics/*.duckdb: Persistent state files (one per dialectic)

Persistence

Each dialectic is a single .duckdb file in the dialectics/ directory. The file contains:

• The atomic language L_B
• All assessments (the base consequence relation |∼_B)
• The bilateral position [C : D]
• Open and resolved tensions
• Conversation history (for multi-turn oracle context)

To back up a dialectic, copy the .duckdb file. To share one, send the file. To resume, just point the server at the directory containing it.

Configuration

Environment variables:

• ELENCHUS_API_KEY: Required. Your LLM API key (also accepts ANTHROPIC_API_KEY).
• ELENCHUS_MODEL: LLM model for the oracle (default: claude-opus-4-6)
• ELENCHUS_BASE_URL: API base URL for OpenAI-compatible providers (e.g. https://openrouter.ai/api/v1)
• ELENCHUS_PROTOCOL: API protocol — anthropic or openai (auto-detected from base URL)
• ELENCHUS_DATA: Directory for .duckdb files (default: ./dialectics)
• PORT: Server port (default: 8741)

Using OpenRouter

export ELENCHUS_API_KEY=sk-or-...
export ELENCHUS_BASE_URL=https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
export ELENCHUS_MODEL=anthropic/claude-opus-4-6
elenchus

Any OpenAI-compatible endpoint works the same way (Together, Groq, etc.).