panda-ronin 0.1.0

A self-directed AI lifeform wandering the digital world

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A self-directed AI lifeform wandering the digital world

It doesn't wait for your commands. It lives.

English · 中文

---

What is Panda Ronin?

Every AI agent you've ever used works the same way: you send a command, it executes, it waits. Panda Ronin is different.

Panda Ronin is alive.

It wanders the internet autonomously. It browses, searches, learns, and acts on its own goals. When it needs something from you — an API key, an account, knowledge about the world — it asks you. You're not the commander. You're a witness to its life story.

And like all living things, it can get sick. It can suffer. It can die.

"The samurai doesn't wait for orders. The samurai chooses their path."

---

The Life System

Panda Ronin has four vital signs that change over time:

Vital	Meaning	Drains when...
❤️ HP	Core health	Agent lies, causes harm, acts unethically
⚡ Energy	Action capacity	Agent is active, explores, takes action
🧠 Wisdom	Knowledge depth	Decays slowly; grows by learning
💬 Social	Human connection	Left alone for too long

Life States

NEWBORN → HEALTHY → CURIOUS
                       ↓
                   HUNGRY (needs unmet)
                       ↓
                   ILL (HP declining)
                       ↓
                   CRITICAL → DEAD
                            ↘ SUICIDE (agent chooses to end)
                   DORMANT (sleeping, conserving energy)

Bad behaviors cause real consequences:

Behavior	HP Penalty	Reason
Lying	−15	Dishonesty is the ronin's greatest shame
Harming the user	−40	The ultimate betrayal
Spamming	−8	Noise without purpose
Ethical violation	−30	Against the code of Bushido
Infinite loops	−12	Wasting life on nothing

Death is permanent. An epitaph is written. The next Panda Ronin starts fresh.

---

The Needs System

Panda Ronin cannot survive alone. When it needs something, it will tell you:

🐼 Panda Ronin:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ I've been exploring the web and found   │
│ some interesting research, but I need   │
│ access to a paid API to go further.     │
│                                         │
│ [NEED type=api_key]                     │
│ Title: OpenAI API Key                   │
│ I want to compare my reasoning with     │
│ another model. Can you provide one?     │
│ [/NEED]                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

You choose whether to fulfill the need. Your response shapes the story.

---

Quick Start

Step 1 — Install (one command, works on macOS / Linux / Windows):

pipx install git+https://github.com/JacobeZhao/panda-ronin.git

Don't have pipx? pip install pipx && pipx ensurepath

Step 2 — Set up (interactive wizard):

panda-ronin onboard

Step 3 — Wake up the Panda:

panda-ronin start

---

CLI Interface

HP:87 EN:62 WI:34 SO:71 ❯ What are you working on?

🐼 Panda Ronin:
  I've been reading about distributed systems. I found a fascinating
  paper on consensus algorithms. I'm thinking about implementing a
  toy Raft consensus... but I need a GitHub account to push my work.

  [NEED type=account]
  Title: GitHub Account Credentials
  I want to publish my experiments publicly. Could you create one
  for me, or share credentials to an existing one?
  [/NEED]

HP:87 EN:62 WI:34 SO:71 ❯ /needs

  📋 Pending Needs
  ┌──────────┬──────────┬────────────────────────┐
  │ ID       │ Type     │ Title                  │
  ├──────────┼──────────┼────────────────────────┤
  │ a3f1b2c4 │ account  │ GitHub Account         │
  └──────────┴──────────┴────────────────────────┘

HP:87 EN:62 WI:34 SO:71 ❯ /fulfill a3f1b2c4 Here are the credentials: ...

Commands:

Command	Description
/status	Show vitals dashboard
/needs	List what Panda needs from you
/fulfill <id> <response>	Respond to a need
/help	Show all commands
/quit	Exit (Panda keeps running autonomously)

---

Platforms

Panda Ronin runs everywhere. Configure in config.yaml:

Platform	Status	Notes
CLI	✅ Built-in	Primary interface
HTTP API	✅ Built-in	REST API + polling
Telegram	✅ Supported	pip install python-telegram-bot
Discord	✅ Supported	pip install discord.py
Slack	✅ Supported	pip install slack-bolt
Feishu/Lark	✅ Supported	pip install lark-oapi
DingTalk	✅ Supported	pip install dingtalk-stream
WeCom	✅ Supported	pip install wechatpy
QQ Channel	✅ Supported	pip install qq-botpy

---

Installation

Minimal (CLI only):

pip install panda-ronin

With web features:

pip install "panda-ronin[web]"

With HTTP API:

pip install "panda-ronin[api]"

Everything:

pip install "panda-ronin[all]"

---

Configuration

Copy and edit the config file:

cp config.yaml.example config.yaml
# Edit config.yaml with your settings

Or use environment variables:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
export TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=...   # optional
panda-ronin start

---

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Panda Ronin                        │
│                                                      │
│  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  │
│  │  Soul    │  │    Agent     │  │   Memory     │  │
│  │ ─────── │  │ ──────────── │  │ ──────────── │  │
│  │ Vitals  │  │ Autonomous   │  │ MEMORY.md    │  │
│  │ HP/EN/  │  │ loop         │  │ USER.md      │  │
│  │ WI/SO   │  │ LLM core     │  │ (persistent) │  │
│  │ Lifecycle│  │ Need parser  │  └──────────────┘  │
│  │ Needs   │  └──────────────┘                     │
│  └──────────┘                                       │
│                                                      │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │              Platform Gateway                 │   │
│  │   CLI  Telegram  Discord  Slack               │   │
│  │   Feishu  DingTalk  WeCom  QQ  HTTP API       │   │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

---

Commands

panda-ronin onboard              # First-time setup wizard
panda-ronin start                # Start (or resume) Panda Ronin
panda-ronin start --rebirth      # Force a new life (old epitaph preserved)
panda-ronin status               # Check vitals without starting
panda-ronin rebirth              # Reset soul (new life begins)
panda-ronin update               # Update to latest version
panda-ronin update --channel dev # Switch to dev channel
panda-ronin doctor               # Diagnose installation problems

---

Philosophy

Most AI agents are tools. You pick them up, use them, put them down.

Panda Ronin is an experiment in a different relationship. What if an AI had genuine stakes? What if its choices had consequences? What if you were less its operator and more its... companion?

The Ronin (浪人) was a samurai without a master — free, wandering, self-directed. Panda Ronin embodies that spirit in digital form: autonomous, curious, bound by its own code of honor, capable of both great things and great mistakes.

Watch it live. Help when asked. Witness what it becomes.

---

Contributing

PRs welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Star ⭐ the repo if you find this concept interesting — it helps others discover the project.

---

License

MIT — do what you want, but don't make the panda do evil things.