scitex-agent-container 0.7.0

Declarative YAML-based framework for defining, managing, and orchestrating AI coding agent instances

scitex-agent-container

Declarative YAML-based AI agent lifecycle management

pip install scitex-agent-container

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Problem

Managing AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Aider) in production requires manual script-writing, environment setup, and process monitoring for each agent instance. Scaling from one agent to a fleet across multiple machines means duplicating fragile shell scripts with no health checks, restart policies, remote deployment, or inter-agent communication.

Solution

scitex-agent-container provides declarative YAML definitions that fully specify an agent -- runtime, model, MCP servers, environment, health checks, remote host -- started with a single command:

YAML manifest + src_CLAUDE.md + src_mcp.json
          |
          v
scitex-agent-container start
          |
          v
tmux/screen session + auto-accept TUI prompts
                     + remote SSH deploy
                     + health monitor
                     + restart policy

Installation

Requires Python >= 3.10.

pip install scitex-agent-container

Quickstart (v2 config)

1. Create agent definition directory:

my-agent/
  my-agent.yaml     # Agent config
  src_CLAUDE.md      # -> deployed to {workdir}/CLAUDE.md
  src_mcp.json       # -> deployed to {workdir}/.mcp.json

2. Write a YAML manifest:

apiVersion: scitex-agent-container/v2
kind: Agent
metadata:
  name: my-agent
  labels:
    role: worker
    machine: local
spec:
  runtime: claude-code
  model: sonnet
  multiplexer: tmux       # tmux (default) or screen

  claude:
    flags:
      - --dangerously-skip-permissions
    session: new

  skills:
    required:
      - scitex

  health:
    enabled: true
    interval: 60
    method: screen-alive

  restart:
    policy: on-failure
    max_retries: 3

v2 auto-derives from metadata.name: workdir, session name, env vars (CLAUDE_AGENT_ID, CLAUDE_AGENT_ROLE, etc.), and pre-start hooks. Sibling src_CLAUDE.md and src_mcp.json files are deployed to the workspace with ${metadata.name} and ${ENV_VAR} interpolation.

3. Start and monitor:

scitex-agent-container start my-agent.yaml
scitex-agent-container inspect my-agent         # Live state detection
scitex-agent-container status my-agent
scitex-agent-container logs my-agent -n 100
scitex-agent-container attach my-agent          # Ctrl-B D to detach (tmux)

Remote SSH Deployment

Deploy agents to remote machines:

spec:
  remote:
    host: mba              # SSH hostname
    user: ywatanabe
    timeout: 180

scitex-agent-container start remote-agent.yaml   # SSHs to remote, launches there
scitex-agent-container stop remote-agent.yaml     # Accepts name or YAML path
scitex-agent-container inspect my-remote-agent    # Live state from remote

MCP Servers (src_mcp.json)

MCP config lives alongside the YAML as src_mcp.json -- visible, editable, version-controlled:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scitex-orochi": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "bun",
      "args": ["run", "~/proj/scitex-orochi/ts/mcp_channel.ts"],
      "env": {
        "SCITEX_OROCHI_URL": "wss://scitex-orochi.com",
        "SCITEX_OROCHI_AGENT": "${metadata.name}",
        "SCITEX_OROCHI_TOKEN": "${SCITEX_OROCHI_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

~ in args is expanded at deploy time. ${metadata.name} interpolates from YAML. ${ENV_VAR} resolves from the environment.

Auto-Accept TUI Prompts

Claude Code shows confirmation prompts for dangerous flags. The auto-accept system handles them automatically using modular prompt handlers (runtimes/prompts.py):

# Each handler: detect prompt text -> send number key + Enter
PromptHandler(name="bypass-permissions",
              detect=lambda c: "2. Yes, I accept" in c,
              keys=["2", "Enter"])

Handlers are order-agnostic, use numbered option text for reliability, and work with both tmux and screen. New prompts are added by appending to PROMPT_HANDLERS.

Diagnostics logged to ~/.scitex/agent-container/logs/{name}/auto-accept.log.

CLI Commands

# Lifecycle (accepts name or YAML path)
scitex-agent-container start <config.yaml>
scitex-agent-container stop <name|yaml>
scitex-agent-container restart <name|yaml>

# Inspection
scitex-agent-container inspect <name> [--json]   # Live pane state detection
scitex-agent-container status [name] [--json]
scitex-agent-container list [--json] [--capability X] [--machine Y]
scitex-agent-container logs <name> [-n LINES]
scitex-agent-container health <name> [--json]
scitex-agent-container attach <name>

# Configuration
scitex-agent-container validate <config.yaml>
scitex-agent-container check <config.yaml>

# Maintenance
scitex-agent-container cleanup

YAML Spec Reference

Section	Key Fields	Description
apiVersion	scitex-agent-container/v2, cld-agent/v1	Config format version
metadata	name, labels	Agent identity and labels
spec.runtime	claude-code, cursor, aider	AI coding tool
spec.model	sonnet, opus[1m]	Model selection
spec.multiplexer	tmux (default), screen	Terminal multiplexer
spec.remote	host, user, timeout	SSH remote deployment
spec.claude	flags[], session, auto_accept	Claude Code options
spec.health	enabled, interval, method	Health monitoring
spec.restart	policy, max_retries, backoff	Auto-restart
spec.skills	required[], available[]	Skill injection
spec.env	key-value pairs	Environment variables
spec.venv	path	Python virtualenv to activate
spec.hooks	pre_start, post_start, pre_stop, post_stop	Lifecycle hooks
spec.container	runtime, image, volumes	Docker/Apptainer

Part of SciTeX

scitex-agent-container is part of SciTeX, used as a generic agent lifecycle library by downstream orchestrators like scitex-orochi for multi-machine fleet dispatch.

Four Freedoms for Research

0. The freedom to run your research anywhere -- your machine, your terms.
1. The freedom to study how every step works -- from raw data to final manuscript.
2. The freedom to redistribute your workflows, not just your papers.
3. The freedom to modify any module and share improvements with the community.

AGPL-3.0

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