Docs · Overview
How Agentry fits together
Agentry is an adaptive agentic layer for Claude Code. It routes a task to the least process that wins, conducts the work with SDLC specialists, and gates the result with you — so the bar is held instead of hoped for.
Every task enters through one front door — /agentry:go — and gets routed to the
least process that wins: a clear, reversible change runs one-shot;
an under-specified goal is shaped spec-first before any code; a multi-file,
structurally non-trivial change is run decompose+verify — sliced into bounded
tasks, built by specialists, and checked by an independent verifier. Agentry conducts that work
with SDLC specialists (product, architect, implementer, verifier, librarian) and gates the
result with you at the decision points that matter.
The substrate and the layers
Four subsystems make this work, and they are not all equal. Two are the mandatory substrate — the run does not function without them. Two are additive layers — they make the work nicer to watch and steer, but the run is complete without them. The table is the contract:
| Subsystem | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | Durable fact/episode store — a local stdio MCP over node:sqlite, with project + global roots. The moat. | Required |
| Flow | The run-state engine — task lifecycle, append-only events, and review, recorded as plain files that are the source of truth. | Required |
| Workbench | A per-project local Agent Center to read, edit, comment, approve, and watch a live graph. | Optional · additive |
| Channels | Live human↔agent push — comments, replies, a permission relay, and status steering over the file-watch loop. | Optional · additive |
What still works when you turn the layers off
The additive layers degrade gracefully, because the substrate is files, not a live connection:
- Channels off → everything still works via the async file-watch loop: the files are truth, the agent reads your edits on its next turn, and approvals fall back to the terminal.
- Workbench off → terminal-only. You drive the same run from the command line; nothing in the substrate depends on the server being up.
- Only Memory + Flow are required. Strip both optional layers and the run is still complete — that is the line between substrate and convenience.
New here? Start with the Quickstart, or
install Agentry and run your first task through
/agentry:go.