AXF

Fit the repository once. Let every agent follow the same paved path.

An agent can read your code. It still has to rediscover how this repository wants to be built, tested, searched, diagnosed, and operated. The clues are usually scattered across scripts, package tasks, prose, CI, and human memory.

AXF (Agent eXoskeleton Framework) turns that repeated local ceremony into small, self-describing capabilities. Fit the exoskeleton deliberately once; later agents can discover the right route, inspect its contract, and run it without rebuilding the procedure from scratch.

recurring repository ceremony
          ↓ fit once
inspectable AXF capabilities
          ↓ reuse
agent discovers → inspects → runs

AXF is a traffic cop, not a replacement vocabulary. It preserves a provider's existing command family by default, then projects or normalizes only the parts that need a clearer agent-facing contract. The goal is not to automate judgment. It is to spend less judgment on reconstructing the same route.

The five caller concepts

You do not need the framework vocabulary to use a fitted repository:

• Workspace — the repository context whose operating paths you need. In root-sensitive contracts, AXF distinguishes the project root used for discovery from the execution root used as the runtime working directory.
• Module — a reusable capability pack, such as the built-in echo module or a repository-owned validation pack.
• Capability — one named operation with declared arguments, output modes, side effects, lifecycle, policies, and an execution target.
• Inspect — read the complete contract before execution.
• Run — execute through that contract after checking its effects and authority requirements.

The smallest proof of life is:

npm install --global @smartergpt/axf
axf doctor
axf list --compact
axf inspect echo say
axf run echo say --message hello

AXF 2.1.3 is published under Apache-2.0; earlier npm releases retain their published terms. Outside a fitted workspace, with no root override, this example discovers the bundled manifests in the installed package. doctor reports that project root separately from the current execution directory. An explicit AXF_PROJECT_ROOT overrides discovery; an empty directory without an axf.workspace.json marker has no capabilities. A fitted repository normally adds its own capabilities; echo.say only proves that the registry, resolver, adapter, and executor are connected.

Before and after fitting

Before AXF, a new agent searches multiple instruction files, reverse-engineers package scripts, guesses the safe validation subset, and repeats that work in the next session.

After a deliberate fit, the repository can expose stable entries such as context, check, and handoff. A caller starts with axf guide, inspects the selected capability, and runs the repository-owned route. AXF makes the route visible; the repository still owns it.

Is this repository a fit?

AXF helps when:

• agents repeatedly guess which build, test, or validation command applies;
• the same repository facts must be rediscovered before editing;
• local safety rules live in scattered prose, convention, or human memory;
• brittle shell chains keep being rebuilt for repo-specific chores.

AXF is probably not a fit when one obvious command already covers the work, the ceremony is unlikely to recur, or the provider surface changes faster than the team can maintain a capability contract.

The adoption question is:

Does this repository have repeated local operating ceremony that is worth fitting once into stable, inspectable agent capabilities?

For a bounded, strictly read-only assessment, give an agent this prompt:

Evaluate whether this repository is a fit for AXF by following
docs/agent-evaluation.md. Do not install AXF, edit files, scaffold or promote
capabilities, invoke MCP tools, or run repository code. Inspect only the
existing scripts, package tasks, documentation, agent instructions, CI and
platform/runtime constraints. Identify repeated mistakes and existing overlap,
then return exactly one verdict: adopt, pilot, defer, or not a fit. Include the
evidence, expected fitting cost, ongoing drift cost, authority boundaries, and
the smallest reversible pilot. Do not perform the pilot without separate
approval.

See Agent fit evaluation for the evidence checklist, verdict definitions, and response template.

Choose your path

Stop at the caller guide unless you are responsible for fitting a provider or changing AXF itself. The complete audience map is in Documentation layers.

Status: alpha. The core loop is in place: scout, inspect, execute, scaffold, and promote capabilities through one contract. Manifest version axf/v0 is the current alpha contract.

What AXF is not

AXF is not a universal command catalog, a source of authorization, a replacement for provider identity, a substitute for review, or an MCP-only product. MCP is one agent-facing surface over the same registry and execution path.

Install and MCP

License

AXF is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0, including commercial and organizational use under its terms. Preserve the applicable notices. Earlier releases retain their applicable terms.

SmarterGPT was founded by Joseph Gustavson (Guffawaffle). See stewardship, contributing, and project identity. Code licensing does not grant runtime authority.

The npm package name is @smartergpt/axf. It installs two bins:

• axf — the CLI entrypoint, including the stdio MCP launch subcommand axf mcp
• axf-mcp — the stdio MCP server entrypoint

MCP clients may launch axf-mcp directly. For registry-driven or package-driven launch, prefer axf mcp so the package can stay centered on the base axf command surface. Both entrypoints start the same stdio MCP server. The server exposes exactly one MCP tool named axf, and that tool routes into AXF's existing capability surface for the bound workspace.

Global install

npm install --global @smartergpt/axf

Then use either bin directly:

axf doctor
axf mcp
axf-mcp

Audit a Codex MCP package pin before assuming the configured server matches the installed CLI:

axf integrate codex --check
axf integrate codex --write
axf integrate codex --check --smoke

Writes are scoped to the AXF package spec in Codex config.toml; restart or reopen Codex afterward. For one-call AXF + Lex bootstrap, including the explicit off | shadow KnowledgeFrame provider rollout, see the packaged templates/session-context workspace recipe and docs/13-repo-onboarding.md.

Repo-local dev launch

From a local clone, run the bins directly with Node:

node /path/to/axf/bin/axf.js doctor
node /path/to/axf/bin/axf.js mcp
node /path/to/axf/bin/axf-mcp.js

A repo-local MCP configuration can either call the direct MCP bin or the CLI subcommand. Prefer the CLI subcommand when the client supports command arguments cleanly:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "axf": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/axf/bin/axf.js", "mcp"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/project",
      "env": {
        "AXF_PROJECT_ROOT": "/path/to/project",
        "AXF_EXECUTION_ROOT": "/path/to/project"
      }
    }
  }
}

Direct-bin configs remain valid:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "axf": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/axf/bin/axf-mcp.js"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/project",
      "env": {
        "AXF_PROJECT_ROOT": "/path/to/project",
        "AXF_EXECUTION_ROOT": "/path/to/project"
      }
    }
  }
}

npm / npx launch

Published-package smoke tests must run from a clean directory such as /tmp, not from the AXF repo root. Running from the repo root can let npx or npm exec pick up a repo-local or globally installed axf binary instead of the package-installed one.

The registry-friendly launch shape is axf mcp, but the direct MCP bin remains valid for manual configurations. These equivalent package-driven forms use the published npm package:

npx -y --package @smartergpt/axf axf doctor
npx -y --package @smartergpt/axf axf mcp
npx -y --package @smartergpt/axf axf-mcp

npm exec --yes --package @smartergpt/axf -- axf doctor
npm exec --yes --package @smartergpt/axf -- axf mcp
npm exec --yes --package @smartergpt/axf -- axf-mcp

Windows-native launch

For registry-style Windows MCP configs, prefer the base axf.cmd launcher with mcp as an argument:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "axf": {
      "command": "axf.cmd",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "cwd": "C:\\src\\my-project",
      "env": {
        "AXF_PROJECT_ROOT": "C:\\src\\my-project",
        "AXF_EXECUTION_ROOT": "C:\\src\\my-project"
      }
    }
  }
}

Direct-bin .cmd configs are still valid:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "axf": {
      "command": "axf-mcp.cmd",
      "args": [],
      "cwd": "C:\\src\\my-project",
      "env": {
        "AXF_PROJECT_ROOT": "C:\\src\\my-project",
        "AXF_EXECUTION_ROOT": "C:\\src\\my-project"
      }
    }
  }
}

WSL / Linux launch

For registry-style WSL/Linux MCP configs, prefer the base axf command with mcp as the first argument:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "axf": {
      "command": "axf",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "cwd": "/home/user/src/my-project",
      "env": {
        "AXF_PROJECT_ROOT": "/home/user/src/my-project",
        "AXF_EXECUTION_ROOT": "/home/user/src/my-project"
      }
    }
  }
}

Direct-bin configs remain valid:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "axf": {
      "command": "axf-mcp",
      "args": [],
      "cwd": "/home/user/src/my-project",
      "env": {
        "AXF_PROJECT_ROOT": "/home/user/src/my-project",
        "AXF_EXECUTION_ROOT": "/home/user/src/my-project"
      }
    }
  }
}

WSL users should use a native WSL AXF install on PATH, not Windows npm shims or npm's _npx cache. Optional shared packs that launch native CLIs should follow the same rule: prefer Linux-native tools earlier on PATH and avoid crossing into Windows shims from WSL.

Root binding

axf, axf mcp, and axf-mcp resolve the active project root and execution root in this order:

1. explicit --project-root and --execution-root
2. AXF_PROJECT_ROOT and AXF_EXECUTION_ROOT
3. legacy CLI aliases: --workspace, --registry-workspace, --execution-workspace
4. legacy environment aliases: AXF_WORKSPACE, AXF_REGISTRY_WORKSPACE, AXF_EXECUTION_WORKSPACE
5. nearest axf.workspace.json from cwd
6. nearest axf.workspace.json from the installed script location
7. cwd fallback

For axf run, unprefixed root flags are global only before the subcommand; after run they are capability-owned. Non-run commands retain their legacy placement because they have no downstream argument owner. The --axf-project-root, --axf-execution-root, and --axf-workspace spellings are accepted later in the AXF-controlled portion of a command. After an axf run ... -- boundary, root-like names belong to the capability.

Run argument ownership

AXF reserves the --axf-* namespace for framework controls and leaves natural public argument names to capabilities. Use an explicit boundary when the ownership should be visible in the command itself:

axf --project-root /repo run global.logs.query \
  --axf-json --axf-any-lifecycle -- \
  --json --limit 20 --workspace downstream-name

Options before -- are AXF run controls. Options after -- are public capability arguments: AXF still parses them, validates and coerces them with argsSchema, maps them through argMap, and executes them through the declared adapter. The boundary never enables raw or schema-bypassing argv. The same name may appear on both sides with different ownership, but a duplicate within either explicit section is rejected.

Existing no-boundary invocations such as axf run echo say --message hello remain supported. In that compatibility form, legacy --json, --any-lifecycle, and --allow-draft remain AXF controls unless the capability explicitly declares the same argument. Use --axf-json and --axf-any-lifecycle when AXF ownership must be unambiguous.

Agent-first discovery

Start with the bounded workspace guide instead of requesting every full manifest:

axf guide
axf guide context --json
axf list --compact --search lex --limit 20 --json
axf explain global.lex
axf inspect global.lex.status --json

The MCP router exposes the same guide, compact/search list, explain, and inspect results. guide returns workspace- or family-declared context, validation, and handoff entrypoints without executing them. Compact list entries retain lifecycle, side effects, and source provenance while omitting full schemas and execution targets until inspect.

AI agents are the primary consumer of MCP results, so AXF defaults to responseDetail: "compact": the deterministic minimum safe envelope with capability data, actionable errors, warnings, and required safety state. Request responseDetail: "standard" for an expanded canonical result or responseDetail: "diagnostic" explicitly when investigating provenance, workspace binding, or launch behavior. Invocation traces stay out of normal success and failure results. Diagnostic framework metadata is redacted for sensitive field names and values. Response detail never truncates, redacts, or otherwise transforms capability-owned data.

{
  "operation": "run",
  "responseDetail": "compact",
  "target": { "id": "global.lex.status" },
  "args": {}
}

The compact list option and responseDetail are intentionally separate: compact selects summarized capability entries, while responseDetail controls the surrounding agent-facing response envelope. A default compact MCP list response is independently bounded to 25 results when limit is omitted; this does not enable the list item compact option. Supply an explicit limit to replace that bound, or explicitly request standard or diagnostic without a limit to opt out of the default bound.

AXF 2.0 changes the implicit MCP response from the pre-2.0 rich envelope to compact. Callers that consume provenance or launch metadata must request diagnostic; callers that need the expanded result without invocation traces can request standard.

AXF project and execution roots are filesystem discovery/execution bindings, not tenant, repository, workspace, grant, or authorization evidence. Ambient root environment variables remain compatibility/configuration inputs only; AXF never treats them as authority. Security-sensitive hosts should pass roots explicitly and authorize the operation before invoking AXF. Provider-owned identity and authorization stay with the provider; AXF does not require Lex or reconstruct Lex authority.

See Agent Discovery and Workflow Guide for recommendation declarations, missing-capability diagnostics, and CLI/MCP examples.

Capabilities may also return validated, typed continuations when their immediate result leaves an exact external operation in progress. The first continuation kind routes through global.wait.external, whose process-bound GitHub providers observe explicit required checks for one exact commit SHA or a pull request review from one exact reviewer identity. See Awaitable completions for descriptor, authority, cancellation, and outcome boundaries.

When discovery and execution should use the same repo, set both AXF_PROJECT_ROOT and AXF_EXECUTION_ROOT to the same path. When they should differ, set them independently. Legacy AXF_WORKSPACE remains a compatibility alias that binds both roots to one path.

For MCP clients, set cwd to the intended caller execution directory and set AXF_PROJECT_ROOT / AXF_EXECUTION_ROOT explicitly when possible. That keeps manifest discovery and caller-facing execution deterministic.

Set AXF_MACHINE_ROOT when you want a user- or machine-scoped AXF root to contribute optional shared packs across projects. Project-root families shadow machine-level families with the same family name.

From any directory once installed:

axf doctor
axf list
axf inspect echo say
axf run echo say --message hello
axf scout --check
axf run toy echo say --message hello
axf init capability global.acme.status

axf doctor reports the workspace source it selected and, under WSL, warns when axf, lex, node, or npm resolve through Windows PATH entries under /mnt/c/....

MCP routing and governance

The MCP server exposes one tool named axf. Supported operations are:

• help
• guide
• list
• explain
• inspect
• run
• doctor
• scout_check

Those operations route into AXF's manifest-backed discovery, resolver, lifecycle, policy, adapter, and executor paths. MCP does not add a second governance model or a raw shell bypass around AXF.

AXF MCP is intentionally not full CLI parity yet. The CLI remains the authoritative mutation and control plane for commands such as init, promote, demote, scout --write, and other registry/materialization flows.

Capabilities such as global.echo.say are not separate MCP tools. Use operation=help to learn the router contract, operation=list to discover capabilities, and operation=inspect before operation=run. Treat capability lifecycleState, sideEffects, policies, and workspace binding as part of the execution contract.

scout_check is AXF's MCP-specific read-only structured scout diagnostics surface. It is not intended to promise literal CLI parity with axf scout --check.

Registry and manifest updates still happen through normal AXF CLI and filesystem/control-plane flows. The MCP server reloads registry state per request, so external AXF updates become visible on later MCP calls without restarting the server.

Full CLI parity may be considered later behind explicit policy and approval gates.

Shared packs appear through AXF only when the bound AXF project root or machine layer discovers or mounts those capabilities.

What's wired up

Built-in adapters

AXF ships two public built-in adapter types:

• internal — runs handlers in-process (adapters/internal/)
• cli — generic subprocess dispatcher with stdout JSON parsing (adapters/cli/)

Shared command families use the same adapter contract as project-owned capabilities. A shared pack can use the generic cli adapter, a provider adapter, or an internal handler, but AXF core does not require that pack as a runtime dependency.

Built-in capabilities

Optional shared packs, including a Lex pack, can be added at machine or project scope. They route through the same resolver, lifecycle, policy, adapter, and executor path without defining the framework itself.

Toolspaces

• toy — smallest mount example; re-mounts echo.say with a local default

Repo onboarding

The recommended repo flow is:

1. Add axf.workspace.json at the repo root so workspace binding is explicit.
2. Add shared packs intentionally at machine or project scope when a repo wants them.
3. Add repo-specific capabilities separately under manifests/capabilities/ or manifests/families/.
4. Keep MCP optional; AXF works as a plain CLI capability router without it.
5. Mark mutating capabilities with sideEffects: "write". AXF does not yet have a first-class approvalRequired field, so approval gates stay a repo policy or review convention for now.

See docs/13-repo-onboarding.md for the concrete onboarding pattern and platform notes.

How to add a new provider

The contract is open. First decide whether the provider needs a command family, a selective materialized override, or a provider adapter. The Integration author guide contains that decision path. A provider adapter is only needed when the generic CLI route cannot express the provider's argument, envelope, failure, or output contract.

When a provider adapter is justified, the scaffold starts in draft:

# 1. Scaffold a draft provider adapter (only if the provider has an
#    envelope or quirks the generic cli adapter shouldn't carry):
axf init adapter --kind provider acme --composes cli

# 2. Scaffold each capability:
axf init capability global.acme.status

# 3. Edit the drafts, then:
axf doctor
axf inspect global.acme.status --json

The four canonical prompts under prompts/ walk an agent through discovery → planning → scaffolding → review against the actual file contract. JSON-first providers can usually use the generic cli adapter directly; provider adapters are for wrappers that need envelope, error, or argument normalization beyond the generic route.

Running a non-active capability requires an explicit lifecycle opt-in and can still execute real provider effects. Do that only after inspection and the repository's normal approval process. Lifecycle changes validate manifests; they do not perform the review.

Layout

axf.workspace.json               # workspace marker
bin/axf.js                      # CLI entrypoint
src/cli/                        # CLI parsing + main dispatch
src/core/                       # registry, resolver, executor, adapters, doctor, policy
adapters/<type>/                # type adapters (internal, cli, ...)
adapters/<provider>/            # optional provider adapters for wrapped CLIs
manifests/capabilities/         # capability manifests
manifests/toolspaces/           # toolspace mount manifests
prompts/                        # canonical prompts for agent-authored adapters
docs/                           # architecture, contract, lifecycle, prompts
test/                           # node:test suite

Documentation

Start with the path for your current job:

• Caller guide — discover, inspect, and run fitted capabilities.
• Integration author guide — fit recurring repository or provider ceremony while preserving provider vocabulary.
• Framework author guide — change AXF internals and cross-surface contracts.
• Awaitable completions — return typed continuations and observe exact external completion without scheduling it.

Documentation paths routes each audience to the relevant reference documents. Use the read-only agent fit evaluation before onboarding an undecided repository.

Tests

npm test

Uses Node's built-in node:test; no external test runner is required.

What is intentionally not here

• a broad command-alias layer
• privileged integration paths
• a plugin marketplace
• mandatory remote execution or MCP support
• agent-generated capabilities that auto-promote