Animus Skills

The fastest way to turn Claude Code (or Codex, OpenCode, Cursor) into an autonomous engineering team that ships PRs while you sleep.

Animus is a Rust agent orchestrator. A daemon dispatches workflows from a queue, uses provider and subject plugins to run agents in isolated worktrees, runs your tests, opens PRs, and reviews them — on cron, on demand, or in response to events. animus-skills is the skill bundle that teaches your agent how to drive it.

You point a fresh agent at this README. It installs the CLI, links the skills, wires up MCP, and you start running workflows in about a minute.

Who this is for:

• Solo builders who want 5–15 parallel sprints running across their repos
• Small teams who need a self-hosted, auditable orchestrator (no cloud lock-in)
• Agent power users who already use Claude Code / Codex / Cursor and want a real backend

Version compatibility

Each animus-skills release is pinned to the animus CLI surface it documents (every skill's animus_version: frontmatter carries the exact pin). Match your installed CLI (animus --version) to the right release:

animus-skills release	Targets animus-cli	Get it
v3.0.0 (current)	v0.7.0-rc.18 (v0.7 line: animus.toml + animus install, --subject-id dispatch, execution environments, portal MCP surface)	default branch, or v3.0.0
v2.3.0	v0.5.21 (last v0.5-era release: --task-id dispatch, plugin install-defaults-first, no environments)	git clone --branch v2.3.0 --single-branch --depth 1 https://github.com/launchapp-dev/animus-skills.git

Still on animus-cli 0.5.x? Install the skills from the v2.3.0 tag (swap the clone command above into the install steps below) — the current skills document commands and flags that do not exist on 0.5.21 (and vice versa: 0.5-era flags like queue enqueue --task-id were removed in v0.7).

Quick start

1. Install (30 seconds — see below)
2. cd into any repo and run /animus-setup — scaffolds .animus/, writes a first workflow, starts the daemon
3. /animus-getting-started — creates your first task and runs it end-to-end
4. animus daemon stream — watch the agent work in real time
5. Stop here. If you can run a workflow on a real task, you'll know if Animus is for you.

Install — 30 seconds

Requirements: Claude Code (or Codex / OpenCode / Cursor), Git, bash, curl. Animus itself is a single Rust binary — no Node, no Python, no Docker.

One paste, any agent

Open a fresh Claude Code session and paste this. The agent does the rest — clones the repo, installs the animus CLI, links every skill into your host's skill directory, and writes .mcp.json if you're inside a project:

Install Animus + Animus Skills: run git clone --single-branch --depth 1 https://github.com/launchapp-dev/animus-skills.git ~/.claude/skills/animus-skills && cd ~/.claude/skills/animus-skills && ./setup, then add an "Animus" section to CLAUDE.md (or AGENTS.md for Codex) listing the available slash commands: /animus-setup, /animus-bootstrap, /animus-getting-started, /animus-mcp-setup, /animus-workflow-authoring, /animus-pack-authoring, /animus-skill-authoring, /animus-troubleshooting. Restart the agent so the new MCP server (animus) is picked up.

For Codex CLI, swap the clone path to ~/.codex/skills/animus-skills and AGENTS.md instead of CLAUDE.md.

Power user — explicit script

git clone https://github.com/launchapp-dev/animus-skills.git ~/animus-skills
cd ~/animus-skills && ./setup            # auto-detects installed hosts

./setup --host claude        # only Claude Code
./setup --host codex         # only Codex
./setup --host all           # every supported host (claude, codex, opencode, cursor, slate, kiro)
./setup --no-cli             # skip the animus CLI install (use existing binary)
./setup --no-mcp             # skip writing .mcp.json into the current project

The script:

1. Installs the animus CLI to ~/.local/bin/animus if it's not already on PATH.
2. Symlinks each skill into the host's skill directory (e.g. ~/.claude/skills/<skill-name>, ~/.codex/skills/<skill-name>). Hosts discover skills flat as <host-skills-dir>/<name>/SKILL.md, so the script links one level down rather than the whole repo.
3. Writes a project-local .mcp.json exposing the animus MCP server (skipped if one already exists or you pass --no-mcp).

Claude Code marketplace (alternative)

/plugin marketplace add launchapp-dev/animus-skills

This skips the CLI install and MCP wiring — pair it with a manual curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/launchapp-dev/animus-cli/main/scripts/install.sh | bash if you don't already have animus.

See it work

You:    /animus-setup
Claude: [scaffolds .animus/, writes config.json, generates a first workflow YAML,
         starts the daemon, verifies MCP is reachable]

You:    Create a task to add rate limiting to the /api/upload endpoint.
Claude: [calls animus.subject.create with kind=task, then enqueues TASK-001]

You:    Run it.
Claude: [calls animus.workflow.run — daemon picks up TASK-001, spawns a
         Claude session in an isolated worktree, runs the standard pipeline:
         research → plan → implement → test → review → PR]

You:    animus daemon stream
        [live JSONL — phase transitions, model calls, test runs, git ops]

You:    Now schedule a nightly retro across all my repos.
Claude: [edits .animus/workflows/retro.yaml, adds a cron schedule, restarts daemon]

Every step is replayable from the queue — pause, resume, drop, reorder, hold. Failed phases are sticky (the daemon won't silently retry and burn API credits). Outputs land in ~/.animus/<repo-scope>/runs/ so you can audit exactly what each model did.

Slash commands

Command	What it does
/animus-setup	Bootstraps Animus in the current project — .animus/ config, MCP wiring, first workflow, daemon start
/animus-bootstrap	Full project bootstrap — interviews you, writes VISION.md + AGENT_PRINCIPLES.md + agents/phases/workflows/schedules YAML + scripts + a runnable first task
/animus-getting-started	First task, first workflow run, core concepts
/animus-mcp-setup	Write or repair .mcp.json so any MCP-aware agent can drive Animus
/animus-workflow-authoring	Write or edit workflow YAML — agents, phases, model registries, schedules
/animus-pack-authoring	Build installable workflow packs — pack.toml, runtime overlays, MCP descriptors
/animus-skill-authoring	Author Animus skills — prompts, tool policies, capabilities, adapters
/animus-troubleshooting	Daemon crashes, workflow failures, queue problems, merge conflicts

Auto-invoked reference skills

These load automatically when the conversation needs them — you don't type a slash command:

Skill	Loaded when...
animus-configuration	…you ask about .animus/, daemon config, agent runtime, env vars, state layout
animus-task-management	…creating, listing, updating, blocking, or bulk-editing tasks
animus-subject-operations	…working with subject backends, task/requirement replacement surfaces, Linear/SQLite/Markdown/custom subject kinds
animus-daemon-operations	…starting, stopping, monitoring, or debugging the daemon
animus-observability	…checking status, logs, daemon stream, run output, artifacts, runner health, web UI, or triggers
animus-queue-management	…enqueueing, holding, releasing, dropping, or reordering work
animus-mcp-tools	…the agent needs an exact animus.* MCP tool name or parameter shape
animus-plugin-operations	…installing, updating, signing, locking, inspecting, or troubleshooting Animus plugins
animus-model-operations	…checking model availability, provider API-key status, rosters, validation, or model evals
animus-agent-operations	…running direct agent executions, controlling runs, or using agent memory/message channels
animus-project-history-git	…managing project registry entries, execution history, Git repos, worktrees, or confirmation records
animus-workflow-patterns	…authoring pipelines — QA gates, command phases, conflict resolution, CI checks
animus-agent-personas	…configuring product-lifecycle agents (PO, architect, auditor, docs-writer, devops)
animus-mcp-servers-for-agents	…connecting agents to Context7, package-version, sequential-thinking, memory, or GitHub MCP
animus-environment-operations	…pinning workflows to execution environments/coder nodes, workspaces:, broker leases, node teardown (v0.7)
animus-portal-operations	…driving a hosted portal deployment — portal MCP tools, Connections, MCP-server catalog, script registry

Multi-host

./setup auto-detects which agents are installed. Force one with --host:

Agent	Flag	Skills install to
Claude Code	--host claude	~/.claude/skills/animus-*/
OpenAI Codex CLI	--host codex	~/.codex/skills/animus-*/
OpenCode	--host opencode	~/.config/opencode/skills/animus-*/
Cursor	--host cursor	~/.cursor/skills/animus-*/
Slate	--host slate	~/.slate/skills/animus-*/
Kiro	--host kiro	~/.kiro/skills/animus-*/
All of the above	--host all	every directory above

What you actually get

After setup you have:

• animus CLI at ~/.local/bin/animus — command groups for subject, workflow, queue, daemon, agent, chat, install, add, remove, git, skill, pack, plugin, flavor, cost, history, logs, events, trigger, mcp, web, init, doctor, secret, auth, state, approval, status, output, update, …
• A daemon that runs in the background, dispatches workflows from a queue, and manages agent processes in isolated worktrees
• A plugin-based runtime — projects declare plugins and packs in a committed animus.toml manifest and install them with animus install (lockfile-driven; animus install --locked in CI/Docker reproduces .animus/plugins.lock exactly). On a machine without a manifest, animus plugin install-defaults installs the required set; subject and transport/UI defaults are added with --include-subjects and --include-transports
• An MCP server (animus mcp serve) that exposes typed tools — your agent calls them directly instead of shelling out
• Project-local config in .animus/ (workflow YAML, skills, pack overrides) — checked in, sharable with teammates
• Scoped runtime state in ~/.animus/<repo-scope>/ — runs, artifacts, compiled config — never pollutes your repo
• A web UI (animus web) backed by installed transport/UI plugins for queue inspection, run replay, and live event streaming

Workflows are battle-tested across 150+ autonomous PRs (see animus-workflow-patterns). Current projects either author workflows in .animus/workflows*.yaml, initialize from a template, or install/pin workflow packs such as animus.task, animus.review, and animus.requirement.

Troubleshooting

Skill not showing up? cd ~/.claude/skills/animus-skills && ./setup

Stale install after upgrade? Re-run ./setup — it auto-cleans dangling symlinks from earlier versions.

MCP tools missing in Claude / Codex? Restart your agent so it picks up the new .mcp.json. Verify with animus mcp serve --help to confirm the binary is on PATH.

Daemon won't start? Run animus doctor and animus daemon preflight. In a project with a committed animus.toml, fix missing plugins with animus install; without a manifest, animus plugin install-defaults --include-subjects. For everything else, /animus-troubleshooting.

Agent says "Cannot be launched inside another Claude Code session"? The daemon inherits CLAUDECODE=1 from a parent Claude Code shell. Start it from a clean terminal, or prefix with env -u CLAUDECODE animus daemon start.

Want shorter command names? All slash commands use the animus- prefix on purpose — to avoid colliding with other skill packs (gstack, etc.). If you don't run other packs and want to drop the prefix, edit your host's skill directory directly (the symlinks are easy to rename).

Uninstall

# 1. Stop the daemon in any project where it's running
animus daemon stop

# 2. Remove the skill symlinks from each host
find ~/.claude/skills ~/.codex/skills ~/.cursor/skills ~/.config/opencode/skills \
  -maxdepth 1 -type l 2>/dev/null | while read -r link; do
  case "$(readlink "$link" 2>/dev/null)" in *animus-skills/skills/*) rm -f "$link" ;; esac
done

# 3. Remove the clone and the CLI
rm -rf ~/.claude/skills/animus-skills ~/animus-skills
rm -f ~/.local/bin/animus

# 4. (Optional) Remove scoped runtime state — runs, artifacts, compiled config
rm -rf ~/.animus

Per-project: rm -rf .animus .mcp.json (only if .mcp.json was Animus-only — check before deleting if you have other MCP servers wired).

License

MIT. Use it, fork it, ship with it.