holoctl

A living project operating system for AI coding assistants. One source of truth in .holoctl/, compiled to whatever Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Copilot, Devin, Codex, Aider, Zed, Junie or any AGENTS.md-aware tool reads. Durable cross-assistant memory, autonomous curator, multi-target compile, MCP server, web dashboard — all version-controlled next to your code.

🇺🇸 English | 🇧🇷 Português

TL;DR — three commands

# 1. Install (pick one — see "Installation" if `hctl` is not on PATH)
uv tool install holoctl                      # recommended
# or:  pipx install holoctl
# or:  pip install holoctl                   # ⚠️ requires an active venv (see below)

# 2. Plant the global router (once per machine, per assistant)
hctl setup-global --target all               # Claude + Copilot + Devin
# (Cursor/Windsurf are per-project only — no global step needed)

# 3. Initialize a project
cd ~/my-project && hctl init

Open Claude Code (or any supported assistant) in ~/my-project and type /holoctl. The agent reads the workspace, runs discovery, suggests specialist personas, populates context, and shows the overview — autonomously.

Why holoctl
Anatomy of .holoctl/
Installation — including the pip venv gotcha
Per-machine global setup
Per-project initialization
The /holoctl slash command — what it actually does
Cross-tool compilation
MCP vs CLI — design choice
Daily workflows
Command reference
Configuration
Lifecycle hooks
Per-assistant guide — Claude / Cursor / Windsurf / Copilot / Devin
Coverage and doctor
Privacy & coexistence
Troubleshooting
FAQ
Migration from projctl / projhub
Roadmap
Documentation & license

Why holoctl

Every AI coding assistant defines its own native primitives — Claude Code skills, Cursor rules, Windsurf workflows, Copilot prompts, Devin skills. Maintaining the same project context across all of them is manual, error-prone, and never up-to-date.

holoctl is the abstraction that's missing from the ecosystem: you write project context once in .holoctl/, the compiler materializes the right native files for every tool. Plus a CLI, a Kanban board, a memory layer that survives across sessions, an event journal, an autonomous curator that proposes structural improvements, an MCP server, and a web dashboard — all built around the same source of truth.

It's "living" because it wakes up between sessions:

Durable memory at .holoctl/memory/ — the same notes appear in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, Copilot, Devin in each one's native shape.
Event journal captures every tool use, edit, and session boundary via hooks plumbed automatically.
Autonomous curator watches the journal and proposes new personas, path-scoped rules, or topic archives as meta:curate tickets on the board. Approve a suggestion by moving the ticket to done — it auto-executes.
Token-economy boot prints ≤1KB of session-zero context (top pendings, recent decisions, available topics) so the assistant doesn't burn tokens loading the whole CLAUDE.md.
MCP server exposes board / memory / journal / curator as standard tools (with per-tool permission gating in Claude Code).

Anatomy of `.holoctl/`

your-project/
├── .holoctl/                       ← single source of truth, committed to git
│   ├── config.json                 ← project name, prefix, board statuses, targets
│   ├── instructions.md             ← compiled to CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md / .windsurfrules / ...
│   │
│   ├── board/                      ← Kanban + tickets
│   │   ├── WORKFLOW.md             ← state machine doc (template-managed)
│   │   ├── index.json              ← auto-rebuilt projection of tickets/*.md
│   │   └── tickets/PRJ-001-*.md    ← each ticket = one Markdown file with frontmatter
│   │
│   ├── agents/                     ← active personas (only `boardmaster` after `hctl init`)
│   │   └── boardmaster.md          ← others (developer/reviewer/architect/researcher) added on demand
│   │
│   ├── commands/                   ← /board, /ticket, /sprint, /close, /decision, /status
│   │
│   ├── context/                    ← project-level prose
│   │   ├── objective.md            ← What / Why / Success criteria
│   │   ├── architecture.md         ← Tech stack / Structure / Patterns / Boundaries
│   │   ├── conventions.md          ← Code style, naming, testing
│   │   ├── decisions/              ← ADR-style hard locks
│   │   └── documents/              ← free-form supporting docs
│   │
│   ├── memory/                     ← durable cross-assistant notes
│   │   ├── MEMORY.md               ← always-on index
│   │   ├── .gitignore              ← excludes `_archived/` by default
│   │   └── topics/                 ← lazy / glob / always_on topics
│   │
│   ├── journal/                    ← daily JSONL of session events
│   │   └── 2026-05-08.jsonl
│   │
│   ├── curator/                    ← curator state + per-ticket metadata
│   │
│   ├── hooks/                      ← (optional) declarative hooks per lifecycle event
│   ├── rules/                      ← (optional) path-scoped rules with `paths:` frontmatter
│   ├── skills/                     ← (optional) custom skills with progressive disclosure
│   ├── output_styles/              ← (optional) Claude-specific output styles
│   ├── ignore                      ← (optional) gitignore-style for .cursorignore/.windsurfignore
│   │
│   └── activity.jsonl              ← raw activity log (low-level)
│
├── …your code
│
└── (compiled outputs — usually .gitignored)
    ├── AGENTS.md                   ← cross-tool universal (20+ assistants)
    ├── CLAUDE.md                   ← Claude Code
    ├── .claude/                    ← Claude Code agents/commands/settings.json
    ├── .cursor/                    ← Cursor rules/commands/mcp.json/hooks.json
    ├── .windsurf/                  ← Windsurf rules/workflows/mcp.json
    ├── .windsurfrules              ← Windsurf legacy
    ├── .github/                    ← Copilot instructions/prompts
    ├── .vscode/mcp.json            ← MCP server config for VS Code
    └── .devin/                     ← Devin skills/agents/hooks/mcp.json

Optional folders (hooks/, rules/, skills/, output_styles/, ignore) are not created by hctl init. They're opt-in surfaces you create when you need them. Compilers only emit what exists in the source — empty input produces empty output (anti-overengineering).

Installation

Requires Python ≥ 3.11.

Option A — `uv tool` (recommended)

uv tool install holoctl
hctl --version

uv tool creates an isolated venv automatically and puts hctl on your PATH. Nothing else needed.

Option B — `pipx`

pipx install holoctl
hctl --version

Same isolation as uv tool. Requires pipx (pip install pipx && pipx ensurepath).

Option C — `pip` (⚠️ requires an active venv)

pip install holoctl from a "naked" Python on a modern OS will fail with error: externally-managed-environment (PEP 668), or — if you bypass that — install into the system Python and hctl may end up in a directory not on your PATH.

The reliable way is to create a venv specifically for holoctl and activate it before running hctl:

# Linux / macOS
python3 -m venv ~/.venvs/holoctl
source ~/.venvs/holoctl/bin/activate
pip install holoctl
hctl --version

# Windows (PowerShell)
python -m venv $HOME\.venvs\holoctl
& $HOME\.venvs\holoctl\Scripts\Activate.ps1
pip install holoctl
hctl --version

# Windows (cmd.exe)
python -m venv %USERPROFILE%\.venvs\holoctl
%USERPROFILE%\.venvs\holoctl\Scripts\activate.bat
pip install holoctl
hctl --version

Caveat with venv-based pip install: hctl only works while the venv is activated. To make it always available, add a wrapper:

# Linux/macOS — add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
alias hctl="$HOME/.venvs/holoctl/bin/hctl"

# Windows — add to $PROFILE
function hctl { & "$HOME\.venvs\holoctl\Scripts\hctl.EXE" $args }

This is exactly the kind of friction that uv tool and pipx avoid. If you have any choice, use one of those.

Optional ML extra

uv tool install "holoctl[ml]"        # ~250MB — adds ONNX paraphrase detection to the curator

Verifying the install

hctl --version              # 0.14.0+
hctl --help                 # full command list
hctl doctor --global        # checks ~/.claude, ~/.copilot, ~/.config/devin (will report 'missing' until step 2)

Per-machine global setup

hctl setup-global plants the /holoctl router in each AI tool's user-level config, so the slash command works in any folder — even before hctl init.

hctl setup-global --target all              # Claude + Copilot + Devin
hctl setup-global --target claude           # only Claude Code
hctl setup-global --target copilot          # only Copilot CLI
hctl setup-global --target devin            # only Devin CLI
hctl setup-global --target all --dry-run    # preview without writing

What gets installed:

Tool	File	Format	Idempotent block
Claude Code	`~/.claude/commands/holoctl.md`	Skill with full frontmatter	replaces file
Copilot	`~/.copilot/AGENTS.md`	Markdown section appended	`<!-- holoctl:start … end -->` markers
Devin	`~/.config/devin/skills/holoctl/SKILL.md`	Devin skill with frontmatter	replaces file

Cursor and Windsurf have no official user-level surface for slash commands/skills — they're covered by per-project hctl compile.

Detecting drift:

hctl doctor --global

Output:

holoctl: global-check
  ✓ Claude         router up-to-date (~/.claude/commands/holoctl.md)
  ✓ Copilot        holoctl block present (~/.copilot/AGENTS.md)
  ✗ Devin          skill stale (drift) — run `hctl setup-global --target devin`

  1 issue(s). Run hctl setup-global --target all to fix.

Per-project initialization

Inside a project folder:

cd ~/my-project
hctl init

What init does, in order:

Creates .holoctl/ structure (board, agents, commands, context, memory, journal).
Writes config.json with inferred project name (= cwd.name) and prefix (= initials).
Seeds boardmaster.md (the only mandatory persona — owns ticket lifecycle).
Seeds instructions.md, WORKFLOW.md, ticket _template.md, six default commands.
Plants Claude lifecycle hooks (SessionStart → hctl boot, Stop → hctl handoff, deny-list for derived files).
Writes MCP server config (.claude/settings.json:mcpServers.holoctl).
Compiles default targets (agents + claude).

Flags:

hctl init --name "My Project" --prefix "MP"           # explicit
hctl init --targets agents,claude,cursor,windsurf     # custom target set
hctl init --bare                                       # skeleton only — skip compile/hooks/MCP
hctl init --skip-compile                               # init but don't compile yet

Re-running hctl init in an already-initialized workspace is idempotent — it re-syncs template-managed files (commands/*.md, WORKFLOW.md, _template.md, boardmaster.md) without touching user-owned files (tickets, hand-edited agents, context docs, custom rules/skills/hooks).

If you upgrade holoctl after init, run:

hctl upgrade --check     # show CHANGELOG slice
hctl upgrade             # apply migrations + recompile

The `/holoctl` slash command

This is the routing brain. After steps 2 + 3 above, type /holoctl (or invoke the equivalent skill) in any assistant. The agent runs:

hctl doctor

The first line of output is router-friendly — one of:

First line	Flow	What the agent does next
`holoctl: not initialized`	Flow A	`hctl init` → discover codebase → suggest personas → seed memory → `hctl overview`
`holoctl: outdated`	Flow B	`hctl upgrade --check`, ask for confirmation, then `hctl upgrade` + `hctl boot`
`holoctl: ok`	Flow C	`hctl boot` (≤1KB teaser), react to pending tickets / curator suggestions

Flow A in detail (the most important one — first time in a project):

Detect. hctl doctor returns not initialized.
Init. hctl init --name "<inferred>" --prefix "<PRX>".
Discover. Reads in parallel: README, package files (package.json, pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, go.mod, …), top-level dirs, lint configs, existing AI configs (read-only — never overwrites).
Configure.
- Sub-repos: if multiple sub-projects detected, one aggregated question ("Found backend/, frontend/, mobile/. Register all?"), then hctl repo add for each approved.
- Context files: writes .holoctl/context/{objective,architecture,conventions}.md and .holoctl/instructions.md directly from what was read. No per-file confirmation.
- Ambiguity escape: if README is generic/missing, one question to clarify objective. Otherwise no questions.
Suggest personas. hctl agent suggest (or equivalent inline heuristic) maps detected stack → personas. Example: "Detected Python + FastAPI + pytest — activate developer and reviewer?" → on yes, runs hctl agent add developer && hctl agent add reviewer.
Memory seed. Creates .holoctl/memory/topics/project-overview.md with a 3-5 line paragraph derived from README + package files. This is what hctl boot reads in session 2 so the agent "wakes up" knowing what the project is.
Overview & next action. Runs hctl overview (canonical snapshot) and hctl boot (teaser). Reacts: proposes creating the first ticket, or surfaces curator suggestions, or points to next p1.

Total time: ~30 seconds, with 1-2 questions in the path.

Cross-tool compilation

hctl compile reads .holoctl/ and emits files in each target's native format. Targets:

hctl compile --target agents              # AGENTS.md (cross-tool universal)
hctl compile --target claude              # CLAUDE.md + .claude/...
hctl compile --target cursor              # .cursor/...
hctl compile --target windsurf            # .windsurf/... + .windsurfrules
hctl compile --target copilot             # .github/copilot-instructions.md + .github/prompts/...
hctl compile --target devin               # .devin/...
hctl compile --target generic             # .agents/<name>/... — fallback for unknown tools
hctl compile                              # all targets in config.targets[]

The agents target emits AGENTS.md at the repo root — the agents.md standard adopted by 20+ tools (Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Cursor, Devin, Zed, Aider, Junie, Jules, Factory, goose, Windsurf, UiPath, VS Code, …). Always include it in your targets (the default config does).

Coverage matrix — what each compiler emits from each .holoctl/ source:

`.holoctl/` source	claude	cursor	windsurf	copilot	devin	agents
`instructions.md`	`CLAUDE.md`	`.cursor/rules/holoctl.md`	`.windsurfrules`	`.github/copilot-instructions.md`	(via `agents` target)	`AGENTS.md` (Objective/Architecture)
`agents/*.md`	`.claude/agents/<n>.md`	—	—	—	`.devin/agents/<n>/AGENT.md`	—
`commands/*.md`	`.claude/commands/<n>.md`	`.cursor/commands/<n>.md`	`.windsurf/workflows/<n>.md`	`.github/prompts/<n>.prompt.md`	`.devin/skills/<n>/SKILL.md`	—
`context/*.md`	(via instructions/memory)	(via instructions)	(via instructions)	(via instructions)	(via instructions)	`AGENTS.md` body
`memory/topics/*.md`	`.claude/skills/holoctl-mem-*`	`.cursor/rules/holoctl-mem-*`	`.windsurf/rules/holoctl-mem-*`	`.github/instructions/holoctl-mem-*`	`.devin/rules/holoctl-mem-*`	—
`hooks/.json` (opt)*	`.claude/settings.json` merge	`.cursor/hooks.json` merge	`.windsurf/hooks.json` merge	`.copilot/config.json` merge	`.devin/hooks.v1.json` merge	—
`rules/.md` (opt)*	`.claude/rules/<n>.md`	(Cursor uses native rules)	(Windsurf uses native rules)	—	—	—
`skills/<n>/SKILL.md` (opt)	`.claude/skills/<n>/...`	—	—	—	—	—
`output_styles/.md` (opt)*	`.claude/output_styles/`	—	—	—	—	—
MCP servers (config)	`.claude/settings.json:mcp`	`.cursor/mcp.json`	`.windsurf/mcp.json`	`.vscode/mcp.json`	`.devin/mcp.json`	—

See hctl coverage for a live, workspace-specific version of this table.

MCP vs CLI

Current design: agents use the CLI

In holoctl 0.14, agents and slash commands are instructed to use hctl CLI, not MCP tools. Examples:

Boardmaster says hctl board add '<json>', not mcp__holoctl__board_create.
The /holoctl router runs hctl doctor, hctl init, hctl boot.
Memory updates: hctl memory add, not holoctl.memory_add.

The MCP server still exists and runs in parallel

hctl init writes the MCP config so each assistant can spawn hctl serve --mcp on demand. The server exposes 14 tools:

Read tools (auto-approved)	Write tools (`permissions.ask`)
`holoctl.board_list`	`holoctl.board_create`
`holoctl.board_get`	`holoctl.board_move`
`holoctl.memory_list_topics`	`holoctl.board_set`
`holoctl.memory_read_topic`	`holoctl.memory_add`
`holoctl.memory_search`	`holoctl.agent_add`
`holoctl.journal_recent`	`holoctl.curate_silence`
`holoctl.agent_list_available`
`holoctl.curate_suggestions`

Why CLI-first?

Concern	CLI	MCP
Universality	Runs in any terminal, any agent, any shell.	Requires MCP-aware client.
Reproducibility	Human can re-run the exact same command.	Tool calls are JSON-RPC, less human-friendly.
Speed	Fork of Python (~80-150ms cold).	In-process after handshake (faster after first call).
Permission gating	Coarse — relies on shell allow-lists.	Fine-grained — per-tool, write-tools land in `ask`.
Output	Rich text formatted for humans.	Structured JSON for machines.

Today, holoctl optimizes for universality. Agents work the same way whether the MCP server is running or not.

Roadmap: prefer MCP when available

A future release will update the agent/command templates to prefer MCP when the server is detected, with CLI fallback. This requires:

Updating holoctl/templates/agents/*.md to declare both invocation styles.
Adding a probe step in /holoctl (Step 1.5: "is mcp__holoctl__board_list available?").
Updating holoctl/templates/commands/*.md to use the chosen invocation.

If you want to try MCP-preferred today, edit .holoctl/agents/boardmaster.md (after hctl agent add) and replace hctl board add ... calls with mcp__holoctl__board_create — your local change survives upgrades (only library-managed files are sync'd).

Daily workflows

Create a ticket

hctl board add '{
  "title": "Add JWT auth",
  "agent": "developer",
  "priority": "p1",
  "projects": ["backend"],
  "goal": [
    "JWT signing implemented",
    "Unit tests cover happy + invalid token",
    "Lint and build pass"
  ],
  "context": "Sessions are cookie-based today; OAuth landing requires bearer."
}'

Or in chat: "create a p1 ticket for JWT auth, developer persona, with goal: signing, tests, lint". The agent (boardmaster) translates and runs the command.

Parallel-safe batch creation

hctl board batch '{
  "shared": { "tags": ["par:auth-flow"], "projects": ["backend"] },
  "tickets": [
    { "title":"JWT signing", "agent":"developer", "priority":"p1", "files":["src/auth/jwt.py"], "goal":["sign() emits HS256","tests"] },
    { "title":"Auth middleware", "agent":"developer", "priority":"p1", "files":["src/middleware/auth.py"], "goal":["verify+expiry","tests"] },
    { "title":"Auth integration tests", "agent":"reviewer", "priority":"p1", "files":["tests/test_auth.py"], "goal":["happy/expired/invalid"] }
  ]
}'

The CLI rejects the batch if any two tickets touch the same file (proves non-overlap before creating anything).

Move tickets

hctl board move PRJ-001 doing
hctl board set PRJ-001 priority p0
hctl board ls --status doing --priority p1

Memory

hctl memory add api-conventions --scope glob -g "src/api/**" \
  -d "API naming, error envelope, pagination"
hctl memory list
hctl memory search "JWT"
hctl memory get api-conventions          # read body
hctl memory archive old-topic            # moves to topics/_archived/

Topic scopes:

always_on — always included in the assistant's context (use sparingly).
lazy — referenced in MEMORY.md, agent loads when relevant.
glob — only loaded when the assistant is editing files matching the glob.

Personas

hctl agent list                          # active vs library
hctl agent suggest                       # heuristic — what to activate based on codebase
hctl agent suggest --json                # machine-readable for automation
hctl agent add developer                 # materialize from library
hctl agent add custom --from developer   # copy active agent as base
hctl agent remove developer              # deactivate (still in library)

Closing a session

hctl handoff                             # appends 1 line to memory/topics/session-trail.md
hctl handoff --note "Shipped 0.14"       # plus a custom note

If lifecycle hooks are installed (hctl init does this for Claude), Stop runs hctl handoff --auto automatically — you don't need to remember.

Session boot (cross-session continuity)

hctl boot                                # ≤1KB teaser
hctl boot --target claude                # records source in journal
hctl boot --plain                        # ASCII (no Rich color codes — used by hooks)

Output example:

## My Project — sessão 7
Pendências p0/p1: PRJ-003 Add JWT auth, PRJ-005 Fix N+1 in /tickets
Decisões recentes: 2026-05-04-jwt-vs-sessions, 2026-05-01-monorepo
Topics: api-conventions, decisions, session-trail
Personas ativas: boardmaster, developer, reviewer
⚡ 2 sugestão do curador (PRJ-042, PRJ-043) — `hctl curate show`

Curator

hctl curate run --auto                   # rate-limited (1/day, 14-day suppression per pattern)
hctl curate show                         # open meta:curate tickets
hctl curate apply PRJ-042                # run the proposed action manually
hctl curate silence <pattern_id>         # 14-day suppression
hctl board move PRJ-042 done             # ← approval auto-executes the action

Web dashboard

hctl serve                               # http://127.0.0.1:4242
hctl serve --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000    # opt-in network exposure (warns: no auth)

Tabs: Board (Kanban / List / Timeline views with SSE updates), Repos, Agents, Commands, Context.

MCP server

hctl serve --mcp                         # stdio MCP server — assistants spawn this on demand

Configured automatically by hctl init so you don't run it manually. Test it standalone with --mcp.

Command reference

Command	What it does
`hctl init`	Create or sync `.holoctl/` (idempotent).
`hctl setup`	Plant `/holoctl` skill in every detected assistant (legacy — see `setup-global`).
`hctl setup-global --target X`	Install the global router for tool X (Claude / Copilot / Devin / all).
`hctl upgrade`	Migrate workspace + recompile to installed version.
`hctl compile --target X`	Generate AI-tool integration files. Default = `config.targets[]`.
`hctl serve [--mcp]`	Web dashboard (4242), or stdio MCP server.
`hctl doctor [--global]`	Health check. First line = router-friendly.
`hctl coverage [--only-present] [--target X]`	Matrix of `.holoctl/` source → per-target outputs.
`hctl overview`	One-screen workspace snapshot.
`hctl boot [--target X]`	≤1KB session-zero context. Recorded in journal.
`hctl handoff [--note "..."]`	Append session-trail line. Auto-called by Stop hook.
`hctl board <ls\|add\|move\|set\|batch\|get\|body\|stat\|rebuild-index>`	Tickets.
`hctl agent <list\|suggest\|add\|remove>`	Personas.
`hctl memory <list\|add\|get\|search\|archive\|seed>`	Durable memory.
`hctl journal <record\|show\|count\|tail\|import>`	Event journal.
`hctl curate <run\|show\|apply\|silence>`	Autonomous curator.
`hctl repo <list\|add\|info>`	Subprojects (auto-discovered + manual overrides).

Every command supports --help.

Configuration

.holoctl/config.json — only override what you need:

{
  "holoctlVersion": "0.14.0",
  "project": {
    "name": "My Project",
    "prefix": "MP",
    "repos": [
      { "path": "./backend", "name": "backend", "description": "FastAPI service" }
    ]
  },
  "board": {
    "statuses": ["backlog", "doing", "review", "done", "cancelled"],
    "priorities": ["p0", "p1", "p2", "p3"],
    "idPadding": 3
  },
  "git": { "checkDirty": false },
  "targets": ["agents", "claude", "cursor", "windsurf", "copilot", "devin"],
  "server": { "port": 4242, "theme": "dark" }
}

Notes:

targets controls what hctl compile emits when called with no --target. Adding a target requires hctl compile --target X once to materialize.
git.checkDirty defaults to false — holoctl reads .git/HEAD/refs/config directly without spawning git status. Instant on Windows + corporate AV.
board.idPadding: 3 produces MP-001 (vs 2 → MP-01).
Adding a new field to a ticket: just write it in the .md frontmatter and run hctl board rebuild-index.

Lifecycle hooks

hctl init writes .claude/settings.json with hooks plumbed by default:

{
  "hooks": {
    "SessionStart": [
      { "type": "command", "command": "hctl journal record session_start --source claude --quiet" },
      { "type": "command", "command": "hctl boot --plain --target claude",
        "description": "Print session-zero teaser before user types" }
    ],
    "PreToolUse": [
      { "type": "command", "matcher": "Edit|Write",
        "command": "hctl journal record write_attempt --stdin --quiet --deny-glob '.holoctl/board/index.json,.holoctl/memory/MEMORY.md,.holoctl/activity.jsonl'",
        "description": "Block direct writes to derived state — force CLI usage" }
    ],
    "PostToolUse": [
      { "type": "command", "command": "hctl journal record tool_use --stdin --quiet" }
    ],
    "Stop": [
      { "type": "command", "command": "hctl journal record stop --quiet" },
      { "type": "command", "command": "hctl handoff --quiet --auto",
        "description": "Persist session-trail on every Stop. --auto skips trivial sessions." }
    ]
  },
  "permissions": {
    "ask": [ "mcp__holoctl__board_create", "mcp__holoctl__memory_add", "..." ],
    "deny": [ "Write(.holoctl/board/index.json)", "Edit(.holoctl/memory/MEMORY.md)", "..." ]
  }
}

The deny list is the enforcement for the rule "never edit derived state by hand" — even if the agent forgets the instruction, the harness blocks the tool call.

Cursor receives equivalent hooks in .cursor/hooks.json. Windsurf, Copilot, Devin: see the matrix above (some don't have a public hooks API — emit best-effort).

Per-assistant guide

Claude Code

After hctl setup-global --target claude and hctl init:

Slash command: /holoctl (your global router).
Project context: CLAUDE.md + @.holoctl/memory/MEMORY.md reference (auto).
Subagents: .claude/agents/<name>.md — invokable via the Agent tool.
Hooks: .claude/settings.json:hooks (boot teaser on SessionStart, handoff on Stop, deny-list on PreToolUse).
MCP: .claude/settings.json:mcpServers.holoctl runs hctl serve --mcp.

# Verify
hctl doctor                        # workspace health
hctl doctor --global               # router install drift
ls .claude/                        # agents/, commands/, settings.json

Cursor

After hctl init (Cursor doesn't have a global step — per-project only):

Project rules: .cursor/rules/holoctl.md (compiled from instructions.md).
Slash commands: .cursor/commands/<name>.md.
Hooks: .cursor/hooks.json.
MCP: .cursor/mcp.json.

hctl compile --target cursor       # if not in config.targets

Windsurf

Per-project:

Rules (legacy): .windsurfrules.
Workflows: .windsurf/workflows/<name>.md.
Memory rules: .windsurf/rules/holoctl-memory-*.md.
MCP: .windsurf/mcp.json.

Holoctl coexists with Cascade (Windsurf's built-in memory) — your .windsurf/rules/ files are versioned with the repo while Cascade keeps ~/.codeium/windsurf/memories/ machine-local. The curator can promote a long-lived Cascade memory (≥7 days) into a versioned topic.

GitHub Copilot

After hctl setup-global --target copilot and hctl init:

Global: ~/.copilot/AGENTS.md — appended block with  markers.
Project: .github/copilot-instructions.md, .github/prompts/<name>.prompt.md.
Memory: .github/instructions/holoctl-memory-*.instructions.md with applyTo: glob.
MCP: .vscode/mcp.json.
Permissions: deny-list and allow-list flags via .copilot/config.json.

Copilot accumulates AGENTS.md content (doesn't overwrite) — the holoctl block coexists with anything else you have.

Devin

After hctl setup-global --target devin and hctl init:

Global skill: ~/.config/devin/skills/holoctl/SKILL.md.
Project AGENTS.md: emitted by hctl compile --target agents (the universal one).
Skills: .devin/skills/<name>/SKILL.md.
Subagents: .devin/agents/<name>/AGENT.md.
Hooks: .devin/hooks.v1.json.
MCP: .devin/mcp.json.

Devin imports skills from .claude/, .cursor/, .windsurf/ automatically — so even if you don't compile --target devin, basic interop works.

Codex / Aider / Zed / Junie / Jules / Factory / goose / others

Any tool that respects AGENTS.md reads the file emitted by hctl compile --target agents. No tool-specific config needed for these — just include agents in your config.targets.

Coverage and doctor

`hctl coverage`

Shows the fork between source and target:

hctl coverage                        # all sources × all targets
hctl coverage --only-present         # only sources that exist in this workspace
hctl coverage --target claude        # only one target column

Output (filtered):

hctl coverage (source → per-target outputs)
  workspace: /home/me/my-project
  active targets: agents, claude, cursor

  Source                             | agents     | claude     | cursor
  ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  instructions.md                    | ✓ AGENTS   | ✓ CLAUDE.md | ✓ .cu/rules
  agents/*.md                        | —          | ✓ .cl/agents | —
  commands/*.md                      | —          | ✓ .cl/comma | ✓ .cu/comma
  …

`hctl doctor`

hctl doctor                # workspace health
hctl doctor --global       # global router install drift

First line is router-friendly (parsed by /holoctl):

holoctl: not initialized → no .holoctl/ found at or above cwd.
holoctl: outdated → workspace holoctlVersion < installed hctl --version.
holoctl: ok → workspace at current version.
holoctl: global-check → --global mode.

Privacy & coexistence

hctl init writes nothing to $HOME. Only hctl setup-global does — and only the router files in user-scope locations of detected assistants.
No machine-wide registry, no daemon, no telemetry, no auto-update check. Workspace = .holoctl/ next to your code. That's the entire footprint.
.holoctl/memory/.gitignore ships with _archived/ excluded by default. Privacy-strict workspaces uncomment two lines to make the whole memory tree local-only.
Coexists with native auto-memory. Claude Code's auto-memory is not disabled. holoctl adds a @.holoctl/memory/MEMORY.md reference to CLAUDE.md so Claude reads both sources.
Compiled outputs are best .gitignore'd (.claude/, .cursor/, .windsurf/, AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md) — they're regenerated from .holoctl/. Some teams prefer to commit them for new contributors who don't have holoctl installed yet.

Troubleshooting

`hctl: command not found`

uv tool / pipx: should be on PATH automatically. If not, run uv tool update-shell or pipx ensurepath and reopen the terminal.
pip install: if you didn't use a venv, you hit PEP 668 or installed into the wrong Python. Re-do it via the venv method in Installation.
Workaround: python -m holoctl <subcommand> works regardless of PATH (as long as the venv is active).

`/holoctl` does nothing

Run hctl doctor --global. Probably you skipped hctl setup-global. Run it.
For Cursor/Windsurf: those don't have a global router — they only work after hctl init in a specific folder.

`No .holoctl/ found`

You're not in a project that's been hctl init'd. Either run hctl init here, or cd into a project that has .holoctl/.
find_project_root walks up the tree looking for .holoctl/config.json. If you're inside a subfolder of a project, it should still find it.

`hctl init` says "Refusing to downgrade"

The workspace was created with a newer hctl. Either upgrade your hctl (uv tool upgrade holoctl) or manually edit .holoctl/config.json:holoctlVersion (not recommended).

Compile produces stale outputs / `hctl doctor --global` always says "drift"

The user-edited their global router by hand → drift detected. Run hctl setup-global --target X --force to overwrite, or accept the drift if intentional.

`Window edition / Powershell` / hctl path issues

The legacy global router (pre-0.14) had a hardcoded venv path. If you're upgrading from before 0.14: run hctl setup-global --target claude to replace it with the PATH-based version.

MCP server not responding

hctl serve --mcp is stdio-only. The assistant spawns it via the MCP config; check .claude/settings.json:mcpServers.holoctl.command resolves to a valid hctl (or python -m holoctl).
Set HOLOCTL_BIN=/abs/path/to/hctl env var to override the auto-detection.

Tests fail with `No module named 'httpx'`

tests/test_dashboard.py uses fastapi.testclient which requires httpx. httpx is declared in pyproject.toml's [dependency-groups].dev (PEP 735) — picked up automatically by uv sync. If you're using plain pip (no uv), install it manually: pip install httpx pytest. The CI matrix uses uv sync --frozen and runs the full test suite without skipping.

FAQ

Do I have to use the slash command? Can I use hctl directly?

Yes. The CLI is the source of truth — slash commands are conveniences. Everything is doable from a terminal.

Can I use this without the AI assistant?

Yes. hctl board, hctl memory, hctl serve work fine standalone. You get a Kanban + memory layer + MCP server even without any AI tool.

Does this conflict with Claude Code's auto-memory?

No — they coexist. Claude reads both CLAUDE.md (which references .holoctl/memory/MEMORY.md) and its native auto-memory. The curator can promote durable patterns from auto-memory into versioned topics.

Can I share .holoctl/ across multiple repos in a monorepo?

Yes — that's the design. hctl init at the monorepo root, then hctl repo add ./backend ./frontend ./mobile. Tickets can declare projects: [backend, shared].

How do I add a new compile target (e.g. for a new AI tool)?

Add a module in holoctl/lib/compiler/<name>.py exposing compile_<name>(project_root, config, dry_run), register in compiler/__init__.py. See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Where's the data stored?

Everything in .holoctl/, in your repo, version-controlled by you. No cloud, no database, no daemon.

Can I customize the persona library?

Yes. The library lives in holoctl/templates/agents/ (read-only when installed via PyPI). To customize: clone the repo, edit, and pip install -e . for local dev. Or override per-project: hctl agent add custom --from developer then edit .holoctl/agents/custom.md.

The agent ignores my context files

Check that .holoctl/instructions.md is being compiled (not .holoctl/context/objective.md directly). The compile pipeline merges context → instructions → CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md/etc. Run hctl coverage --only-present to see what's flowing where.

Migration from projctl / projhub

Earlier names of this project. holoctl reads .projctl/ and .projhub/ directories and auto-renames them to .holoctl/ on the next save. Tickets that used scope: X are read as projects: [X] and rewritten on the next board set or rebuild-index.

No manual migration needed — open a projctl/projhub workspace with hctl 0.14+ and it's silently upgraded.

If you had ~/.claude/commands/projctl.md or projhub.md: run hctl setup-global --target claude to install the new holoctl.md and delete the legacy ones manually.

Roadmap

MCP-first agent templates (see MCP vs CLI) — preferred MCP invocation with CLI fallback.
hctl setup-global for Cursor/Windsurf if/when they expose a user-level surface.
Curator v2 — structural pattern detection (e.g., "you keep editing the same 3 files together; want a rule?").
.holoctl/skills/ ecosystem — community-shared skills with progressive disclosure (cross-tool by compile).
VS Code extension — board view + memory navigation in the IDE.
Multi-workspace dashboard — hctl serve --multi for monorepos with many subprojects.

Documentation & license

CHANGELOG.md — release notes
ARCHITECTURE.md — internal design, compile pipeline, threat model
SECURITY.md — vulnerability reporting + threat model
CONTRIBUTING.md — dev setup, conventions, how to add a compile target
docs/README.pt-br.md — Portuguese version of this README

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 95 Commits
.github		.github
docs		docs
holoctl		holoctl
tests		tests
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
ARCHITECTURE.md		ARCHITECTURE.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
MORNING-REPORT.md		MORNING-REPORT.md
README.md		README.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md
pyproject.toml		pyproject.toml
uv.lock		uv.lock

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holoctl

TL;DR — three commands

Table of contents

Why holoctl

Anatomy of .holoctl/

Installation

Option A — uv tool (recommended)

Option B — pipx

Option C — pip (⚠️ requires an active venv)

Optional ML extra

Verifying the install

Per-machine global setup

Per-project initialization

The /holoctl slash command

Cross-tool compilation

MCP vs CLI

Current design: agents use the CLI

The MCP server still exists and runs in parallel

Why CLI-first?

Roadmap: prefer MCP when available

Daily workflows

Create a ticket

Parallel-safe batch creation

Move tickets

Memory

Personas

Closing a session

Session boot (cross-session continuity)

Curator

Web dashboard

MCP server

Command reference

Configuration

Lifecycle hooks

Per-assistant guide

Claude Code

Cursor

Windsurf

GitHub Copilot

Devin

Codex / Aider / Zed / Junie / Jules / Factory / goose / others

Coverage and doctor

hctl coverage

hctl doctor

Privacy & coexistence

Troubleshooting

hctl: command not found

/holoctl does nothing

No .holoctl/ found

hctl init says "Refusing to downgrade"

Compile produces stale outputs / hctl doctor --global always says "drift"

Window edition / Powershell / hctl path issues

MCP server not responding

Tests fail with No module named 'httpx'

FAQ

Migration from projctl / projhub

Roadmap

Documentation & license

About

Topics

Resources

License

Contributing

Security policy

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Watchers

Forks

Releases 7

Packages 0

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Contributors

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Languages

Anatomy of `.holoctl/`

Option A — `uv tool` (recommended)

Option B — `pipx`

Option C — `pip` (⚠️ requires an active venv)

The `/holoctl` slash command

`hctl coverage`

`hctl doctor`

`hctl: command not found`

`/holoctl` does nothing

`No .holoctl/ found`

`hctl init` says "Refusing to downgrade"

Compile produces stale outputs / `hctl doctor --global` always says "drift"

`Window edition / Powershell` / hctl path issues

Tests fail with `No module named 'httpx'`

Packages