Anchor

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Goal-first execution. Verification before trust.

Anchor is a skill-first control layer for Codex and Claude Code. It runs deterministic goal and verification flows, records what happened, and stops for explicit reasons instead of vague agent exits.

Start In One Step

npx anchor-workflow install

That installs Anchor into:

• Codex: ~/.codex/skills/anchor-control
• Claude Code: ~/.claude/skills/anchor-control
• Claude commands: ~/.claude/commands/anchor/goal.md, ~/.claude/commands/anchor/test.md

Core Actions

Anchor is built around two user-facing commands:

anchor goal
anchor test

Example:

pnpm anchor goal "Implement the auth migration" --backend codex --cwd D:\repo --json
pnpm anchor test "current work" --cwd D:\repo --json

If you are calling the installed skill assets directly, use the cross-platform wrapper. Installs performed from an Anchor source checkout, or with --repo-root, record the runtime workspace automatically. Otherwise set ANCHOR_REPO_ROOT or make anchor available on PATH.

node ./scripts/anchor-control.mjs doctor --json
node ./scripts/anchor-control.mjs goal "Implement the auth migration" --json
node ./scripts/anchor-control.mjs test "current work" --json

Why Use Anchor

Most coding agents are good at trying things. They are much worse at:

• recognizing repeated failure patterns
• carrying structured memory across attempts
• separating backend self-report from trusted execution evidence
• leaving behind a durable execution record you can inspect later

Anchor handles that control layer.

What You Get

• paired goal and verification entrypoints
• the same skill control model above Codex and Claude Code
• append-only task history in SQLite
• local artifacts for transcripts, patches, and command logs
• explicit terminal reasons and replayable state

How It Works

flowchart LR
  U["User Request"] --> W["anchor goal / anchor test"]
  W --> R["Anchor Control Layer"]
  R --> S["SQLite Event Log"]
  R --> A["Local Artifact Store"]
  R --> C["Codex Adapter"]
  R --> L["Claude Adapter"]

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At a high level, Anchor:

1. turns a user request into a controlled goal or verification flow
2. evaluates backend output and trusted verification evidence with explicit rules
3. records state for replay, inspection, and failure analysis

Local State

By default, Anchor writes under .anchor/:

• SQLite database: .anchor/anchor.db
• artifacts: .anchor/artifacts/

Artifacts are for traceability and inspection. Control decisions come from the event log and projections.

Build From Source

pnpm install
pnpm typecheck
pnpm test
pnpm anchor:doctor -- --json
pnpm anchor --help
pnpm anchor-workflow install