How do I install Loki Mode?

Copy the stdio config for Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or VS Code on this page. It uses the publisher's install, not a PlugMCP proxy.

Does Loki Mode need an API key?

No required environment variable is listed on this record.

What transport does Loki Mode use?

Loki Mode runs locally over stdio.

When was Loki Mode last checked?

Last checked 2026-11-09. Autonomous spec-to-product coding-agent CLI with an MCP server exposing 39 tools over stdio.

Loki Mode MCP server

Loki Mode

Your agent says done. Loki proves it: an autonomous coding agent that turns a task or issue into a verified pull request with a signed receipt you can check yourself.

The npm badge above tracks the current release; see CHANGELOG.md for release notes.

CLI reference: docs/CLI-REFERENCE.md (generated from the command registry).

Install

npm install -g loki-mode

The npm package installs the Bun runtime the engine needs as an optional dependency. Other ways in: bun install -g loki-mode, brew tap asklokesh/tap && brew install loki-mode, or docker pull asklokesh/loki-mode:latest (Docker guide). Upgrade with loki self-update.

Want to see a result before you install or spend anything?

npx loki-mode start   # no git repo: a real receipt, no key, no spend
npx loki-mode tour    # the same receipt when you are already inside a repo

npx downloads the package the first time, so that step needs the network. The receipt itself replays offline and checks with no provider and no key.

npx loki-mode wow     # a provider is ready: one tiny real task in a temp repo, its own receipt

First run

Loki needs a model. Claude Code (claude) is the default provider: install it and log in. The bundled Agent SDK with an ANTHROPIC_API_KEY can stand in for the CLI on the main path. Other coding CLIs are optional. See Requirements.

cd your-repo
loki setup                                   # first-run wizard (or: loki doctor --fix)
loki start "add rate limiting to /api/login" # the primary path: build, verify, seal a receipt, open a PR
loki start prd.md                            # same, from a PRD file
loki start owner/repo#123                    # same, from a GitHub, GitLab or Jira issue
loki edit "rename fooBar to foo_bar"         # one small change, no loop
loki chat                                    # interactive alternative: Plan and Build modes

loki start, loki "<task>", loki owner/repo#N and loki quick "<task>" all run on the Loki 10 engine by default, whatever the flag order or input form. Add --no-pr to build and verify without opening a pull request, --max-cost <usd> to cap spend, and --provider <name> to pick another coding CLI. The spend cap defaults to $100 when ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or OPENAI_API_KEY is set and to no dollar cap on a subscription login; budgets.per_run in loki.yaml also sets it. Inspect the route without running: loki route start prd.md or --explain-route. New here? The 5-minute quickstart walks through it.

What you get

Every run starts from a delivery contract derived from your task, writes checks from the task alone before touching code, implements, verifies, and ends in exactly one outcome: VERIFIED, ALREADY_SATISFIED, FAILED, BUDGET_STOP, BLOCKED or STALLED (exit codes). If the contract cannot be satisfied as written, the run stops and asks one question instead of guessing.

A pull request written for a quick review: what the issue asked, what changed, how it was tested, and what was NOT PROVEN. Only a VERIFIED run pushes its branch and opens a PR; any other outcome keeps the branch local and prints where it is.
A signed receipt at .loki/runs/<run-id>/receipt.json, signed with a local Ed25519 key created on first run.
A specialist review when the review council runs: it selects reviewers from a specialist pool (agents/types.json, scored by run.sh:FOCUS_KEYWORDS) by matching the changed files and diff against each reviewer's keywords.

loki verify              # newest run; or: loki verify <run-id>

loki verify re-hashes the receipt, checks its signature and checks it against the run's event log. It prints a verdict and exits 0 (VERIFIED), 1 (TAMPERED), 2 (UNCHECKED), 3 (UNSIGNED, refused unless --allow-unsigned), 4 (run outcome not verified) or 66 (no runs); [ $rc -eq 0 ] is the only safe test for "verified". loki start also requires fail-to-pass for a declared behavior change: a Wall test must fail on the old code and pass after, or the verdict stays PARTIAL (LOKI_MUTATION_STRICT=0 opts out). Full table: docs/exit-codes.md. On another machine, export the public key with loki keys export and pass it with loki verify --pubkey <file>. A receipt claims only what its checks ran, and lists what they did not; signing proves who produced it, not that the code is bug-free. Details: docs/SIGNED-RECEIPTS.md.

For a multi-repo change set, loki start --workspace <name> "<brief>" seals one signed composite.json over every child receipt, and loki verify <run-dir>/composite.json re-checks it offline (docs/WORKSPACES.md). A composite never reads higher than its weakest child.

Two vocabularies, not one. Receipt verdicts (sealed, 5): VERIFIED, PARTIAL, ALREADY_SATISFIED, SPEC_CONFLICT, FAILED. Run outcomes (printed, 8): VERIFIED, ALREADY_SATISFIED, PARTIAL, FAILED, BUDGET_STOP, BLOCKED, STALLED, CANCELLED. BUDGET_STOP, BLOCKED, STALLED and CANCELLED are run outcomes, never receipt verdicts.

Run outcome	Receipt verdict	`loki start` exit
VERIFIED, ALREADY_SATISFIED	same	0
FAILED, PARTIAL	same	1
BUDGET_STOP	none (stopped at a cap)	3
BLOCKED	SPEC_CONFLICT	4
STALLED	none	5
CANCELLED	none	130

Composite: every child VERIFIED or ALREADY_SATISFIED gives VERIFIED (all ALREADY_SATISFIED stays ALREADY_SATISFIED, any SPEC_CONFLICT child keeps SPEC_CONFLICT); one PARTIAL child caps it at PARTIAL; a FAILED child fails it. loki verify on a composite exits 0 VERIFIED, 1 TAMPERED, 2 UNCHECKED, 3 UNSIGNED.

Autonomy and deploy: .loki/policies.json autonomy: propose|execute|operate governs what loki start may do (propose opens nothing, execute opens a PR, operate also allows deploy); no file keeps today's behavior. loki trust prints advisory graduation advice from your receipts and never writes the policy. Loki deploys only behind loki deploy --execute (or loki start --deploy) plus a VERIFIED, HEAD-anchored receipt and the policy permission; --health-url and --auto-rollback add a post-deploy probe and a documented provider rollback. A Sentry alert webhook can enqueue a receipt-gated fix PR (docs/sentry-intake.md).

A finished run prints a short summary (every run on both engines also ends with a unified Result, Files, Cost, Elapsed, Receipt and next: block; --quiet prints only that block, --json adds a summary object):

Outcome:    VERIFIED
PR:         https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/1
Receipt:    sha256:2f9a41c7e0b3...
NOT PROVEN: full suite, app boot, council, security scan
Cost:       $0.42 (claude, 212k tokens)
Time:       4m12s (intake 11s, plan 20s, implement 3m10s, verify 31s)

Core commands

Command	What it does
`loki start "<task>"`	The command you run: same provider model as a raw session, then the harness re-runs the checks and seals a receipt (`--no-pr`, `--provider`, `--max-cost`, `--haiku` to opt the first implement onto haiku). `loki "<task>"` and `loki owner/repo#N` are shorthand. No task and no git repo shows a receipt and spends nothing
`loki edit "<change>"`	One targeted change in one pass, no PR, plan or council (`--verify`, `--receipt`, `--commit`, `--dry-run`)
`loki quick "<task>"`	One small task with a verify loop, no PR
`loki chat`	Interactive alternative: Plan and Build modes, slash commands, `/run` starts a `loki start` run, `--attach` joins one
`loki route start <args>`	Show the engine, provider, model and reason without running (also `--explain-route`)
`loki setup`	First-run wizard: tools, Claude login, provider, model route, spend cap
`loki config list\|get\|set\|path`	Read and write settings
`loki models [--local]`	List model routes (OpenRouter, Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp, vLLM, custom); discover local models
`loki agents list\|new\|show\|export --claude`	Custom child agents in `.loki/agents/*.md`
`loki status [run-id]`	Status of the latest run, or of a given run
`loki verify [run-id]`	Check a receipt's hash, signature and event log
`loki answer [run-id]`	Start a follow-up run from a BLOCKED run with your answer (`--text "..."`)
`loki doctor [--fix] [--json]`	Check prerequisites, providers and login; `--fix` applies safe fixes
`loki control serve`

Core verbs: docs/CLI-CORE-VERBS.md. Every command (generated): docs/CLI-REFERENCE.md. Engine guide, provider table, model routes, custom agents and chat: docs/v10/GUIDE.md. Honest comparison with opencode: docs/COMPARE-OPENCODE.md.

Models, providers and local models

Claude Code is the default Tier-1 provider. --provider codex|cline|aider|opencode (or LOKI_PROVIDER) picks another; on all of them the Loki 10 engine enforces the wall-clock limit and a post-iteration guard scan, and measures cost for codex, cline and aider (parsed from CLI output or estimated, flagged estimated) so --max-cost applies. For OpenRouter or a local model, set LOKI_MODEL_ROUTE=<kind>/<id> (kinds: openrouter, ollama, lmstudio, llamacpp, vllm, custom) before loki start; loki models --local finds local runtimes and prints ready-to-paste values.

LOKI_MODEL_ROUTE=ollama/qwen3-coder loki start prd.md

Control Plane

A local UI and API for all your runs: outcomes, receipts, costs, and an answer box for BLOCKED runs. It is on by default (LOKI_CONTROL=0 turns it off) and listens on 127.0.0.1 only.

loki control serve       # http://127.0.0.1:47821 (--port N, --db PATH)
loki control backfill .  # load existing ./.loki/runs
loki control status      # reachable? how many runs?

While it is running, runs on this machine ship to it automatically. Guides: docs/v10/CONTROL-PLANE.md, container, Helm and ECS, migrating from the old dashboard.

Requirements

loki doctor enforces this list.

Required:

Claude Code (claude), installed and logged in: the default provider and the only one with every feature. The bundled Agent SDK with ANTHROPIC_API_KEY can stand in on the main loki start path, but loki edit and loki chat call the claude CLI.
Python 3.8+ (python3)
Node.js 20+ (node; 22 LTS is the CI target)
jq
Git 2.x (git)
curl

Optional:

Other coding CLIs: Codex, Cline, Aider, opencode (--provider). Ollama or an OpenRouter key for model routes.
Bun 1.3+ (bun) on your PATH (the npm package also bundles it).
Docker, to run Loki from the published image.

macOS and Linux are supported.

Installation, environment variables, exit codes, known issues, privacy and telemetry
Agent Change Receipt format: docs/AGENT-CHANGE-RECEIPT.md
Issue to PR from GitHub Actions, no hosted service: docs/examples/loki-issue-to-pr.yml.example
Jira and Linear intake: docs/trackers.md. Two-way Slack: docs/slack.md. Multi-repo runs and composite receipts: docs/WORKSPACES.md. Deploy: docs/DEPLOY-PLAN.md
MCP: the bundled server exposes 47 tools over stdio (loki mcp), including starting a run, reading its status and verifying its receipt. One-click install: Cursor, VS Code. Or run loki mcp install --client claude|cursor|vscode|windsurf.
Claude Code plugin: claude plugin marketplace add asklokesh/loki-mode, then claude plugin install loki-mode@loki-mode. The same marketplace ships loki-seal, a Stop hook that refuses "done" when tests newly fail or were weakened.
Architecture: docs/ARCHITECTURE.md. Upgrading: UPGRADING.md

Contributing

git clone https://github.com/asklokesh/loki-mode.git && cd loki-mode
npm install && npm test

See CONTRIBUTING.md, TESTING.md and the Code of Conduct.

License

Business Source License 1.1. Free for personal, internal, academic and non-commercial use; it converts to Apache 2.0 on March 19, 2030. Contact [email protected] for other arrangements.

Loki Mode is built by Autonomi.

Loki Mode

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Questions

How do I install Loki Mode?

Does Loki Mode need an API key?

What transport does Loki Mode use?

When was Loki Mode last checked?

Documentation

Loki Mode

Install

First run

What you get

Core commands

Models, providers and local models

Control Plane

Requirements

More

Contributing

License