Homeboy
Changelog
All notable changes to Homeboy CLI are documented in this file. (This file is embedded into the CLI binary and...
Direct Staged Execution
Tracker: #14588. This follows the preventive capability refusal in #14589. Contract Direct sessions negotiate direct-runner-staged-execution/v1 before submitting the unchanged sealed...
Validation Dependency Recovery
Tracking: #14587. Related execution limitation: #14588. Evidence reviewed September 12, 2026. Changes An explicit validation_dependencies setting now replaces the manifest's...
Homeboy Documentation
Homeboy documentation is organized by reader intent. If you are new, start with Start here. If you already know what...
Cleanup Retention Scope
homeboy cleanup --include terminal-runs is the lifecycle owner for terminal observation records, and since #10316 it is the only surface...
Configuration Precedence Map
Investigation for Extra-Chill/homeboy#7519. This document maps configuration concepts that appear in two or more schemas and records the current runtime...
`homeboy release`
Synopsis homeboy release [OPTIONS] [COMPONENTS]... homeboy release version show [<component_id>] [--path <path>] homeboy release changes [<component_id>] [--path <path>] [--since <tag>]...
`homeboy git`
Synopsis homeboy git <COMMAND> Git operations for Homeboy components, worktrees, portable checkouts, and GitHub issue / pull request workflows. Most...
cleanup
Remove or inspect reconstructable artifacts that Homeboy can safely recreate. This is the canonical artifact cleanup path. Worktree lifecycle cleanup...
agent-task
Run provider-neutral task plans through Homeboy's durable agent-task lifecycle. Homeboy owns durable orchestration and provider-neutral outcomes. Runtime providers own backend-specific...
`homeboy daemon`
Run and inspect the local-only Homeboy HTTP API daemon. Synopsis homeboy daemon <COMMAND> Subcommands start — start the local daemon...
`homeboy tunnel`
Synopsis homeboy tunnel service <COMMAND> homeboy tunnel preview-client <COMMAND> homeboy tunnel preview-ingress <COMMAND> homeboy tunnel preview-consumer <COMMAND> homeboy tunnel artifact-origin...
Internals
Internals docs are for people maintaining Homeboy itself: architecture, implementation contracts, developer guidance, and docs-maintenance rules. Developer Guide Architecture overview...
Test Tiers
The commands in this section are the local edit-loop tiers. CI does not run any of them: the CI gate...
Extension API v1
The Extension API is the transport-neutral contract through which Homeboy describes installed extensions and negotiates compatibility. Its serialized v1 types...
Resource Topology v1
homeboy-resource-topology-contract defines one read-only snapshot schema: homeboy/resource-topology-snapshot/v1. The snapshot contains only stable kind and id resource references, declared directed edges,...
PathRoots injection contract
homeboy_core::paths::PathRoots names one Homeboy home: a config root, a data root, and an artifact root resolved together. Its own doc...
Command argument provenance contract
CLI compilation produces a typed command together with a source map for every resolved Clap argument. The public Rust surface...
Verification phase contract
Homeboy's verification surface is deliberately split into isolated primitive commands that can be composed by higher-level workflows. Primitive phases The...
Compiler Warning Extension Contract Gap
Issue #2242 asks Homeboy core to move compiler-warning collection and compiler-warning fix generation behind extension-owned contracts. Validation and formatting already...
Architecture Overview
Homeboy is headless automation for agentic software engineering workflows. It is built in Rust with a config-driven, extension-oriented architecture that...
Architecture Cleanup Map
This map tracks lower-risk source-boundary cleanup. It is intentionally scoped to developer guidance and ratchets; command implementation refactors should happen...
Error Handling Patterns
Homeboy uses a centralized error system for consistent error reporting across all commands. Error Categories Errors are categorized by type...
Config Directory Structure
Important: Portable component configuration can live in a repo-level homeboy.json. Reusable machine-local configuration, state, installed extensions, projects, servers, fleets, rigs,...
Documentation Structure
Standard patterns for organizing documentation files and directories. These rules describe Homeboy's own docs/ tree; downstream projects managed by Homeboy...
Documentation Generation
Instructions for creating comprehensive user-facing documentation from scratch by analyzing the codebase. Purpose Generate structured documentation in the /docs directory...
Documentation Management
Homeboy provides AI agents with consistent instructions for documentation generation and maintenance. These docs serve as the single source of...
Documentation Alignment
Instructions for keeping existing .md documentation synchronized with current codebase implementation. Scope Alignment covers documentation that describes current implementation only....
Configuration Reference
This page is a field-level reference for Homeboy configuration structures. For the higher-level system model and core/extension boundary, see Architecture...
Reference
Reference docs describe exact command behavior, configuration fields, schemas, templates, and output contracts. Use workflows first when you need a...
Release Set Manifest
A release set is a caller-supplied, product-agnostic source-membership contract. It is versioned by schema and has a deterministic SHA-256 identity...
Template Variables
Homeboy supports template variables in several contexts. Both single-brace ({var}) and double-brace ({{var}}) syntaxes are supported everywhere for backward compatibility....
Component Schema
Component configuration defines buildable and deployable units stored in components/<id>.json. Schema { "id": "string", "name": "string", "local_path": "string", "remote_path": "string",...
Extension Manifest Schema
Extension manifests define extension metadata, runtime behavior, platform behaviors, and integration points. Stored as <extension_id>/<extension_id>.json in the extension directory. Extension...
Server Schema
Server configuration defines SSH server connections stored in servers/<id>.json. Schema { "id": "string", "name": "string", "host": "string", "port": number, "user":...
Project Schema
Project configuration defines environment-specific context stored in projects/<id>.json: server bindings, domains, local paths, remote paths, project-scoped CLI settings, API settings,...
Portable Component Config (`homeboy.json`)
A homeboy.json file in a repo root defines portable component configuration that travels with the code. Clone a repo, run...
Configuration Schemas
Schemas document Homeboy configuration structures. For overlapping configuration concepts and runtime precedence, see Configuration precedence map. Component schema Project schema...
`homeboy` root command
Synopsis homeboy [OPTIONS] <COMMAND> Description homeboy is headless automation for agentic software engineering workflows. It keeps local developers, CI, scheduled...
`homeboy triage` command reference
Generated from the clap command tree. This page is the complete synopsis, argument, flag, and subcommand surface for this command...
Runner contract
The contract between Homeboy core and runner scripts: what capabilities exist, what env vars flow in, what sidecar files scripts...
Headless Daemon API Contract
Homeboy is CLI-first, but the daemon is the stable local UI and automation surface for clients that should not shell...
Provider fanout boundary
Homeboy core owns durable orchestration and provider-neutral evidence. Runtime providers own backend-specific execution details. The seam is the AgentTaskRequest/AgentTaskOutcome adapter...
Homeboy Core Kernel Investigation
Issue: #13126 Measured at investigate/13126-homeboy-core-kernel based on c56e9f889 plus this report. The investigation treats homeboy-core as the kernel. It does...
JSON output contract
Homeboy prints JSON to stdout for most commands. Exceptions: homeboy self docs prints raw markdown (or newline-delimited topic names for...
Release Pipeline System
Homeboy release automation is a local-first planner/executor for component releases. It turns component metadata, conventional commits, extension release actions, and...
Artifact Loop For Runner And Matrix Workflows
Use this loop when a runner, matrix job, or CI workflow produces output that a reviewer should inspect later: Run...
Controller to runner reverse-runner setup
This guide is the operator runbook for using any Homeboy-managed controller machine as a broker while any configured runner machine...
Required CI Gates
main is protected by the versioned ruleset payload in ../../.github/required-gates-ruleset.json. Every listed context must be emitted by .github/workflows/ci.yml on every...
Operations
Operations docs are runbooks for people operating Homeboy workflows, runners, and evidence paths. They are more specific than workflows and...
Release-gate proof: the canonical non-local command path
This is the one documented command path agents should use to produce release-gate proof from a worktree. It uses normal...
Workflows
Workflow docs are task-oriented. They explain which Homeboy commands to use together and link to exact command reference when you...
Manage Local Environments
Use rigs, stacks, and task worktrees when local work spans more than one checkout, branch, component, or agent task. These...
Deploy And Operate Fleets
Use project, deploy, fleet, and status commands when Homeboy is operating configured environments instead of only local quality gates. This...
Run Agent Task Loops
Use agent-task loops when work needs durable orchestration across multiple agent runs, retries, gates, artifacts, external events, and human handoffs....
Release A Component
Homeboy release workflows turn conventional commits and component metadata into version bumps, changelogs, tags, artifacts, and optional publish/deploy steps. Use...
Use Runners
Runners let Homeboy route hot or remote-capable work away from the controller machine while preserving the same command contract and...
Triaging a twin candidate
The twin_type_declaration detector reports two declarations with the same field shape. Shape is what a detector can see. It is...
Audit Baseline Ratchet
homeboy.json carries a permanent suppression list for homeboy audit at baselines.audit.known_fingerprints. This document explains what is in it, why it...
Policy-flow detector
The policy-flow detector reports an aggregate transformation that drops declared policy state before downstream code independently branches over the same...
Dead Guard Detection
Homeboy audit flags function_exists('…'), class_exists('…'), and defined('…') guards whose checked symbol is guaranteed to exist at runtime. Such guards are...
Repeated literal-shape detector
Detects inline associative array literals that appear many times with the same shape (ordered keys + value kinds) across a...
Shared scaffolding detector
Finds groups of classes in the same directory subtree that share the same overall method-shape (same method names, visibilities, and...
Headless Agent Orchestration
Homeboy is useful for agents because it turns engineering work into durable, inspectable command contracts. Agents can run the same...
Homeboy Model
Homeboy starts with a component and keeps the command model consistent across where that component runs. Component A component is...
Code Factory
The code factory is homeboy's model for automated code maintenance: humans write features, the system maintains quality. It combines lint,...
Concepts
Concept docs explain Homeboy's mental model and vocabulary. Use these when you need to understand how commands fit together before...
Structured Evidence
Homeboy treats evidence as a first-class output, not as terminal text someone has to copy into a comment. Human Output...