~~ marlin ~~

durable terminal agents that SWIM between clients 🐟 built in Zig

⚡ install the latest tagged build (macOS + Linux):

curl -fsSL https://marlin.wtf/install.sh | sh

★★★ WELCOME to marlin.wtf ★★★ one binary ★ daemon-owned sessions ★ structured scrollback ★ TUI multiplexer ★ MCP + hooks + skills ★ CHILD AGENTS HAVE ENTERED THE WATER ★ written in ZIG ★★★

>> what IS marlin??

marlin is a daemon-native terminal AI agent harness. The daemon owns structured sessions; the TUI and headless CLI are thin clients. Close a terminal and the turn keeps running. Reattach later—or from another terminal over SSH—and the transcript, status, approvals, and full tool results are still there.

one binary: no Node runtime, no Python environment, no terminal scraping
structured multiplexer: switch sessions without losing drafts, scroll position, or actionable state
append-only truth: context may compact; durable history and full tool output do not pretend they never happened
process-boundary extensions: MCP stdio servers, executable tools, hooks, and Markdown skills
durable child sessions: a parent can delegate focused read-only work to an inspectable child

DEVELOPMENT PREVIEW Marlin is already self-hosting and useful for real work, but it is not a stable 1.0 product. The multiplexer and extension foundations are built; M6 is actively widening child sessions into concurrent delegation and review councils. Config and protocol details may still move.

>> what works TODAY

Focused TUIMultiline composer, mouse selection + OSC52 copy, command completion, readable tool/reasoning output, model and effort controls.

Real multiplexerDurable concurrent sessions, short stable handles, /sessions, recent-session switching, per-session view state, background activity and child status.

Context that admits realityInline output caps, full content-addressed blobs, pruning, compaction, usage accounting, and durable reconnect replay.

Self-hosting loopHeadless runs, steering, approvals, interruption, and coordinated /reboot --build while developing Marlin inside Marlin.

Extension boundariesOwned TOML config, executable tools, MCP stdio, asynchronous hooks, and on-demand skills through one schema + approval path.

Permission foundationScrubbed tool environments, approval policy, protected-path rules, managed network filtering, and verified macOS shell sandboxing with safe fallback.

First child-agent sliceA synchronous task call creates a durable, attachable, read-only child with a budget, cancellation cascade, and structured result.

Provider choiceOpenRouter-first model catalog plus OpenAI-compatible and Anthropic provider paths, with per-session model and reasoning effort.

>> take it for a swim

$ curl -fsSL https://marlin.wtf/install.sh | sh
$ export OPENROUTER_API_KEY=...
$ marlin run "why is my build broken"
# ...the daemon keeps the structured session...
$ marlin             # attach the TUI
$ marlin ls          # short stable handles, including children
$ marlin attach 63df # any unique prefix (minimum four)

Tagged builds target macOS and Linux on aarch64 and x86_64. The installer verifies a published SHA-256 checksum and writes to ~/.local/bin without sudo. Tracking main instead? Clone the repository and run zig build with Zig 0.16.0.

>> development STATUS

track	where it is	status
M0–M3	agent loop, daemon, TUI, context engine, self-hosting reboot	✅ BUILT
M3.5	permissions + secret boundary	🔧 HARDENING
M4	structured session multiplexer	✅ VERIFIED
M5	MCP, executable tools, hooks, skills	🐕 DOGFOODING
M6a	durable child sessions + task primitive	🐟 FIRST SLICE
M6 next	ordered concurrent children + review councils	🔨 ACTIVE
later	workspace snapshots/isolation + remote/PWA decisions	📋 EVIDENCE FIRST

The source-of-truth details live in the milestones and the active M6 execution plan.

>> NOT shipped yet (honesty zone)

review councils: designed, but named councils and concurrent reviewer fan-out are next—not marketing-present-tense
native remote transport or web UI: use SSH/mosh today; raw TCP and a PWA wait for a concrete trust boundary and workflow
workspace undo/isolation: snapshots, leases, worktrees, /land, and /discard remain one deliberately later track
kitchen sink surfaces: no messaging gateway, voice stack, embedded terminal emulator, or dashboard empire

>> sign my guestbook... i mean, links

SOURCE on GH made w/ ZIG RELEASES ARCHITECTURE

one handcrafted HTML file. the fish rejected React.