ouroboros-ai
Pins an acceptance spec and omits any verify command or expected output from the worker's contract. Works with Claude Code, Codex CLI, OpenCode and 10 more runtimes.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Ouroboros is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries no known vulnerabilities, and solves a real problem—turning vague AI tasks into deterministic, auditable workflows. The MIT license imposes no restrictions. Install it if you need structured, replayable AI coding workflows across multiple LLM runtimes; skip it if you only need ad-hoc prompting or single-agent integration.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.12 or later.
- Designed to work with an installed LLM runtime (Claude Code, Codex CLI, OpenCode, or one of 10 others); without one, the core CLI (`ouroboros init start`) still works but agent integration requires a supported host.
- Low friction: pure Python wheel with no compiled dependencies.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — MIT license (permissive). No restrictions on commercial or private use; you may modify and redistribute freely under the same license terms.
last release 2026-08-14 (0 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 5,412 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 105,045 downloads/mo, #12,724 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install ouroboros-ai
from ouroboros import setup, interview
# One-time setup
await setup()
# Start a Socratic interview to clarify the task
await interview("I want to build a task management CLI")- Whether the package works offline or requires network access to LLM APIs during normal operation.
- Performance characteristics and resource overhead of the replayable event ledger for long-running workflows.
- Maturity and stability of the MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration across all 13 supported runtimes.
What it is and what it does
Ouroboros is a local-first runtime layer that transforms non-deterministic AI coding work into deterministic, auditable workflows. Instead of ad-hoc prompting, it enforces a specification-first approach: a Socratic interview exposes hidden assumptions, an immutable seed spec locks intent before any code generation, and a three-stage automated evaluation gate replaces manual QA. The package orchestrates multiple LLM runtimes—Claude Code, Codex CLI, OpenCode, Hermes, Gemini, and others—through a unified contract, so the same workflow can run across different AI agents while remaining replayable and policy-bound.
The core stack splits into three layers: the OS kernel (this package) owns the contract and ledger; plugins add domain workflows (PR review, Jira sync, incident response); and a terminal shell (ourocode) provides a unified TUI. You can use Ouroboros standalone with any supported CLI, layer plugins for domain-specific tasks, or install the full stack for a unified cockpit. The package is actively maintained, supports Python 3.12–3.14, and carries no known vulnerabilities.
Use it for
- Turn a vague product idea into a verified, working codebase by running a Socratic interview to lock the spec before any agent code generation.
- Run the same AI coding workflow across multiple LLM runtimes (Claude, Codex, Gemini, etc.) with full auditability and replay capability.
- Automate domain workflows like PR review, Jira ticket triage, or release management with scoped permissions and provenance tracking.
- Reduce prompt engineering overhead by replacing manual QA with a three-stage automated evaluation gate that evolves the agent's behavior.
- Integrate AI agents into CI/CD or incident-response pipelines where reproducibility and policy enforcement are non-negotiable.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Ouroboros is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries no known vulnerabilities, and solves a real problem—turning vague AI tasks into deterministic, auditable workflows. The MIT license imposes no restrictions. Install it if you need structured, replayable AI coding workflows across multiple LLM runtimes; skip it if you only need ad-hoc prompting or single-agent integration.
Install
ouroboros-ai on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure Python wheel with no compiled dependencies. Active maintenance as of 2026-08-14 with 5412 GitHub stars. Requires Python 3.12+. Twelve runtime dependencies are all well-established (pydantic, sqlalchemy, click, rich, structlog, etc.), suggesting a stable, production-oriented codebase.
Requires Python 3.12 or later. Designed to work with an installed LLM runtime (Claude Code, Codex CLI, OpenCode, or one of 10 others); without one, the core CLI (`ouroboros init start`) still works but agent integration requires a supported host.
License in practice
MIT license (permissive). No restrictions on commercial or private use; you may modify and redistribute freely under the same license terms.
Quickstart
pip install ouroboros-ai
from ouroboros import setup, interview
# One-time setup
await setup()
# Start a Socratic interview to clarify the task
await interview("I want to build a task management CLI")Verify before relying
- Whether the package works offline or requires network access to LLM APIs during normal operation.
- Performance characteristics and resource overhead of the replayable event ledger for long-running workflows.
- Maturity and stability of the MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration across all 13 supported runtimes.
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.12 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 12 packagesaiosqliteanyioclickjsonschemaprompt-toolkitpydanticpython-dotenvpyyamlrichsqlalchemystructlogtyper |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 0 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 105,045 / month, #12,724 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaEnvironment :: ConsoleIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Topic :: Software Development :: Build ToolsTopic :: Software Development :: Code Generators |
Evidence: ouroboros_ai-0.51.5-py3-none-any.whl
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