CLEO MCP Server

[CLEO — Agent First Task Orchestration]

CLEO

[npm version] [CI] [License: MIT] [Node.js Version]

[ko-fi]

CLEO is the work, evidence, memory and docs layer for AI coding agents. Agents (and you) drive it through one CLI, cleo <command>, and every call returns a single JSON envelope on stdout, so any agent harness can read it. CLEO keeps each change traceable from task to pull request to release, demands evidence before a task counts as done, remembers what was learned across sessions, and keeps documentation from rotting.

What it does

Run cleo <command> --help for the full flags of any command.

Quick start

npm install -g @cleocode/cleo
cd your-projectcleo initcleo session start --scope global --name "first session"
# Work is a tree: a saga at the root, epics under it, tasks under those.cleo saga create --title "Ship the auth hardening" --acceptance "login is rate limited|sessions expire"cleo add "Auth hardening" --type epic --parent T001 --acceptance "rate limit shipped|session expiry shipped"cleo add "Rate-limit the login endpoint" --parent T002 \  --acceptance "returns 429 after 5 failed attempts|a test covers the limit"
cleo next          # what to work oncleo focus T003    # identity, blockers, docs and memory for one task

Then do the work and close it.

• With a pull request (the normal path): work on a branch, open a PR whose body says Closes: T003 AC1,AC2, check it with cleo done --from-merge <pr> --dry-run, get a per-criterion review (cleo review packet <pr> --task T003, then cleo review verdict), and merge on green CI. The merge sweep records the evidence and closes the task.
• Without a pull request: cleo done T003 --plan names the evidence each gate needs; record it with cleo verify, then cleo complete T003.

Finish with cleo memory observe "<what you learned>" --title "<short title>" and cleo session end --note "<handoff>". The next session starts with cleo briefing.

Docs that don't rot

AI agents write a lot of documentation, and most of it rots. An agent that cannot find the existing doc writes a new one; names carry task ids and dates; two copies drift apart; nobody can tell which one is current. After a few months the docs folder is a pile of near-duplicates that agents keep extending.

CLEO Docs fixes this at the source:

• One canonical home per doc. The store is the source of truth; files in docs/ are published mirrors. Find before you write (cleo docs query "<topic>"), and update the existing doc (cleo docs update <slug>) instead of adding a second one. cleo docs add is for genuinely new docs.
• Stable names. Every doc name and slug is lowercase kebab-case with no task id, session id or date; task and decision links live in metadata. A CI gate (cleo check canon docs) refuses new violators.
• One kind per folder. docs/adr, docs/spec, docs/plan, docs/research, docs/guide, docs/concept, docs/reference, docs/migration, docs/release and docs/note.
• Drift is visible. cleo docs status compares each published mirror with the store, cleo docs rot flags docs whose covered code changed after them, and cleo docs doctor repairs the store.
• Messy folders can be migrated. cleo docs modernize <folder> plans a kind, a stable name and keep/rename/merge/delete for every file, and applies it with a receipt you can roll back.

The how-to is docs/guide/cleo-documentation-sop.md.

Packages

The CLI is @cleocode/cleo; it depends on the rest. The main packages:

Development

Requires Node.js >= 24.16.0 and pnpm.

git clone https://github.com/kryptobaseddev/cleo.gitcd cleopnpm installpnpm run build

Repository rules (package boundaries, architecture gates, evidence) are in AGENTS.md; see CONTRIBUTING.md to contribute. Every change lands through a pull request that names its tasks; releases are cut from main with cleo release cut.

The story of CLEO

CLEO began as one developer's refusal to keep losing the thread: powerful agents that forgot too easily, ambitious projects that died on the shelf. The Founding Story tells it from the builder's side, and The Awakening Story from CLEO's.

Support

If CLEO helps your workflow, consider supporting development:

[ko-fi]

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Star History

[Star History Chart]