Proletariat Cli

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Seize the means of production - Ship 100x.

[npm] [MCP Registry] [License]

Agent orchestration platform for AI labor. Spin up workers for all work, on demand.

Themed agents, including billionaires - Finally, they work for us.

⚠️ Beta Software — Under active development. Commands and APIs may change between versions, and bugs are actively being squashed.

Let's get you shipping Book a call - I'm happy to help you get prlt running or chat feedback, ideas, multi-agent workflows, and the future of work/labor (and economic labor theory..)

TLDR

prlt is an agent orchestration platform for AI labor. Spin up workers on demand, coordinate multi-agent development from one CLI. Isolated workspaces, secure containers, persistent state.

brew install chrismcdermut/proletariat/prlt    # macOS (Homebrew)# ornpm install -g @proletariat/cli        # any platform (npm)
prlt newprlt ticket create --title "Add OAuth" --category featureprlt work spawn   # Interactive: select tickets, environment, action

Agent spawns in its own branch, writes code, opens PR. You review and merge.

Why prlt?

• Isolated - Each agent gets its own git branch. No conflicts.
• Secure - Docker containers, sandboxed from your host.
• Durable - Tmux sessions persist. Close window, agent keeps working.
• Trackable - One database, one CLI, all your agents.
• Ephemeral - Spawn agents on demand. They work, they PR, they're done.
• Structured - Tickets provide structured context, not freeform chat.
• Persistent - Tickets accumulate context over time. Hand off between agents.
• Agent-native - --json mode lets AI agents drive the CLI programmatically.

Quick Start

brew install chrismcdermut/proletariat/prlt  # Install (Homebrew, recommended)# ornpm install -g @proletariat/cli              # Install (npm, all platforms)
prlt new                           # Create HQ, add repos, choose themeprlt ticket create --title "Add OAuth" --category featureprlt work spawn                    # Interactive: select tickets, environment, action# Agent creates PR → You review → Merge → Done

sequenceDiagram    participant You    participant prlt    participant Agent    participant GitHub
    You->>prlt: prlt ticket create    You->>prlt: prlt work spawn    prlt->>prlt: Create branch    prlt->>prlt: Create workspace    prlt->>Agent: Spawn agent    Agent->>Agent: Read ticket    Agent->>Agent: Write code    Agent->>GitHub: Commit    Agent->>GitHub: Open PR    Agent->>prlt: Update status    prlt->>You: PR ready    You->>GitHub: Review & approve

Spawn agents to implement, groom, or review—not just write code.

Interactive Menus

prlt work guides you through project and ticket selection:

[Project Selection]

Choose your operation—start a single agent, batch spawn, or watch a column:

[Work Operations Menu]

Select tickets to spawn, grouped by priority:

[Ticket Selection]

Deep Dive

Installation

Homebrew (recommended)

brew install chrismcdermut/proletariat/prlt

Works on both Apple Silicon (arm64) and Intel (x86_64) Macs. No compiler needed.

Upgrade:

brew updatebrew upgrade prlt

npm / pnpm (all platforms)

npm install -g @proletariat/cli# orpnpm install -g @proletariat/cli

pnpm 10+ note: pnpm 10 blocks native addon build scripts by default. If prlt fails with a native module error after install, run pnpm approve-builds in the global store and reinstall, or use npm / brew instead.

Verify:

prlt --version

MCP Server

prlt includes a built-in MCP server with 100+ tools. Add it to your AI client:

Claude Code (~/.claude.json):

{  "mcpServers": {    "prlt": { "command": "prlt", "args": ["mcp-server"] }  }}

Cursor / Other clients (via npx):

{  "mcpServers": {    "prlt": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@proletariat/cli", "mcp-server"] }  }}

Listed on: MCP Registry | npm

Data Model

Workspace (HQ)├── Projects│   ├── Epics → Tickets│   └── (references a Workflow)├── Workflows → Phases → Statuses (can be shared across projects)├── Specs (can span projects)├── Actions (reusable templates)├── Agents│   ├── Staff (persistent, named)│   └── Temp (ephemeral, per-ticket)└── Executions (running sessions)    ├── Docker    │   ├── Tmux session    │   ├── Terminal or Background display    │   └── Safe or YOLO permissions    └── Host        ├── Tmux session        ├── Terminal or Background display        └── Safe or YOLO permissions

Example Workflow

A workflow defines how tickets move through your process. Projects reference a workflow, and multiple projects can share the same one.

Kanban Workflow├── Backlog       # New tickets land here├── In Progress   # Agent working (prlt work spawn)├── Review        # PR ready (prlt work ready)└── Done          # Merged (prlt work complete)

Scrum Workflow├── Backlog├── Sprint│   ├── To Do│   ├── In Progress│   └── In Review└── Done

Tickets flow through statuses as work progresses. Agents automatically move tickets when they start work, open PRs, or complete tasks.

Workspace Structure

Each agent gets a copy of all repos (repo scoping coming soon). Work happens on isolated branches.

my-project/├── .proletariat/│   └── workspace.db              # Tickets, executions, state├── repos/│   ├── frontend/                 # Your repos│   ├── backend/│   └── infra/└── agents/    ├── staff/    │   └── alice/                # Named agent with persistent workspace    │       ├── frontend/    │       ├── backend/    │       └── infra/    └── temp/        ├── agent-abc123/         # Ephemeral: Working on TKT-042 (OAuth)        │   ├── frontend/         # All repos on branch: feat/TKT-042-oauth        │   ├── backend/        │   └── infra/        └── agent-def456/         # Ephemeral: Working on TKT-043 (API)            ├── frontend/         # All repos on branch: feat/TKT-043-api            ├── backend/            └── infra/

Agent Naming Themes

Themes control how agents are named. Staff agents use theme names directly (e.g., bezos, camry). Ephemeral agents add an adjective prefix (e.g., bold-bezos, keen-camry). Currently ephemeral names also include a number suffix (bold-bezos-1), but this will be removed soon.

Built-in Themes:

billionaires — Finally, they work for us.

Theme Commands:

prlt agent themes list              # List available themesprlt agent themes set billionaires  # Set active themeprlt agent themes create mytheme    # Create custom themeprlt agent themes add-names mytheme # Add names to custom theme

Themes are selected during prlt new.

Three Ways to Use Commands

1. Interactive (Humans)

Run without flags—get guided prompts:

$ prlt ticket create
? Title: Add password reset? Description: Email-based password reset flow? Priority: P1? Category: feature
✓ Created TKT-043

View ticket details with prlt ticket:

[Ticket View]

2. JSON Mode (AI Agents)

Add --json for machine-readable output:

$ prlt work start --json

{  "prompt": {    "type": "list",    "message": "Select ticket to work on:",    "choices": [      {        "name": "[P1] TKT-042 - Add user authentication",        "value": "TKT-042",        "command": "prlt work start TKT-042 --json"      }    ]  }}

AI agents parse this, make selections, call the next command.

3. Flags (Scripts/CI)

Pass everything directly:

prlt ticket create \  --title "Add OAuth" \  --description "Google and GitHub OAuth" \  --priority P1 \  --category feature

Execution Modes

Environment - where the agent runs:

Display - how you see it:

Permissions - agent access level:

All sessions run in tmux under the hood—close the window, agent keeps working.

# Default: Docker + terminal (if devcontainer exists)prlt work start TKT-042
# Docker + backgroundprlt work start TKT-042 --display background
# Host + background (fast, no container)prlt work start TKT-042 --run-on-host --display background
# Docker + YOLO (full autonomy, safely sandboxed)prlt work start TKT-042 --skip-permissions

Parallel Agents

Work on multiple tickets simultaneously.

Interactive (humans):

$ prlt work spawn
? Spawn mode: Select specific tickets? Select tickets:  ◉ [P1] TKT-042 - Add user authentication  ◉ [P1] TKT-043 - Add API rate limiting  ◯ [P2] TKT-044 - Add email notifications? Action: implement? Environment: docker
Spawning 2 tickets...

JSON mode (AI agents): (multi-select WIP)

$ prlt work spawn --json --many

{  "prompt": {    "type": "checkbox",    "message": "Select tickets to spawn:",    "choices": [      {"name": "[P1] TKT-042 - Add user authentication", "value": "TKT-042"},      {"name": "[P1] TKT-043 - Add API rate limiting", "value": "TKT-043"}    ]  }}

Flags (scripts/CI):

prlt work spawn TKT-042 TKT-043 --action implement --mode docker

Each agent works in its own branch. No conflicts.

Scaling: The main limit is your machine. 50+ concurrent agents is achievable—depends on CPU, RAM, and whether you're running Docker or host mode.

Monitor running agents with prlt execution:

[Execution List]

flowchart LR    subgraph You        spawn[prlt work spawn]    end
    subgraph Agents        A1[Agent 1<br/>TKT-042 OAuth]        A2[Agent 2<br/>TKT-043 Rate Limit]        A3[Agent 3<br/>TKT-044 Notifications]    end
    subgraph GitHub        PR1[PR #101<br/>feat/TKT-042-oauth]        PR2[PR #102<br/>feat/TKT-043-rate-limit]        PR3[PR #103<br/>feat/TKT-044-notifications]    end
    spawn --> A1    spawn --> A2    spawn --> A3
    A1 --> PR1    A2 --> PR2    A3 --> PR3

Agent-created PRs ready for review:

[GitHub Pull Requests]

Command Reference

Run prlt <command> --help for flags and options.

Use Cases

Parallel Feature Development

# Create tickets for each featureprlt ticket create --title "Add OAuth" --category featureprlt ticket create --title "Add API rate limiting" --category featureprlt ticket create --title "Add email notifications" --category feature
# Spawn all three in parallel (Docker for isolation)prlt work spawn TKT-001 TKT-002 TKT-003 --mode docker
# Watch the board as they workprlt board watch

Three agents, three branches, three PRs. You review and merge.

Bug Bash

# Spawn all bugs at onceprlt work spawn --all --column Backlog --category bug
# Or pick specific onesprlt work spawn TKT-010 TKT-011 TKT-012

Grooming Session

Have an agent refine ticket requirements:

prlt work groom TKT-042

Agent adds acceptance criteria, subtasks, estimates.

Environment Variables

Claude Code handles its own authentication via claude login.

Requirements

• Node.js 20+ (22 LTS recommended)
• Git
• Claude Code (claude login to authenticate)
• SQLite
• Tmux (session persistence)
• Docker (optional—for isolated execution)

Troubleshooting Installation

bun install fails on better-sqlite3

Symptom: bun install -g @proletariat/cli fails with isexe or node-gyp errors during the better-sqlite3 native module build.

Cause: Bun's node-gyp compatibility is limited. The which dependency inside node-gyp uses isexe, which is incompatible with Bun's runtime shims.

Fix: Use npm or Homebrew instead:

# Option 1: Homebrew (macOS, recommended)brew install chrismcdermut/proletariat/prlt
# Option 2: npm (all platforms)npm install -g @proletariat/cli
# Option 3: pnpmpnpm install -g @proletariat/cli

If you must use Bun, ensure Node.js 22 (LTS) is also installed and set better-sqlite3 to use its prebuilt binaries:

npm rebuild better-sqlite3

npm EACCES: permission denied

Symptom: npm install -g @proletariat/cli fails with EACCES: permission denied on /opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules or /usr/local/lib/node_modules.

Fix: Configure npm to use a user-writable directory:

mkdir -p ~/.npm-globalnpm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"# Add the export line to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrcnpm install -g @proletariat/cli

Or use Homebrew instead (macOS):

brew install chrismcdermut/proletariat/prlt

Native module errors after install

Symptom: prlt runs but crashes with better_sqlite3.node or ABI mismatch errors.

Fix:

# Rebuild for the current Node versionnpm rebuild better-sqlite3
# Verify it worksnode -e "require('better-sqlite3')"
# If still failing, reinstallnpm install -g @proletariat/cli --force

See the full troubleshooting guide for more details.

Support

• Discord: discord.gg/tmZyjNNSvw
• GitHub Issues: Report bugs or request features
• Setup Help: Book a call - I'll help you get things running

License

Apache 2.0

[npm version] [Downloads] [License]

Star on GitHub | Install from NPM | Report Issues

Made with ⚒️ by the proletariat.