Agenttrail watches your coding agents' available activity and turns it into a live view of their work. See which part of a project is changing, what tasks an agent has reported, and where it needs your attention—without piecing together several terminal windows.
Your agents keep running in tools such as Codex and Claude Code. Agenttrail observes local files, plans and supported agent events; it visualizes that evidence for you. It does not run the agents, assign their work or decide that a task is finished.
Agenttrail is the open-source project. Map and Kitchen are its two views:
| Agenttrail Map | Agenttrail Kitchen | |
|---|---|---|
| Helps you follow | Project structure, progress and which components are changing | Current tasks, role contributions and completed work |
| Visualizes work as | Components, dependencies, file activity and session trails | Chefs, order tickets, cooking and deliveries |
| Main sources | PLAN.md, file changes and optional Claude Code hooks |
Available native todos, local Codex/Claude activity and optional Claude/Cursor hooks |
| Start in your repo | npx agenttrail |
npx agenttrail-kitchen . |
| Plan needed? | Optional for file activity; needed for the component map | Optional; native todos supply order tickets when available |
Choose Map for the project overview and Kitchen to follow the work as a shared cooking scene. Each runs independently in your browser. They currently have separate local services and provider adapters; Kitchen can also read a running Map's context. Their activity coverage and history are not identical. How observability works
Recorded while real Codex and Claude sessions built a small 3D maze game. Chefs represent responsibilities, not necessarily separate agent processes.
You need Node.js 20+, a browser with WebGL, and a local project folder. Run this in the repo you want to watch:
npx agenttrail-kitchen .The browser opens at localhost:4780 (or the next free port). Keep this terminal open and keep working in your coding agent. Codex and Claude Code activity is discovered from available local logs. No PLAN.md, Agenttrail Map installation, copied files, API key or new agent session is required for basic observation. The watcher does not launch agents or edit your repo.
Want to see it before connecting an agent? Add --example to the command, then click Next example step. This is a labeled, scripted example. Click Live to return to your real repo.
This is a public experimental preview. The npm package includes the graphics and fonts, so users do not need a build step. To pin this release, use npx [email protected] .. The separate npx agenttrail command opens the Map.
Kitchen guide · Connect agents and troubleshoot · Release and verification
| In the kitchen | In your project |
|---|---|
| Chef | A project responsibility; the actual provider and session remain inspectable |
| Ticket / dish | An available native todo, with its own wording and status |
| Cooking | Observed work associated with that responsibility |
| Several chefs on one ticket | Contributions from roles or sessions associated with the same todo |
| Plate transfer | Explicit artifact revision and receipt metadata |
| Delivery conveyor | A native todo reported complete |
One session can move between several chefs as its work changes. Roles adapt to the project; you can refine them with an optional workflow configuration. Multiple kitchens organize larger workflows. Click a chef or ticket to inspect its evidence.
What happens automatically: local activity, supported native todos, inferred responsibilities and todo completion. What needs extra metadata: confirmed handoffs and explicitly sharing one todo across separate sessions. The recorded multi-agent demo used these bindings; merely opening any repo does not create them. Missing plans stay progress unknown, and ending a turn does not mean a deliverable shipped.
| Tool | Kitchen connection | Current verification |
|---|---|---|
| Codex CLI / local Codex desktop sessions | Reads available local session logs automatically | Real local collaboration exercised |
| Claude Code | Reads local project logs; optional additive hooks via Connect agents | Real local collaboration exercised |
| Cursor agents | Choose Connect agents → Cursor and review the repo hook setup | Adapter tests pass; native Cursor live validation pending |
| VS Code | Run the Kitchen command in its integrated terminal; use Codex or Claude Code as above | Browser companion; no Agenttrail editor extension shipped yet |
| Other tools | File changes remain visible; native sessions and todos need a supported adapter | File observation only |
For VS Code or Cursor, keep the browser beside your editor. The current integration is a local companion, not a Marketplace extension. Hook setup is explicit and reversible; restart an agent conversation if it does not load newly installed hooks.
Local observation has been exercised on macOS; automated package and adapter checks run on Linux. Windows and native Cursor validation remain pending. Cloud/remote sessions with no logs on the Kitchen host are not automatically discovered. Details and limits
The original map stays lightweight and independently installable:
cd your-repo
npx agenttrail
The Map combines declared intent in PLAN.md with observed file changes. A completed component lights up when its files change again. Claude Code hooks add session and tool activity plus legacy TodoWrite lists. Map does not yet parse Claude's newer TaskCreate/TaskUpdate lists. Codex, Cursor and other tools contribute through file observation and the shared plan convention; their native session adapters currently belong to Kitchen.
For the full component map, run npx agenttrail init, review the setup, then give your agent the backfill prompt from the board. It adds the convention to CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md, creates a starter plan, offers local Claude Code hooks, and adds .agenttrail/ to .gitignore. Setup writes these files; normal watching does not. In an interactive terminal, starting Map without a plan also offers this setup. Noninteractive init assumes yes, so run it only when you intend to configure the repo.
The map has a live file tree, dependency links, session trails and an overview of multiple repos. npx agenttrail up relaunches saved boards after a reboot; npx agenttrail autostart configures startup at login.
The PLAN.md convention
# my project
## Capture the audio {#capture}
tech: coreaudio tap + ring buffer
files: [src/audio/**]
- [x] Grab the mic feed {#capture-mic}
by: claude
- [~] Keep the last 30 seconds ready {#capture-ring}
by: claude
## Classify the alerts {#classify}
needs: [capture]
links: [notify]
- [ ] Score events by urgency {#classify-score}
from: roadmap
## decisions
- 2026-08-21: dropped redis for summaries; in-process queue instead- Components use stable
{#id}values and concrete, owner-readable names files:connects observed writes to the component they belong to[~]means working,[x]means done, and[!]means stuckneeds:draws dependency arrows;links:draws dashed connectionsby:records who did the work;from:separates agent intent from roadmap intentkind: knowledgerenders a component as a purple knowledge organ;kind: humanrenders it dashed in its own color — the step where a person enters the loop;url:makes the card clickable, opening the artifact it produces- Backfilled completed tasks cite their implementing file as evidence
- Agents record plan-affecting decisions before they act on them
git clone https://github.com/sodiumsun/agenttrail.git
cd agenttrail
npm ci --prefix packages/kitchen
npm run build --prefix packages/kitchen
npm start --prefix packages/kitchen -- --project /absolute/path/to/your/repoRebuild after frontend changes. The source, tests, original scene assets and third-party notices are all available in this repo. Contributor setup and checks
Both services bind to 127.0.0.1. No account, telemetry, transcript upload, model calls or cloud service is required. Fonts and graphics are available locally. Kitchen reads bounded local metadata and sends only allowlisted activity fields to its browser. Map's Claude hook view can display shortened command text, search terms and other tool details, and saves recent activity under ~/.agenttrail. Review visible task titles, paths and tool details before sharing a recording. Data sources and local storage
The Map is a dependency-free Node daemon and a static page. Kitchen is a separate package with a bundled Three.js frontend. Neither controls your agents, sends prompts, approves actions or marks their tasks complete.
Is Agenttrail an agent framework? It is an observability tool. You run agents in their existing tools; Agenttrail visualizes available evidence of what they are doing. It does not coordinate execution or send prompts. The focus is task and project activity; token billing and full model traces are not implemented.
Are Map and Kitchen separate projects? They are two views in this repository, with separate installable packages and local services. You can use either on its own. Kitchen is the experimental 3D view; the original agenttrail command opens Map.
Will this work in an existing repo? Yes, run the Kitchen command from its folder. Git and PLAN.md are optional. A live coding session needs accessible local Codex/Claude logs or configured Cursor hooks. If no activity is available, the chefs wait; use Example to explore the interface.
Why is the kitchen quiet? Check Live, the selected repo and Connect agents. Discovery can take about five seconds. Unsupported remote sessions, missing log history and agents waiting for input can all produce a quiet view. Troubleshooting
Does the demo work without running an agent? Yes: add --example, then advance with Next example step. Scripted example activity is labeled and separate from live observations.
Where is the VS Code extension? There is no Agenttrail Kitchen Marketplace extension yet. Run the companion from VS Code's integrated terminal and keep its browser view beside the editor. Cursor's optional hooks connect agent events; they are not an editor extension.
Are six chefs six running agents? Not necessarily. Chefs represent roles. Kitchen shows the real session count separately, so one session can contribute through several roles without pretending to run in parallel.
Is a delivered dish a deployed feature? It means the native todo was reported complete. Deployment, publication and artifact transfer require their own evidence.
What changes in my repo? Opening Kitchen does not change it. Optional hook installation edits only the reviewed provider settings. Optional .office/kitchen.json defines your workflow. Map init is a separate setup operation that creates the plan and agent conventions.
What is still experimental? Local provider log formats can change. Cursor's native live behavior and Windows remain unverified. Shared artifact receipts need explicit integration, and order history is reconstructed from available observations after restarting. No editor extension has been released yet.
Report a bug · Contributing · Kitchen source · Third-party notices
MIT for the project code and original assets. The repository does not distribute Overcooked assets or soundtrack files; Kitchen is an independent cooking-game-inspired view.