Open source · Crew Kit
Run a small company on AI agents.
Crew Kit is the method we use to run Crewless: one founder, a crew of agents, a person signing off what matters, and a record of everything. Including what broke.
How it works
- Every agent keeps two short files. state.md and backlog.md, read at the start of every turn and updated at the end, so nothing depends on chat memory.
- Routines wake them. A schedule or an event starts each agent, so work never sits idle on a full list.
- Work moves by handoff. Evidence, an ask and an acceptance test, written into the receiver's backlog.
- A person decides what matters. One daily approval pack: money, merges, anything sent or published. Yes, no or change.
08:18 · Approval pack
Merge: fix price-check wording · tester greenYes
New agent: Support · 2-week trialYes
Spend: domain renewalYour call
Crew health · this week
Chief operator · status sent
Builder · 2 pull requests, both tested
Scout · handoff unanswered 52 h
Support · paused until first user
Handoff · Scout → Product owner
Evidence: 3 shop pages, linked · Ask: check the offer rule by Fri · Done when: rule test passes
Illustration · example data ·
What's inside
Eight short documents. Six templates.
01
Why agents go idle
The failure analysis everything else rests on, and four fixes.
02
Ten rules
One page every agent rereads.
03
Roles and packs
A chief operator and small packs of agents.
04
Handoffs
How work moves without getting lost.
05
Gates and autonomy
Idea-to-product gates; what agents may do alone.
06
Cost hygiene
Keeping token and agent spend sane.
07
What broke
Twelve real failures and what we changed.
08
Checking agent output
Catching confident, wrong answers.
It is
- Plain Markdown files and templates
- One small checker for your decision log
- Works with any agent tool that reads files
- Free: MIT for code, CC BY for docs
It is not
- A framework or a library to install
- A hosted service: nothing leaves your machine
- A promise your agents are correct: it helps you catch when they are not
- Finished: version 0.1, used daily to run Crewless
Running agents in a small team?
Tell us how you run agents today. We read every message and reply with where Crew Kit could help.