Roadmap
Where Coven is headed.
OpenCoven Public Roadmap
Last updated: 2026-05-09
This roadmap is the public progress ledger for OpenCoven, Coven, CastCodes, Cast Agent, and Cast Codes.
It is intentionally written as a community-facing map, not an internal promise sheet. Items move when they are designed, implemented, tested, released, or deliberately cut. Dates are avoided unless a release is already scheduled.
For issue-ready docs work that has not been created in GitHub yet, see Docs Issue Plan.
North Star
OpenCoven is building a local-first agent workspace where autonomous coding harnesses can work inside explicit rooms.
| Layer | Role | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Coven | Runtime substrate | Project-scoped harness sessions, PTYs, logs, and local APIs. |
| CastCodes | First-party workspace | Visible panes, files, diagnostics, agent lanes, sessions, review, and merge flow. |
| Cast Agent | Substrate and session backend | Collects workspace context, streams gateway responses, and keeps Coven sessions visible. |
| Cast Codes | Portable intent grammar | Routes switching, delegation, broadcast, status, resume, and handoff intent across clients. |
| OpenClaw integrations | Orchestration surfaces | Hand work into the same local runtime without hiding what happened. |
The simple promise:
One project. Any harness. Visible work.
How to Read This Roadmap
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Shipped | The work exists in public code or public package/release artifacts. |
| Now | Active stabilization or near-term implementation. |
| Next | Planned after the current stabilization slice. |
| Later | Directionally important, but not allowed to distract from the local-first MVP. |
| Lab | Experimental work explored in public when possible, but not treated as a stable promise yet. |
Current Snapshot
Coven
Status: early public MVP, usable by adventurous local-first developers.
| Item | Status | Area |
|---|---|---|
Public OpenCoven/coven repo | Shipped | Project |
Rust CLI command named coven | Shipped | CLI |
Beginner-friendly coven / coven tui entrypoint | Shipped | CLI/TUI |
coven doctor setup checks | Shipped | Diagnostics |
Local daemon lifecycle: coven daemon start/status/restart/stop | Shipped | Daemon |
| Project-root and cwd boundary guard | Shipped | Safety |
| Built-in Codex and Claude Code harness adapters | Shipped | Harnesses |
PTY-backed coven run codex|claude <prompt> sessions | Shipped | Sessions |
| SQLite-backed session metadata and event log | Shipped | Store |
| Session browser and rituals: Rejoin, View Log, Summon, Archive, Sacrifice | Shipped | Sessions |
Scriptable and human session output: coven sessions, --plain, and --all | Shipped | Sessions |
| Local HTTP-over-Unix-socket API for clients | Shipped | API |
Versioned coven.daemon.v1 API contract with named apiVersion, capabilities, structured errors, and monotonic event cursors | Shipped | API |
| Compatibility tests for the external OpenClaw bridge | Shipped | Compatibility |
| First-run recovery hints for missing Codex or Claude Code CLIs | Shipped | Onboarding |
| Real CLI smoke coverage for daemon restart, attach replay, kill, archive, summon, and sacrifice flows | Shipped | Testing |
| Install verification and release wiring for macOS, Linux x64, and Windows x64 npm package paths | Shipped | Release |
Published npm wrapper packages: @opencoven/cli, @opencoven/cli-macos, @opencoven/cli-linux-x64, and @opencoven/cli-windows | Shipped | Release |
| Public install guide for npm, Cargo/source, macOS, Linux, Windows, WSL2, and planned container/Nix paths | Shipped | Docs |
| External OpenClaw bridge package kept outside OpenClaw core | Shipped | Integration |
| Architecture, operational model, product spec, brand docs, and MVP plan | Shipped | Docs |
| Keep versioned daemon API contract and external-client compatibility aligned | Now | API |
| Keep public docs aligned with the actual CLI/API surface | Now | Docs |
| Turn the MVP checklist into linked GitHub issues/milestones | Next | Planning |
| Generic command adapter after enough real usage | Later | Harnesses |
| Additional harness adapters such as Hermes, Aider, Gemini, OpenCode, or user-defined local harnesses | Later | Harnesses |
| Policy/approval hooks for sensitive actions | Later | Safety |
| Richer session artifacts and attachments | Later | Sessions |
| Phase 1: Handoff protocol and context transfer between harnesses | Later | Multi-harness orchestration |
| Phase 2: Capability discovery and intelligent task routing | Later | Multi-harness orchestration |
| Phase 3: Multi-instance coordination across harnesses | Later | Multi-harness orchestration |
| Phase 4: Audit dashboard and compliance tooling | Later | Multi-harness orchestration |
| Optional cloud/team collaboration only after the local runtime is boringly reliable | Later | Collaboration |
CastCodes and Cast Agent
Status: early first-party workspace and substrate backend, becoming the visible CastCodes client for Coven sessions and agent work.
| Item | Status | Area |
|---|---|---|
| CastCodes app with Coven-facing agent panel direction | Shipped | Project |
| Visible panes for local parallel work | Shipped | Cockpit |
| Git worktree isolation per agent lane | Shipped | Worktrees |
| Agent launcher registry with multiple coding CLIs | Shipped | Launchers |
| Multi-select agent launches | Shipped | Launchers |
| Pane menu for inspect, merge, PR, attach, and cleanup flows | Shipped | Review |
| File browser, code preview, and diff-oriented review affordances | Shipped | Review |
| Project sidebar, pane visibility controls, and reopen flows | Shipped | Workspace UI |
| Rituals for repeatable project setups | Shipped | Automation |
| Lifecycle hook docs and generated hook reference | Shipped | Docs |
| Docs site and public README/spec/smoke docs | Shipped | Docs |
| Cast Agent crate, runtime, gateway health, session list, click-through, streaming, and substrate collection | Shipped | Cast Agent |
| Coven session visibility and launch integration through the local bridge path | Shipped | Coven integration |
| OpenClaw repair ritual direction started publicly | Shipped | OpenClaw |
| Public CastCodes to Coven demo loop documented: intent, session, pane, diff review, and finish/cleanup | Shipped | Docs |
| Stabilize Coven session UX in CastCodes: list, open, launch, attach/rejoin, and unavailable states | Now | Coven integration |
| Keep CastCodes useful without Coven installed | Now | Fallbacks |
| Continue dogfooding CastCodes for branch/worktree hygiene | Now | Dogfooding |
| Tighten review/merge flows so agent output stays explicit and inspectable | Now | Review |
| Demo step 1: open project in CastCodes | Next | Demo loop |
| Demo step 2: launch a Coven-backed Codex or Claude session | Next | Demo loop |
| Demo step 3: watch it as a visible pane/session | Next | Demo loop |
| Demo step 4: inspect files and diffs | Next | Demo loop |
| Demo step 5: merge, PR, archive, or clean up explicitly | Next | Demo loop |
| Add public issues for rough edges discovered during dogfooding | Next | Community |
| Improve onboarding for tmux, agent CLI detection, and Coven availability | Next | Onboarding |
| Make Discord updates easy to generate from shipped commits and roadmap issues | Next | Community |
| Native macOS cockpit exploration | Lab | Desktop |
| Desktop shortcuts and faster project/session switching | Lab | Desktop |
OpenClaw Integration Path
Status: opt-in bridge direction, not bundled into OpenClaw core.
| Item | Status | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Technical OpenClaw bridge spike completed and intentionally parked before merging into core | Shipped | Bridge spike |
External @opencoven/coven plugin direction established so OpenClaw core stays clean | Shipped | Package boundary |
| Local socket/API boundary makes Coven the authority layer | Shipped | Architecture |
| Treat the Coven API as the compatibility boundary | Now | API |
| Keep compatibility tests and API versioning as the gate before encouraging broad plugin usage | Now | Testing |
| Keep OpenClaw copy honest: orchestration sits above Coven; it does not replace the runtime substrate | Now | Messaging |
| Publicly document the external plugin path, trust boundary, and compatibility gate | Shipped | Docs |
| Add a demo showing a task moving from intake to Coven runtime to CastCodes review | Next | Demo |
Milestone Map
Rendering diagram…
Colour coding mirrors maturity: filled lavender is shipped or stabilising; outlined slate is next/later. Edges show prerequisite direction, not a strict schedule.
Public Milestones
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Public repo and docs | Done |
coven CLI | Done |
| Project-root safety | Done |
| Codex and Claude adapters | Done |
| PTY sessions | Done |
| SQLite session/event ledger | Done |
| Daemon lifecycle | Done |
| Local sessions/events API | Done |
| Versioned API contract | Done |
| Compatibility tests for external clients | Done |
Discord Transparency Model
We should keep Discord updates lightweight and repeatable.
Suggested Channels
| Channel | Purpose |
|---|---|
#roadmap or forum-style Roadmap | Milestone threads. |
#dev-updates | Weekly summaries. |
#help-wanted | Scoped issues that community members can actually pick up. |
Weekly Update Template
## OpenCoven weekly update — YYYY-MM-DD
### Shipped
- ...
### Building now
- ...
### Next up
- ...
### Help wanted
- ...
### Links
- Roadmap: https://github.com/OpenCoven/coven/blob/main/docs/ROADMAP.md
- Coven issues: https://github.com/OpenCoven/coven/issues
- CastCodes issues: https://github.com/OpenCoven/cast-codes/issuesRules for Honest Updates
| Rule | Reason |
|---|---|
| Do not promise dates unless we are already in release mode. | Avoid turning direction into false commitments. |
| Link shipped work to commits, releases, issues, or docs. | Make progress independently verifiable. |
| Mark experiments as Lab instead of pretending they are committed roadmap items. | Keep explorations distinct from promises. |
| Separate Coven runtime, CastCodes workspace, Cast Agent backend, Cast Codes intent, and OpenClaw intake. | Help people understand the architecture. |
| Prefer small public issues over giant vague tasks. | Make contribution paths real. |
| Ask for help only when the task has a clear acceptance condition. | Respect community attention. |
First Public Discord Post
We opened a public roadmap for OpenCoven/Coven/CastCodes so progress is easier to follow.
The short version:
- Coven is the local runtime substrate: project-scoped Codex/Claude sessions, PTYs, logs, daemon API.
- CastCodes is the visible workspace: panes, sessions, substrate, review, merge/PR flows.
- Cast Agent is the substrate and session backend inside CastCodes.
- The next serious focus is hardening the Coven API contract and polishing the CastCodes + Coven demo loop.
Roadmap: https://github.com/OpenCoven/coven/blob/main/docs/ROADMAP.md
Coven: https://github.com/OpenCoven/coven
CastCodes: https://github.com/OpenCoven/cast-codes
We’ll start posting lightweight shipped / building / next updates here so the work is easier to follow and easier to help with.Last updated on