
agent-layer
by conn-castle
Agent Layer
One repo-local source of truth for instructions, skills, MCP servers, and approvals across coding agents.
Agent Layer keeps AI-assisted development consistent across tools by generating each client’s required config from a single .agent-layer/ folder. Install al once per machine, run al init per repo, then run al <client> (e.g., al claude) to sync and launch.
Key properties:
- Local-first, no telemetry
- Deterministic outputs from canonical inputs
- Explicit approvals and command allowlists
- Optional per-repo runtime isolation (Codex auth/sessions/logs; Claude settings and caches with auth pending upstream fix)
Comparison:
| Manual per-client setup | Agent Layer |
|---|---|
| duplicate instructions across multiple formats | one canonical source under .agent-layer/ |
| inconsistent approvals and command policies | consistent approvals and allowlists |
| MCP servers added in one client and forgotten in another | generated MCP config for supported MCP clients |
| shared global state across repos | opt-in per-repo Codex auth/sessions/logs; opt-in Claude settings and caches isolation |
| no single place to review or audit changes | audit in version control |
If Agent Layer improves your workflow, please consider starring the repository. Stars help new users discover the project.
Supported clients
MCP = Model Context Protocol (tool/data servers).
| Client | Instructions | Skills | MCP servers | Approved commands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antigravity | ✅ | ✅ | ❌* | ✅** |
| Claude Code CLI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| VS Code / Copilot Chat | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Codex CLI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Copilot CLI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Notes:
- Codex, Antigravity, VS Code/Copilot, and Copilot CLI consume shared skills from
.agents/skills/<name>/SKILL.md. - Claude Code consumes skills from
.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md. - Claude Code and Codex VS Code extension support is handled through
al vscode. - Auto-approval capabilities vary by client;
approvals.modeis applied on a best-effort basis. - *Antigravity MCP config is written to
.agy/antigravity-cli/mcp_config.jsonusing the supportedserverUrlshape.agyv1.0.0 migrates that file to<gemini_dir>/config/mcp_config.json, but runtime MCP registration has not been observed yet. Runal probe agyto see the current capability matrix. - **Antigravity approved commands are written to
.agy/antigravity-cli/settings.jsonas a managedpermissions.allowlist. User passthrough inagents.antigravity.agent_specificcan add other settings keys, includingpermissions.deny; runtime enforcement is reported byal probe agy.
Install
Install once per machine; choose one:
Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
brew install conn-castle/tap/agent-layer
Script (macOS/Linux)
curl -fsSL https://github.com/conn-castle/agent-layer/releases/latest/download/al-install.sh | bash
Verify:
al --version
Quick start
Initialize a repo (run from any subdirectory):
cd /path/to/repo
al init
Then run an agent:
al agy
Optional health check:
al doctor
Notes:
al initprompts to runal wizardafter creating the bare operational scaffold. Useal init --no-wizardto skip; non-interactive shells skip automatically.al initis intended to be run once per repo. If the repo is already initialized, useal upgrade planandal upgradeto refresh template-managed files.- By default
al initfirst walks
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