Animus CLI, developed by Launchapp Dev, is a CLI-native orchestration runtime for coordinating AI agents and development tools. Built with Rust, it connects to various AI agents like Claude Code, Gemini, and OpenAI-backed agents, alongside subject backends such as GitHub Issues and Jira. This platform helps solo founders and small teams manage product portfolios and automate code delivery pipelines. It supports a local-first authentication model and integrates with Model Context Protocol (MCP) clients for versatile operation.

What does Animus CLI connect to?

Animus CLI connects to a diverse set of AI agents, including Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, OpenCode, Ollama, and other OpenAI-backed agents. It also integrates with subject backends such as Linear, GitHub Issues, Asana, Jira, SQLite, and Markdown. The platform operates as an autonomous agent orchestrator, providing a CLI-native orchestration runtime designed for coordinating these AI agents and various development tools. It supports transport protocols defined by the Model Context Protocol (MCP), including stdio and Streamable HTTP.

Core features and tools

Animus CLI exposes callable commands like "animus init", "animus run", and "animus plugin install <owner/repo>". It also offers slash commands for compatible AI clients, including "/animus-setup" and "/animus-getting-started". The core daemon provides a Unix-socket control protocol. Workflows are composed of "phases" that can run an agent, execute a command, or wait for a manual human gate. Compatible AI clients include Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, OpenCode, Cursor, Slate, and Kiro.

Who is it for?

Animus CLI is for solo founders or small teams aiming to manage and ship a portfolio of products efficiently, reducing manual project management. It targets operators, builders, and security-conscious teams who require a controlled agent runtime on their own infrastructure. This tool supports automating code delivery pipelines and executing autonomous production workflows. This is not the right fit if your team does not require coordinating multiple AI agents or automating complex development workflows.

How to get started

The authentication model for Animus CLI is local-first, relying on local system access controls for its daemon, which exposes a Unix-socket control protocol. For remote connections via HTTP transports, standard web authentication mechanisms such as API keys or tokens are used, with MCP's transport specification calling for validation of Origin headers and support for session IDs.

Use cases

• Orchestrating agents to automate code delivery pipelines, encompassing task prioritization, safe branching, agent execution, review loops, pull request management, and worktree cleanup.
• Enabling parallel execution of multiple agents across numerous projects, as demonstrated by running 80 agents across 16 projects.
• Defining and executing autonomous production workflows using YAML to manage agents, workflows, and quality gates, allowing for 24/7 operation without human intervention.

Animus CLI provides a powerful platform for orchestrating AI agents and development tools, ideal for automating complex software delivery workflows. Its local-first design, combined with support for various AI agents and subject backends, offers a controlled environment for autonomous operations. The plugin signing architecture enhances security for third-party binaries. Try defining an autonomous production workflow using YAML to manage agents and quality gates.