## User-visible bug Canvas Files tab returns "0 files / No config files yet" for every SaaS workspace, every root (/configs, /home, /workspace, /plugins). Reported by user (canvas screenshot, hongming.moleculesai.app, Hongming Personal Brand Agent — claude-code, T4, online). ## Root cause `ListFiles` (templates.go) was missing the SSH-via-EIC branch that ReadFile (PR #2785) and WriteFile (PR #1702) already have. On SaaS, dockerCli is nil → findContainer returns "" → falls through to host-side resolveTemplateDir which only matches baked-in template names. For a user-named workspace it matches nothing, so the handler silently returns []fileEntry{}. DeleteFile had the same gap — right-click delete (introduced in PR-C of this issue) would silently no-op once #1 was fixed. ## Fix 1. Extracted shared EIC plumbing into `withEICTunnel` (closure-based, single SSOT for keypair → key push → tunnel → port-wait → cleanup). Refactored writeFileViaEIC + readFileViaEIC to use it. Added listFilesViaEIC + deleteFileViaEIC on the same scaffold. The `LogLevel=ERROR` shim from PR #2822 now lives in one `eicSSHSession.sshArgs()` helper instead of being duplicated per helper — the next time we need to tweak ssh options, one place. 2. Factored remote shell strings into pure functions (buildInstallShell / buildCatShell / buildRmShell / buildFindShell + parseFindOutput) so the wire shape can be pinned without booting a real EIC tunnel. 3. Refactored `resolveWorkspaceFilePath(runtime, root, relPath)` to honor `?root=`. New rule: `/configs` (or empty / unrecognized) → runtime managed-config dir via workspaceFilePathPrefix (preserves the v1 ReadFile/WriteFile behaviour where canvas's Config tab GETs/PUTs config.yaml without specifying a root and lands in the right per-runtime dir); `/home`, `/workspace`, `/plugins` → literal absolute path on the EC2 host. List/Read/Write/Delete now agree on what file a tree row points to — pre-fix List would say "/home contents" but Read/Write would route to /configs. 4. ListFiles + DeleteFile dispatch on instance_id != "" → EIC helper. Errors from the EIC path produce 500 (not silent fall-through to local-Docker, which would mask the failure as "0 files" — the exact user-visible symptom). 5. Added ?root= validation gate to WriteFile + DeleteFile so an out-of-allowlist root is rejected before the resolver runs. ## Test coverage - TestResolveWorkspaceFilePath_RuntimeIndirection — pins the /configs → runtime prefix translation per-runtime (hermes, claude-code, langgraph, external, unknown). Catches the regression where a future edit accidentally drops the runtime indirection. - TestResolveWorkspaceFilePath_LiteralRoots — pins /home, /workspace, /plugins as literal pass-through regardless of runtime. Catches the symmetric regression where the literal roots start getting rewritten to the runtime prefix (which would mean the FilesTab "/home" selector silently routes to /configs on hermes). - TestResolveWorkspaceRootPath — directory-only translation used by listFilesViaEIC, same indirection rules. - TestSSHArgs_HardenedFlags — pins the centralised ssh option set (LogLevel=ERROR + hardening). Catches drift in the one-place-where-ssh-flags-live. - TestEicSSHSessionSingleSourceForSSHFlags — behaviour-based AST gate (per memory). Counts s.sshArgs() callers (must be ≥4 — list/read/write/delete) and asserts LogLevel=ERROR appears exactly once in the source. Fires if anyone copy-pastes a raw ssh args slice instead of going through the helper. - TestBuildInstallShell / TestBuildCatShell / TestBuildRmShell / TestBuildFindShell — pure-function tests pinning the remote command shape. Catches regression like "rm -f silently becomes rm -rf" or "find loses node_modules pruning" without needing a real EC2. - TestBuildFindShell_DepthForwarding — catches a regression where the helper hard-codes a depth instead of using the caller's value. - TestParseFindOutput / TestParseFindOutput_EmptyInput — pin the TYPE|SIZE|REL parser. Empty-input case explicitly returns [] not nil so the JSON wire shape stays a list. - TestListFiles_EICDispatch_Success / Error — sqlmock-driven handler test. Verifies instance_id != "" routes to listFilesViaEIC and surfaces errors as 500 (does NOT silently fall through to local-Docker, which is the exact regression-mode of the original bug). - TestListFiles_EICBranch_NotTakenForSelfHosted — back-compat guard: instance_id == "" must NOT enter the EIC branch (would break self-hosted operators). - TestDeleteFile_EICDispatch_Success / Error — same shape for DeleteFile. - TestListFiles_RootValidation / TestDeleteFile_RootValidation — ?root=/etc must 400 before any DB query or EIC call. ## Verification - `go build ./...` clean - `go test ./...` clean (full workspace-server suite) - Will be live-verified against staging on hongming.moleculesai.app after merge: open Files tab → expect populated /home + /configs + /workspace listings (not "0 files"); right-click delete on /configs/old.yaml → expect file removed on the EC2 host. ## Three weakest spots (hostile self-review) 1. The LogLevel=ERROR drift gate counts source occurrences. A future refactor that intentionally moves the literal somewhere else (e.g. into a constant) would trigger a false positive. The gate's failure message points to the load-bearing constraint (must appear in sshArgs); operator can adjust. 2. `eicFileWriteTimeout` constant kept as an alias for back-compat with prior tests. Documented as intentional + safe to remove on the next pass. 3. The resolver tests pin the runtime → prefix map values (`/home/ubuntu/.hermes`, `/configs`, etc.). A future runtime addition that ships a new prefix needs the test updated. This is intentional — silent prefix changes orphan saved files, so a test failure on map edit IS the right signal. ## Follow-up (RFC #2312 subtask 2) Long-term the right fix is to drop EIC entirely and HTTP-forward to the workspace's own URL (RFC #2312). That's a substantially larger refactor across 5 surfaces (chat upload, files, templates, plugins, terminal) and out of scope for this bug-fix PR. Tracked separately under that RFC. Refs #2999. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com> |
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| .ci-trigger | ||
| .githooks | ||
| .github | ||
| canvas | ||
| docs | ||
| infra | ||
| scripts | ||
| tests | ||
| tools | ||
| workspace | ||
| workspace-server | ||
| .coverage-allowlist.txt | ||
| .env.example | ||
| .gitattributes | ||
| .gitignore | ||
| .mcp.json.example | ||
| CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md | ||
| CONTRIBUTING.md | ||
| COVERAGE_FLOOR.md | ||
| docker-compose.infra.yml | ||
| docker-compose.yml | ||
| LICENSE | ||
| manifest.json | ||
| railway.toml | ||
| README.md | ||
| README.zh-CN.md | ||
| render.yaml | ||
The Org-Native Control Plane For Heterogeneous AI Agent Teams
The world's most powerful governance platform for AI agent teams.
Visual Canvas • Runtime Compatibility • Hierarchical Memory • Skill Evolution • Operational Guardrails
Docs Home • Quick Start • Architecture • Platform API • Workspace Runtime
The Pitch
Molecule AI is the most powerful way to govern an AI agent organization in production.
It combines the parts that are usually scattered across demos, internal glue code, and framework-specific tooling into one product:
- one org-native control plane for teams, roles, hierarchy, and lifecycle
- one runtime layer that lets LangGraph, DeepAgents, Claude Code, CrewAI, AutoGen, and OpenClaw run side by side
- one memory model that keeps recall, sharing, and skill evolution aligned with organizational boundaries
- one operational surface for observing, pausing, restarting, inspecting, and improving live workspaces
Most teams can build a workflow, a strong single agent, a coding agent, or a custom multi-agent graph.
Very few teams can run all of that as a governed organization with clear structure, durable memory boundaries, and production operations.
That is the gap Molecule AI closes.
Why Molecule AI Feels Different
1. The node is a role, not a task
In Molecule AI, a workspace is an organizational role. That role can begin as one agent, later expand into a sub-team, and still keep the same external identity, hierarchy position, memory boundary, and A2A interface.
2. The org chart is the topology
You do not wire collaboration paths by hand. Hierarchy defines the default communication surface. The structure is not decorative UI. It is part of the operating model.
3. Runtime choice stops being a dead-end decision
LangGraph, DeepAgents, Claude Code, CrewAI, AutoGen, and OpenClaw can all plug into the same workspace abstraction. Teams can standardize governance without forcing every group onto one runtime.
4. Memory is treated like infrastructure
Molecule AI's HMA approach is designed around organizational boundaries, not just “store more context somewhere.” Durable recall, scoped sharing, awareness namespaces, and skill promotion are all part of one coherent system.
5. It comes with a real control plane
Registry, heartbeats, restart, pause/resume, activity logs, approvals, terminal access, files, traces, bundles, templates, and WebSocket fanout are not afterthoughts. They are first-class parts of the platform.
The Category Gap Molecule AI Fills
| Category | What it does well | Where it breaks | What Molecule AI adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workflow builders | Visual task automation | Nodes are tasks, not durable organizational roles | Role-native workspaces, hierarchy, long-lived teams |
| Agent frameworks | Strong runtime semantics | Weak control plane and weak org-level operations | Unified lifecycle, canvas, registry, policies, observability |
| Coding agents | Excellent local execution | Usually not designed as team infrastructure | Workspace abstraction, A2A collaboration, platform ops |
| Custom multi-agent graphs | Full flexibility | Brittle topology and governance sprawl | Standardized operating model without losing runtime freedom |
What Makes Molecule AI Defensible
| Advantage | Why it matters in practice |
|---|---|
| Role-native workspace abstraction | Your org structure survives model swaps, framework changes, and team expansion |
| Fractal team expansion | A single specialist can become a managed department without breaking upstream integrations |
| Heterogeneous runtime compatibility | Different teams can keep their preferred agent architecture while sharing one control plane |
| HMA + awareness namespaces | Memory sharing follows hierarchy instead of leaking across the whole system |
| Skill evolution loop | Durable successful workflows can graduate from memory into reusable, hot-reloadable skills |
| WebSocket-first operational UX | The canvas reflects task state, structure changes, and A2A responses in near real time |
| Global secrets with local override | Centralize provider access, then override only where a workspace needs specialized credentials |
Runtime Compatibility, Compared
Molecule AI is not trying to replace the frameworks below. It is the system that makes them easier to run together.
| Runtime / architecture | Status in current repo | Native strength | What Molecule AI adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| LangGraph | Shipping on main |
Graph control, tool use, Python extensibility | Canvas orchestration, hierarchy routing, A2A, memory scopes, operational lifecycle |
| DeepAgents | Shipping on main |
Deeper planning and decomposition | Same workspace contract, team topology, activity stream, restart behavior |
| Claude Code | Shipping on main |
Real coding workflows, CLI-native continuity | Secure workspace abstraction, A2A delegation, org boundaries, shared control plane |
| CrewAI | Shipping on main |
Role-based crews | Persistent workspace identity, policy consistency, shared canvas and registry |
| AutoGen | Shipping on main |
Assistant/tool orchestration | Standardized deployment, hierarchy-aware collaboration, shared ops plane |
| OpenClaw | Shipping on main |
CLI-native runtime with its own session model | Workspace lifecycle, templates, activity logs, topology-aware collaboration |
| NemoClaw | WIP on feat/nemoclaw-t4-docker |
NVIDIA-oriented runtime path | Planned to join the same abstraction once merged; not yet part of main |
This is the key idea: many agent runtimes, one organizational operating system.
Why The Memory Architecture Compounds
Most projects stop at “we added memory.” Molecule AI pushes further:
| Conventional memory setup | Molecule AI |
|---|---|
| Flat store or weak namespaces | Hierarchy-aligned LOCAL, TEAM, GLOBAL scopes |
| Sharing is easy to overexpose | Sharing is explicit and structure-aware |
| Memory and procedure get mixed together | Memory stores durable facts; skills store repeatable procedure |
| Every agent can become over-privileged | Workspace awareness namespaces reduce blast radius |
| UI memory and runtime memory blur together | Separate surfaces for scoped agent memory, key/value workspace memory, and recall |
The flywheel
Task execution
-> durable insight captured in memory
-> repeated success becomes a signal
-> workflow promoted into a reusable skill
-> skill hot-reloads into the runtime
-> future work gets faster and more reliable
This is one of Molecule AI's strongest long-term advantages: the system can get more operationally capable without turning into one giant hidden prompt.
Self-Improving Agent Teams, Built Into Molecule AI
Most agent systems stop at "a smart runtime." Molecule AI pushes further: it gives teams a way to capture what worked, promote repeatable procedure into skills, reload those improvements into live workspaces, and keep the whole loop visible at the platform level.
| Positioning lens | Conventional self-improving agent pattern | Molecule AI |
|---|---|---|
| Unit of improvement | A single agent session or runtime | A workspace, a team, and eventually the whole org graph |
| Operational surface | Mostly hidden inside the agent loop | Visible in the platform, Canvas, activity stream, memory surfaces, and runtime controls |
| Strategic outcome | A smarter agent | A compounding organization with durable knowledge and governed reusable skills |
Where that shows up in Molecule AI
| Core mechanism | Molecule AI module(s) | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Durable memory that survives sessions | workspace/builtin_tools/memory.py, workspace/builtin_tools/awareness_client.py, workspace-server/internal/handlers/memories.go |
Memory is not just durable, it is workspace-scoped and can route into awareness namespaces tied to the org structure |
| Cross-session recall | workspace-server/internal/handlers/activity.go (/workspaces/:id/session-search) |
Recall spans both activity history and memory rows, so the system can search what happened and what was learned without inventing a separate hidden store |
| Skills built from experience | workspace/builtin_tools/memory.py (_maybe_log_skill_promotion) |
Promotion from memory into a skill candidate is surfaced as an explicit platform activity, not a silent internal side effect |
| Skill improvement during use | workspace/skill_loader/watcher.py, workspace/skill_loader/loader.py, workspace/main.py |
Skills hot-reload into the live runtime, so improvements become available on the next A2A task without restarting the workspace |
| Persistent skill lifecycle | workspace-server/cmd/cli/cmd_agent_skill.go, workspace/plugins.py |
Skills are not just generated once; they can be audited, installed, published, shared, mounted by plugins, and governed as reusable operational assets |
Why this matters in Molecule AI
-
The learning loop is org-aware, not just session-aware. Memory can live at
LOCAL,TEAM, orGLOBALscope, and awareness namespaces give each workspace a durable identity boundary. -
The learning loop is visible to operators. Promotion events, activity logs, current-task updates, traces, and WebSocket fanout mean self-improvement is part of the control plane, not a hidden black box.
-
The learning loop compounds across teams, not just one agent. A workflow learned by one workspace can become a governed skill, reload into the runtime, appear in the Agent Card, and become usable inside a larger organizational hierarchy.
The result is not just “an agent that learns.” It is an organization that gets more capable as its workspaces accumulate durable memory and reusable procedure.
What Ships In main
Canvas
- Next.js 15 + React Flow + Zustand
- drag-to-nest team building
- empty-state deployment + onboarding wizard
- template palette
- bundle import/export
- 10-tab side panel for chat, activity, details, skills, terminal, config, files, memory, traces, and events
Platform
- Go/Gin control plane
- workspace CRUD and provisioning
- registry and heartbeats
- browser-safe A2A proxy
- team expansion/collapse
- activity logs and approvals
- secrets and global secrets
- files API, terminal, bundles, templates, viewport persistence
Runtime
- unified
workspace/image - adapter-driven execution
- Agent Card registration
- awareness-backed memory integration
- plugin-mounted shared rules/skills
- hot-reloadable local skills
- coordinator-only delegation path
Ops
- Langfuse traces
- current-task reporting
- pause/resume/restart flows
- activity streaming
- runtime tiers
- direct workspace inspection through terminal and files
Built For Teams That Need More Than A Demo
Molecule AI is especially strong when you need to run:
- AI engineering teams with PM / Dev Lead / QA / Research / Ops roles
- mixed runtime organizations where one team prefers LangGraph and another prefers Claude Code
- long-lived agent organizations that need memory boundaries and reusable procedures
- internal platforms that want to expose agent teams as structured infrastructure, not ad hoc scripts
Architecture
Canvas (Next.js :3000) <--HTTP / WS--> Platform (Go :8080) <---> Postgres + Redis
| |
| +--> Docker provisioner / bundles / templates / secrets
|
+-------------------- shows --------------------> workspaces, teams, tasks, traces, events
Workspace Runtime (Python image with adapters)
- LangGraph / DeepAgents / Claude Code / CrewAI / AutoGen / OpenClaw
- Agent Card + A2A server
- heartbeat + activity + awareness-backed memory
- skills + plugins + hot reload
Quick Start
git clone https://github.com/Molecule-AI/molecule-monorepo.git
cd molecule-monorepo
cp .env.example .env
# Defaults boot the stack locally out of the box. See .env.example for
# production hardening knobs (ADMIN_TOKEN, SECRETS_ENCRYPTION_KEY, etc.).
./infra/scripts/setup.sh
# Boots Postgres (:5432), Redis (:6379), Langfuse (:3001),
# and Temporal (:7233 gRPC, :8233 UI) on the shared
# `molecule-monorepo-net` Docker network. Temporal runs with
# no auth on localhost — dev-only; production must gate it.
#
# Also populates the template/plugin registry by cloning every repo
# listed in manifest.json into workspace-configs-templates/,
# org-templates/, and plugins/. Requires jq — install via
# `brew install jq` (macOS) or `apt install jq` (Debian). Idempotent:
# re-runs skip any target dir that's already populated.
cd workspace-server
go run ./cmd/server # applies pending migrations on first boot
cd ../canvas
npm install
npm run dev
Then open http://localhost:3000:
- Deploy a template or create a blank workspace from the empty state.
- Follow the onboarding guide into
Config. - Add a provider key in
Secrets & API Keys. - Open
Chatand send the first task.
Documentation Map
- Docs Home
- Quick Start
- Product Overview
- System Architecture
- Memory Architecture
- Platform API
- Workspace Runtime
- Canvas UI
- Local Development
- Backend Parity Matrix — Docker vs EC2 feature parity tracker
- Testing Strategy — tiered coverage floors, not blanket 100%
- PR Hygiene — small PRs, clean branches, cherry-pick on drift
- Engineering Postmortems — architecture + testing lessons from real incidents
- Ecosystem Watch — adjacent projects we track (Holaboss, Hermes, gstack, …)
- Glossary — how we use "harness", "workspace", "plugin", "flow" vs. ecosystem neighbors
Current Scope
The current main branch already includes the core platform, canvas, memory model, six production adapters, skill lifecycle, and operational surfaces. Adjacent runtime work such as NemoClaw remains branch-level until merged, and this README keeps that distinction explicit on purpose.
License
Business Source License 1.1 — copyright © 2025 Molecule AI.
Personal, internal, and non-commercial use is permitted without restriction. You may not use the Licensed Work to offer a competing product or service. On January 1, 2029, the license converts to Apache 2.0.
