OpenGAP | your repository becomes your agent

opengap — the OpenGAP CLI, published as @open-gitagent/opengap. Previously published as @open-gitagent/gapman and originally @open-gitagent/gitagent; the gitagent command is still installed as an alias for backward compatibility.

OpenGAP (the Git Agent Protocol) is a framework-agnostic, git-native standard for defining AI agents. Clone a repo, get an agent. opengap is its reference CLI.

Why

Every AI framework has its own structure. There's no universal, portable way to define an agent that works across Claude Code, OpenAI, LangChain, CrewAI, and AutoGen. gitagent fixes that.

• Git-native — Version control, branching, diffing, and collaboration built in
• Framework-agnostic — Export to any framework with adapters
• Compliance-ready — First-class support for FINRA, Federal Reserve, SEC, and segregation of duties
• Composable — Agents can extend, depend on, and delegate to other agents

The Standard

Your repository becomes your agent. Drop these files into any git repo and it becomes a portable, framework-agnostic agent definition — everything else (CLI, adapters, patterns) builds on top of it.

my-agent/
│
│   # ── Core Identity (required) ──────────────────────────
├── agent.yaml              # Manifest — name, version, model, skills, tools, compliance
├── SOUL.md                 # Identity, personality, communication style, values
│
│   # ── Behavior & Rules ──────────────────────────────────
├── RULES.md                # Hard constraints, must-always/must-never, safety boundaries
├── DUTIES.md               # Segregation of duties policy and role boundaries
├── AGENTS.md               # Framework-agnostic fallback instructions
│
│   # ── Capabilities ──────────────────────────────────────
├── skills/                 # Reusable capability modules (SKILL.md + scripts)
│   └── code-review/
│       ├── SKILL.md
│       └── review.sh
├── tools/                  # MCP-compatible tool definitions (YAML schemas)
├── workflows/              # Multi-step procedures/playbooks
│
│   # ── Knowledge & Memory ────────────────────────────────
├── knowledge/              # Reference documents the agent can consult
├── memory/                 # Persistent cross-session memory
│   └── runtime/            # Live agent state (dailylog.md, context.md)
│
│   # ── Lifecycle & Ops ───────────────────────────────────
├── hooks/                  # Lifecycle event handlers (bootstrap.md, teardown.md)
├── config/                 # Environment-specific overrides
├── compliance/             # Regulatory compliance artifacts
│
│   # ── Composition ───────────────────────────────────────
├── agents/                 # Sub-agent definitions (recursive structure)
│   └── fact-checker/
│       ├── agent.yaml
│       ├── SOUL.md
│       └── DUTIES.md       # This agent's role, permissions, boundaries
├── examples/               # Calibration interactions (few-shot)
│
│   # ── Runtime ───────────────────────────────────────────
└── .gitagent/              # Runtime state (gitignored)

Only two files are required: agent.yaml (the manifest) and SOUL.md (the identity). Everything else is optional — add what you need, ignore the rest.

Patterns

These are the architectural patterns that emerge when you define agents as git-native file systems.