One Kestrel everywhere.
Kestrel is an open-source agent platform for building software, researching questions, analyzing data, and producing reports, spreadsheets, presentations, and other files.
Kestrel artifacts release independently. The current public lines are Desktop 0.8.6, Runtime and CLI/TUI 0.8.8, the remaining public packages 0.8.5, and Kestrel One source 0.8.5. Each surface keeps explicit compatibility, execution, Mission Control, recovery, approval, memory, and evidence contracts.
Kestrel is maintained and supported by Lumi.
Download Desktop 0.8.6 · Read the docs · View Kestrel One source
Most agent failures inside real organizations are operational, not model problems: access that was never approved, output nobody reviewed, work that cannot be retraced, and sessions that die without recovery. Kestrel is built around that reality. Every surface — Desktop, CLI/TUI, Kestrel One — keeps the same contracts: approved system access, human review where it matters, realistic validation before acceptance, recovery after interruption, and a clear record of every run.
That is the layer agents need before an organization can trust them with real work: not a bigger model, but execution, approval, memory, and evidence you can inspect. It is also why Kestrel is open source under MIT — an operations layer earns trust by being auditable.
Kestrel Desktop 0.8.6 is the signed and notarized macOS application for local project work. Give it a folder, connect a compatible provider/model, and work through one durable conversation while Local Core owns execution, credentials, sessions, recovery, and project evidence. Mission Control keeps work items, attempts, validation, review, and acceptance visible without turning the conversation into a status database.
Desktop 0.8.6 supports macOS 13 or newer on Apple silicon. Install the signed DMG directly or update through the stable channel from an earlier signed Desktop. The upgrade preserves settings, credentials, projects, conversations, Mission Control, and Local Core state while migrating Apps to executable plugin records.
Learn about Desktop · Install Desktop 0.8.6 · Desktop updates
Kestrel One is a real versioned product at 0.8.5. Its source is available in
this repository and from the v0.8.5 tag. You can inspect it, clone it, and run
the documented local-development setup without joining the hosted service.
Kestrel One adds organizations, shared Projects and Threads, context revisions, Knowledge, Apps, Environments, Mission Control, governed model access, workers, and operator evidence. Lumi-hosted Kestrel One is an invitation-only deployment of the same 0.8.5 source/product line. Invitation-only describes hosted access; it is not Kestrel One's version or the only way its source exists.
Learn about Kestrel One · Source and hosting · View the 0.8.5 source · Hosted getting started
The CLI/TUI is a first-class 0.8 surface for local sessions, terminal work, operator control, Mission Control, profiles, tools, jobs, and Local Core.
Requirements: Node.js 22 on macOS arm64 or Linux x64.
npm install -g @kestrel-agents/kestrel@0.8.8
kestrel --version
kestrelThe checksum-bearing macOS arm64 standalone archive remains available from the
Runtime/CLI v0.8.5 GitHub release and reports product version 0.8.5. npm is
the canonical distribution for Runtime/CLI 0.8.8.
CLI installation · Command suite · TUI guide
Install the exact package versions shown in the compatibility matrix. Runtime is 0.8.8 and its nine public dependencies are 0.8.5; independently versioned products such as Desktop do not need to share either number. Kestrel does not provide a 0.7 wire/API compatibility shim around the current Runtime, Protocol, SDK, adapters, or clients.
pnpm add @kestrel-agents/sdk@0.8.5 @kestrel-agents/protocol@0.8.5The ten public artifacts are:
@kestrel-agents/kestrel— Runtime and CLI/TUI@kestrel-agents/protocol— commands, events, health, and results@kestrel-agents/conversation— durable conversation projection and presentation@kestrel-agents/files— bounded extraction and classification for uploaded files@kestrel-agents/sdk— server-side Agent and runner clients@kestrel-agents/memory— governed memory contracts and retrieval@kestrel-agents/next— Next.js route helpers@kestrel-agents/ai-sdk— AI SDK presentation mapping@kestrel-agents/observability— tracing and correlation@kestrel-agents/workspace-skills— secure project-owned skills
Build your first agent · Upgrade to 0.8 · Compatibility
Kestrel is a TypeScript monorepo built with Node.js and pnpm.
git clone https://github.com/LumiCorp/kestrel.git
cd kestrel
corepack enable
pnpm install --frozen-lockfileRun the surface you are working on:
pnpm run desktop:dev
pnpm run web:dev
pnpm run tui
pnpm run docs:dev| Path | Contains |
|---|---|
apps/desktop/ |
Kestrel Desktop |
apps/web/ |
Kestrel One and the public landing page |
cli/ |
CLI/TUI and Local Core clients |
src/ |
Shared Runtime and Mission Control implementation |
packages/ |
Protocol, SDK, Memory, adapters, observability, and Workspace Skills |
apps/docs/ |
Public documentation site |
Before a pull request is ready, run the portable validation contract used by GitHub Actions:
pnpm validateRun validate:process, validate:postgres, validate:chromium,
validate:audit, focused mutation proofs, and product/release checks when you
change the boundary they own. Gate evidence should identify the first component
that made behavior wrong; downstream rejection alone does not establish
ownership.
- Release status
- Kestrel 0.8 release notes
- Concepts
- Kestrel One source and hosting
- Upgrade from 0.7 to 0.8
- Compatibility matrix
- Lumi
- Architecture
- Developer onboarding reader
- Security
- Support
Use GitHub Issues for reproducible bugs and feature requests. Report security concerns through the private process in SECURITY.md, not in a public issue.
Kestrel is available under the MIT License.