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Explore Ochat

Start with a text file. Learn to build, compose, and run agents.

Explore the framework

Find the reference for the part of Ochat you want to use.

Imports and reusable prompts
Share project conventions once and reuse them across agent files.
For example: A shared review checklist imported by several project assistants.
Setup and limits
Imported paths and captured source closures follow the declaring source and selected host.
Built-in tools
Give an agent practical abilities without writing each tool yourself.
For example: Read project files, propose edits, or ingest a supplied web page.
Setup and limits
ChatMD read_dir and model-visible read_directory are distinct names; declarations do not grant all host authority.
MCP tools and authentication
Connect an agent to capabilities exposed by an MCP server.
For example: Bring an existing authenticated tool service into your workflow.
Setup and limits
Maintained outbound MCP tools and OAuth are separate from deprecated prompt serving and daemon authentication.
Custom OCaml tools
Expose an application-specific operation as a typed tool.
For example: Wrap a domain calculation or service call in an OCaml implementation.
Setup and limits
Progress and traces are transient and need their own disclosure policy; the tracked example has companion Dune dependencies.
Retrieval and indexing
Find relevant passages without pasting an entire documentation set.
For example: A research assistant retrieves project notes before drafting an answer.
Setup and limits
Agent retrieval uses configured embeddings; test vectors are not semantic retrieval and website search uses a separate index.
Prompt refinement and evaluation
Iterate on an agent’s instructions with an explicit evaluation process.
For example: Compare a revised review prompt against a defined set of tasks.
Setup and limits
Local template and paid online strategies differ; append behavior and model costs matter. The broad older library overview needs reconciliation.
Compaction and retained history
Manage the context of a conversation as the work grows.
For example: Retain a working summary while keeping history representations distinct.
Setup and limits
Summaries are lossy; visible history, canonical history, exports, and archived states are distinct representations.
ChatML capabilities and budgets
Put workflow decisions in a script when instructions alone are insufficient.
For example: End a session after three completed turns or react to a tool event.
Setup and limits
Capabilities depend on the host. Turn, event-drain, and job limits are not dollar caps; detailed phase contracts retain their historical scope.
Jobs, timers, and restart
Let a host manage work after a client disconnects.
For example: Dispatch a specialist job and handle its completion in a moderator.
Setup and limits
Recovery does not resume arbitrary continuations or guarantee exactly-once external effects.
Terminal controls and drafts
Inspect and steer an agent from a local terminal.
For example: Review tool activity while working in the project’s own directory.
Setup and limits
Attachments, exports, keybindings, and optional draft suggestions follow host-specific behavior; suggestions may send unsent text and incur costs.
Shell grants and audit
Give workflows explicitly configured project commands.
For example: Run a selected build or test command under the chosen host policy.
Setup and limits
Legacy Session_store commands do not administer daemon IDs; a declaration alone does not authorize execution.
Clients and synchronization
Build a client that connects to a running agent.
For example: Use stdio or HTTP to send requests and inspect authoritative session state.
Setup and limits
Protocol 1.0 synchronization does not promise replay of live deltas; reconnect restores authoritative projections.
OCaml integration and older APIs
Integrate Ochat’s current host interfaces into an OCaml application.
For example: Build an application around an actor-owned agent session.
Setup and limits
Current actor-owned hosts and older file-backed session APIs have different storage and lifetime owners.
Commands and utilities
Use Ochat from scripts as well as interactive conversations.
For example: Save a project report from a single batch invocation.
Setup and limits
Installed names, utility subcommands, and source-only demos are distinguished explicitly.

Ochat defines agents in text files: ChatMD holds instructions and tools, with optional ChatML scripts for orchestration. Start by opening a prompt in the local TUI. The same agent core also supports headless workflows and a durable, multi-client daemon when you need one.

Start here

Explore by topic

These introductions explain the main ideas, suggest a starting path, and link to the detailed guides and references.

Topic	What you will find
ChatMD: agents in text files	A first prompt, composition, execution choices, and the language reference.
Examples and walkthroughs	Local agents, tool patterns, workflows, and complete hosting tutorials.
Tools and integrations	Ochat’s built-in capabilities, specialist agents, shell tools, and maintained MCP integrations.
ChatML workflows	Scripted decisions, runtime events, asynchronous work, and language documentation.
Shell access	Command capabilities, host authorization, confinement, approvals, and audit.
Agent server	Sessions, workspaces, daemon connections, Unix/stdio/HTTP, and operations.
TUI guide	Interactive editing, tool inspection, approvals, and terminal controls.
Search and indexing	Preparing code and documentation for retrieval.
Commands and executables	TUI, completion, hosting, search, refinement, and helper command references.
Project overview and direction	Design principles, architecture, repository layout, OCaml integration, and roadmap.

For a specific declaration, go directly to the ChatMD language reference or built-in tool catalog.

Author prompts and tools

Shell access

Operate and develop

These are repository Markdown documents, readable directly in a Markdown viewer. Generated odoc documentation comes from OCaml interfaces; Markdown sidecars are not automatically included by odoc. See development instructions for the separate API-documentation and search-index workflows.

The old MCP prompt server is compatibility functionality, not the agent-server transport. MCP-backed tools declared in ChatMD remain maintained.