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Cairn 2.0 is an open-source work-management harness for AI coding agents. It keeps planning documents in your Git repository, treats an external tracker (or a local file backend) as the authoritative record of work, and makes completion claims pass server-validated checks instead of relying on an agent saying “done.” Cairn is delivered as a Claude Code plugin over a TypeScript MCP server, with documented installation surfaces for several other coding-agent environments. Its value is coordination and inspectability: plans, issues, verification results, memory, and session continuity are connected while each system keeps a clearly defined responsibility.
What is Cairn for AI coding agents?
Cairn is a work-management layer that runs alongside a coding agent rather than replacing the agent, the Git repository, or your issue tracker. The public Cairn 2.0 repository describes it as a converged system for deep planning, durable memory, tracker truth, and session continuity. The project is MIT-licensed and open source.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteIts central design decision is to avoid putting every kind of truth in one place. Git stores prose that must be reviewed with code; the tracker stores the authoritative work item; and the Cairn server performs the calculations and checks where a plausible-sounding answer could otherwise hide an error. That separation is intended to make an agent’s work inspectable by a human who was not present for the session.
Cairn’s README reports 39 live verbs, 87 typed MCP tools, and 2,124 passing tests in a 2026 repository snapshot. Those are project-reported counts, not independent benchmarks: the totals can change as tiers evolve, and live-backend contract suites are gated on credentials.
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How does Cairn separate plans, tracker truth, and evidence?
Cairn gives each information type an owner instead of attempting a vague two-way synchronization of everything.
| Information | System of record | What Cairn does |
|---|---|---|
| Planning prose and durable project context | Git repository | Creates structured files whose edits are reviewable, diffable, and commit-able with ordinary Git workflows. |
| Work items, status, and requirements | Connected tracker or Cairn’s local-file backend | Normalizes tracker operations, mirrors phases and requirements, and calculates plan-to-tracker drift. |
| Lifecycle checks and mechanism-heavy calculations | Cairn’s TypeScript MCP server | Validates transitions, parses checkpoints, evaluates verification gates, checks memory staleness, and verifies peer claims against source. |
| Temporary local state | ~/.cairn/ |
Acts as disposable cache rather than a second source of truth. |
The repository explicitly describes the implementation as a thin plugin of commands, skills, and hooks over typed MCP tools. It says there is no separate prompt-glue layer, sync engine, or sidecar process. That matters operationally: the durable artifacts are visible in Git and the tracker, while the server supplies deterministic mechanisms around them.
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How do plans in Git work?
Cairn’s planning engine turns an agent’s temporary reasoning into named repository artifacts. A project can contain PROJECT.md and roadmap.md, with a directory of phase-specific documents: CONTEXT.md, RESEARCH.md, PLAN.md, and VERIFICATION.md. The exact content is project-dependent, but the important property is that planning is ordinary repository material.
PROJECT.md and roadmap.md
PROJECT.md records the project-level context an agent needs to make consistent decisions. roadmap.md expresses the sequence of phases. Because both live in Git, a reviewer can see when a goal changed, who changed it, and which code review included the change. Branch protection, pull requests, blame, and revert workflows continue to work without a proprietary planning database.
Per-phase context, research, and plan files
Each phase can carry its own CONTEXT.md, RESEARCH.md, and PLAN.md. Keeping these files near the code makes assumptions discoverable in the same place as implementation changes. It also lets an agent resume from a committed plan instead of reconstructing intent from chat history.
Verification as a first-class artifact
VERIFICATION.md describes how the phase goal will be demonstrated. Cairn’s server can work backward from that goal when building verification gates, so the acceptance evidence is connected to the desired outcome rather than added as an afterthought. The resulting file is reviewable before implementation begins and can be checked again during the work and ship stages.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteHow does Cairn keep an issue tracker as the source of truth?
Cairn supports eight tracker backends behind one interface: GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Asana, Azure Boards, ClickUp, Linear, and a zero-credential local backend that stores issues as plain files. The tracker remains authoritative for work-item state; Git does not silently become a competing issue database.
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Mirroring phases and requirements
A phase can be mirrored to the corresponding milestone, epic, or list concept supported by a backend. Individual requirements can be mirrored to issues. Cairn preserves capability differences instead of pretending every tracker has identical fields or hierarchy, so a backend’s limitations remain visible rather than being flattened into lossy generic data.
Plan-to-tracker drift
Drift detection compares what the Git-owned plan says with what the tracker says. The repository specifically calls out cases such as a plan referencing a missing issue or an issue that is supposedly closed. Drift is computed by the server, not inferred from a prompt instruction, which gives a team a concrete exception to resolve before work is treated as aligned.
Local files when a hosted tracker is not appropriate
The local backend is useful for a repository that needs tracker-shaped records without cloud credentials. It keeps the same conceptual source-of-truth boundary while storing issues as plain files. Teams can therefore start with local work items and move to a hosted adapter when governance or collaboration requires it, without changing the planning model.
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Cairn makes evidence part of the lifecycle rather than a sentence in the agent’s final response. Its README summarizes the rule this way: “Plan↔tracker drift is computed math, verify gates work goal-backward from the phase goal, and checkpoint markers are parsed by a real server — correctness is code, not prompt discipline.”
Goal-backward verification gates
A verification gate starts with the phase goal and asks what observable result would prove it. That can include tests, generated artifacts, configuration checks, or other project-specific checkpoints documented in VERIFICATION.md. The key distinction is that the gate is evaluated by server mechanisms, not accepted solely because an agent reports success.
Server-parsed checkpoint markers
Checkpoint markers are parsed by the server. A marker that is missing, malformed, or inconsistent with the expected lifecycle can therefore block or qualify a transition. This turns a convention in prose into structured input that can be inspected and audited.
Provenance-aware memory cards
Cairn’s memory cards retain the source commit associated with a remembered fact. When the referenced code moves, the card can receive a STALE flag. A future agent then sees that the memory needs review instead of treating an old implementation detail as current truth.
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Source-checked peer claims
Peer review claims are checked against source before they count. In practice, that means a statement such as “the requirement is covered” must point to inspectable repository evidence rather than relying on a reviewer’s confidence or an agent’s narrative.
Lifecycle verbs
The project exposes verbs including plan, work, verify, ship, audit, review, recall, trace, route, and peers. These verbs represent stages and supporting operations; they are not a promise that every project will use the same workflow or that every backend offers identical transitions.
What is Cairn’s technical architecture?
The Claude Code integration is a plugin layer, while the cairn-server contains tracker, planning, memory, and core subsystems. Typed MCP tools expose those capabilities to the host agent. The tracker API owns work truth, the Git repository owns planning prose, and ~/.cairn/ is disposable cache.
This architecture limits the damage from a bad answer. An agent can propose a plan, but the plan is still a file that can be reviewed. It can suggest that an issue is complete, but drift and verification checks can reject an inconsistent state. It can recall a prior decision, but a source commit and a STALE marker reveal whether that decision may have aged.
Which trackers and documentation systems can Cairn connect to?
The tracker adapters and documentation connectors are separate concerns. The repository lists the following supported surfaces:
| Category | Documented integrations | What to verify locally |
|---|---|---|
| Tracker adapters | GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Asana, Azure Boards, ClickUp, Linear, and local files | Credentials, permissions, field mappings, and each backend’s hierarchy capabilities. |
| Documentation connectors | Confluence and a local Docusaurus checkout | Repository or workspace access and the connector’s current configuration. |
“Supported” here means the repository documents an adapter or connector; it does not imply identical feature depth, pricing, service availability, or API behavior across providers.
Which coding-agent environments can use Cairn?
Installation surfaces are documented for Claude Code, Grok Build, Copilot CLI, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, OpenCode, and Zed. Compatibility claims need to be read row by row rather than treated as one universal guarantee.
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| Environment | Qualification in the repository documentation |
|---|---|
| Claude Code | Primary plugin surface; cost tracking is documented as Claude-only. |
| Grok Build | Hook compatibility is marked untested. |
| Copilot CLI, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, and Zed | Installation surfaces are documented; confirm current host behavior and permissions before standardizing. |
| Cursor | Continuity and leak-guard support are described; cost tracking remains Claude-only. |
These qualifications are important for rollout planning. A documented installation path is not the same as a tested guarantee for every hook, continuity behavior, or accounting feature.
How should a team introduce Cairn into a repository?
A cautious rollout keeps the boundaries visible and proves the workflow on one project before broad adoption.
- Read the current repository documentation. Start with the official Cairn 2.0 repository, because installation surfaces, tool counts, and compatibility notes can change.
- Choose the work-truth backend. Select the existing tracker your team already treats as authoritative, or use the local-file backend when a zero-credential option is appropriate.
- Install the host integration and server. Follow the repository’s instructions for your coding-agent environment; do not assume that a hook or continuity feature documented for one host behaves the same way in another.
- Initialize Git-owned planning artifacts. Establish the project file, roadmap, and phase documents before asking the agent to implement a large change.
- Mirror only the work that needs tracker visibility. Map phases to the backend’s milestone, epic, or list concept and requirements to issues, preserving any capability differences.
- Define verification before implementation. Put the evidence expected for the phase in
VERIFICATION.mdand use checkpoint markers that the server can parse. - Run the lifecycle in order. Use the planning, work, verification, review, and ship operations as appropriate, resolving drift rather than bypassing it.
- Review both records. Inspect the Git diff and the tracker item independently. A clean plan file does not prove that the external work item is current, and a closed issue does not prove that the repository meets its verification gate.
How is Cairn different from ordinary prompting or ticket-only workflows?
The difference is not that Cairn generates more persuasive prose. It assigns ownership and adds checks that a prompt alone cannot enforce.
| Approach | Where plans live | Work truth | Drift and provenance | Completion evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairn | Versioned Git artifacts | External tracker or local-file backend | Server-computed drift; memory cards carry source commits and can become STALE | Goal-backward gates, parsed checkpoints, and source-checked peer claims |
| Ordinary agent prompting | Chat context or ad hoc notes | Whatever a person updates manually | No inherent comparison or provenance mechanism | Usually an unverified completion statement |
| Ticket-only workflow | Often a ticket description or separate document | Tracker | Plan prose and code context can drift unless a team adds its own process | Depends on the team’s review and test conventions |
| Single-harness planning plugin | Plugin-specific files or hidden state | Often the same harness, unless an adapter exists | Varies; cross-vendor review and stale-memory handling are not automatic | Varies by plugin and is not necessarily server-validated |
Cairn is therefore most useful when a team needs an auditable chain from intent to issue to implementation to proof, especially across more than one agent host or tracker.
What are Cairn’s current release and licensing facts?
The public repository is MIT licensed. Its roadmap marks the P0–P4 server core, Tier 0 through Tier F3 capabilities, and the 2.0.0 cutover as shipped. The same README lists owner actions for a live dogfood pass and marketplace publication, so repository-shipped code should not be confused with guaranteed marketplace availability. Check the repository’s current release notes and installation guidance before planning a production rollout.
The project does not publish an independent adoption, productivity, accuracy, or cost-savings statistic in the material available here. The test count and tool count describe the repository snapshot, not a benchmark against other agent systems.
When is Cairn a good fit, and when is it not?
Cairn is a strong fit for teams that want plans reviewed alongside code, an existing tracker to remain authoritative, and completion claims tied to inspectable evidence. It is especially relevant when agents work across sessions, when several people or vendors review the same change, or when stale assumptions have previously caused rework.
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It may be unnecessary for a tiny, disposable coding task with no tracker, no handoff, and no need to preserve planning history. The overhead of structured files, tracker mapping, and verification gates is deliberate; teams should adopt the parts that solve a real coordination problem rather than treating every edit as a formal project.
For teams that do need those controls, Cairn’s main promise is concrete: plans remain Git history, work status remains in the tracker, and “done” must be supported by records that another person or agent can inspect.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Cairn replace my issue tracker or coding agent?
No. Cairn is designed to sit beside both. Your chosen tracker remains the work-item authority, while the host coding agent still performs the implementation; Cairn supplies planning structure, adapters, and validation around them.
Can I use Cairn without cloud credentials?
Yes, the project documents a local backend that stores issues as plain files and requires zero tracker credentials. That option preserves the tracker-style boundary for repositories that cannot or do not want to connect to a hosted service.
Are Cairn’s tool and test counts permanent?
No. The published figures are a dated repository snapshot, and the README notes that counts move as tiers change. Live-backend test suites also depend on credentials, so the numbers should not be read as a performance guarantee.
Is every listed agent host equally tested?
No. The compatibility notes include specific limits: Grok Build hook compatibility is untested, Cursor has documented continuity and leak-guard behavior, and cost tracking is Claude-only. Verify the current repository guidance for the host you intend to standardize.
Quick Recap
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