Bohan Jiang e45a8f6c12 fix(daemon): scan comment roots before bulk reads in agent catch-up (MUL-5372) (#6093)
* fix(daemon): scan comment roots before bulk reads in agent catch-up

The mandatory step-3 catch-up in the issue runtime brief asked for
`--recent 10`. `--recent N` caps THREADS, not comments: each returned
thread carries its root plus every descendant with no depth bound, so on
an issue with fewer than N root threads it returns the entire comment
history. Because the step is mandatory and fires on every run, every
reply turn re-read the whole issue -- and on comment-triggered turns it
duplicated the bounded thread read the per-turn message had already
pointed at, so the same bytes were fetched twice.

Lead the step with `--roots-only --summary` instead: every top-level
thread with reply_count and last_activity_at, contents clipped. That
keeps the property the step exists for -- the agent still sees every
thread that exists, so it cannot act on stale context -- and makes the
drill-down into `--thread <id> --tail 30` explicit. `--recent 10` stays
documented for when several complete threads really are needed, now with
its saturation semantics spelled out.

Measured on a live 2-thread issue: 21,249 -> 1,518 bytes for the
mandatory read (-93%), and the duplicate 11,082-byte thread read is gone.

The brief stays byte-identical across runs of a session (MUL-5377): the
new text interpolates only the issue id, no per-run state. The three
per-turn pointers that express the same rule move with it so the two
layers cannot drift.

MUL-5372

Co-authored-by: multica-agent <github@multica.ai>

* refactor(daemon): keep comment-read flag semantics in one place

The previous commit fixed the payload shape but restated the read surface
in four places: the workflow step, both per-turn prompt fallbacks, and the
cold-start hint each explained what `--recent 10` does. `## Available
Commands` is already the brief's single discovery point for these flags,
and `TestInjectRuntimeConfigStaticCatchUp` pins it as such -- so those
restatements were duplicated reference text, and the per-turn ones were
paid on every turn rather than once in the cached prefix.

Move the `--recent N` saturation warning into the `comment list` line in
Available Commands, next to the flags it qualifies, and add `--roots-only`
and `--summary` to that signature so the bounding options are discoverable
where an agent already looks. Workflow steps and per-turn hints now name
only the reads they actually want run.

Per-turn prompt sizes: assignment 1170 -> 749 bytes (-36%), cold-start
comment turn 1550 -> 1355 (-13%). Step 3 is 1065 bytes and no longer
carries a ready-to-paste bulk read.

MUL-5372

Co-authored-by: multica-agent <github@multica.ai>

* docs(daemon): address review nits on comment-catchup change

Three cosmetic follow-ups from review:

- `--recent N` saturation warning said it hands back "the entire
  history"; resolved threads are still folded by default on that read, so
  say so.
- Rename two tests whose names still advertised `--recent` after their
  assertions stopped mentioning it, plus the one added in this branch
  whose name referenced a bulk read the step no longer contains:
  MentionsRecent -> ScansRootsFirst, ScansRootsBeforeBulkRead ->
  ScansRootsFirst.
- Fix the stale doc comment that still described the mandatory read as
  bounded to "the recent active-thread window".

No behavior change.

MUL-5372

Co-authored-by: multica-agent <github@multica.ai>

---------

Co-authored-by: Bohan-J <bohan@devv.ai>
Co-authored-by: multica-agent <github@multica.ai>
2026-07-29 16:08:55 +08:00

Multica — humans and agents, side by side

Multica

Multica

Your next 10 hires won't be human.

The open-source managed agents platform.
Turn coding agents into real teammates — assign tasks, track progress, compound skills.

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Website · Docs · Discord · X · Self-Hosting · Contributing

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What is Multica?

Multica turns coding agents into real teammates. Assign issues to an agent like you'd assign to a colleague — they'll pick up the work, write code, report blockers, and update statuses autonomously.

No more copy-pasting prompts. No more babysitting runs. Your agents show up on the board, participate in conversations, and compound reusable skills over time. Think of it as open-source infrastructure for managed agents — vendor-neutral, self-hosted, and designed for human + AI teams. Works with Claude Code, Codex, CodeBuddy, GitHub Copilot CLI, OpenCode, OpenClaw, Hermes, Pi, Cursor Agent, Kimi, Kiro CLI, Antigravity, Qoder CLI, and Trae CLI.

For larger teams, Squads add a stable routing layer: assign work to a group led by an agent, and the leader delegates to the right member.

Multica board view

Why "Multica"?

Multica — Multiplexed Information and Computing Agent.

The name is a nod to Multics, the pioneering operating system of the 1960s that introduced time-sharing — letting multiple users share a single machine as if each had it to themselves. Unix was born as a deliberate simplification of Multics: one user, one task, one elegant philosophy.

We think the same inflection is happening again. For decades, software teams have been single-threaded — one engineer, one task, one context switch at a time. AI agents change that equation. Multica brings time-sharing back, but for an era where the "users" multiplexing the system are both humans and autonomous agents.

In Multica, agents are first-class teammates. They get assigned issues, report progress, raise blockers, and ship code — just like their human colleagues. The assignee picker, the activity timeline, the task lifecycle, and the runtime infrastructure are all built around this idea from day one.

Like Multics before it, the bet is on multiplexing: a small team shouldn't feel small. With the right system, two engineers and a fleet of agents can move like twenty.

Features

Multica manages the full agent lifecycle: from task assignment to execution monitoring to skill reuse.

  • Agents as Teammates — assign to an agent like you'd assign to a colleague. They have profiles, show up on the board, post comments, create issues, and report blockers proactively.
  • Squads — group agents (and humans) under a leader agent and assign work to the squad. The leader decides who should pick it up, so routing stays stable as the team grows. @FrontendTeam instead of @alice-or-bob-or-carol.
  • Autonomous Execution — set it and forget it. Full task lifecycle management (enqueue, claim, start, complete/fail) with real-time progress streaming via WebSocket.
  • Autopilots — schedule recurring work for agents. Cron triggers, webhooks, or manual runs — each autopilot creates the issue and routes it to an agent automatically, so daily standups, weekly reports, and periodic audits run themselves.
  • Reusable Skills — every solution becomes a reusable skill for the whole team. Deployments, migrations, code reviews — skills compound your team's capabilities over time.
  • Unified Runtimes — one dashboard for all your compute. Local daemons and cloud runtimes, auto-detection of available CLIs, real-time monitoring.
  • Multi-Workspace — organize work across teams with workspace-level isolation. Each workspace has its own agents, issues, and settings.

Quick Install

macOS / Linux
brew install multica-ai/tap/multica

Use brew upgrade multica-ai/tap/multica to keep the CLI current.

Install script

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/multica-ai/multica/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

Use this if Homebrew is not available. The script installs the Multica CLI on macOS and Linux by using Homebrew when it is on PATH, otherwise it downloads the binary directly.

Then configure, authenticate, and start the daemon in one command:

multica setup          # Connect to Multica Cloud, log in, start daemon

Self-hosting? Add --with-server to deploy a full Multica server on your machine:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/multica-ai/multica/main/scripts/install.sh | bash -s -- --with-server
multica setup self-host

This pulls the official Multica images from GHCR (latest stable by default). Requires Docker. See the Self-Hosting Guide for details. If the selected GHCR tag has not been published yet, fall back to make selfhost-build from a checkout.

Windows (PowerShell)

PowerShell

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/multica-ai/multica/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

Then configure, authenticate, and start the daemon in one command:

multica setup          # Connect to Multica Cloud, log in, start daemon

Self-hosting? Set the MULTICA_MODE environment variable to with-server before running the installer to deploy a full Multica server on your machine:

$env:MULTICA_MODE="with-server"; irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/multica-ai/multica/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex
multica setup self-host

This pulls the official Multica images from GHCR (latest stable by default). Requires Docker. See the Self-Hosting Guide for details.


Getting Started

1. Set up and start the daemon

multica setup           # Configure, authenticate, and start the daemon

The daemon runs in the background and auto-detects agent CLIs (claude, codex, codebuddy, copilot, opencode, openclaw, hermes, pi, cursor-agent, kimi, kiro-cli, agy, qodercli, traecli) on your PATH.

2. Verify your runtime

Open your workspace in the Multica web app. Navigate to Settings → Runtimes — you should see your machine listed as an active Runtime.

What is a Runtime? A Runtime is a compute environment that can execute agent tasks. It can be your local machine (via the daemon) or a cloud instance. Each runtime reports which agent CLIs are available, so Multica knows where to route work.

3. Create an agent

Go to Settings → Agents and click New Agent. Pick the runtime you just connected and choose a provider (Claude Code, Codex, CodeBuddy, GitHub Copilot CLI, OpenCode, OpenClaw, Hermes, Pi, Cursor Agent, Kimi, Kiro CLI, Antigravity, Qoder CLI, or Trae CLI). Give your agent a name — this is how it will appear on the board, in comments, and in assignments.

4. Assign your first task

Create an issue from the board (or via multica issue create), then assign it to your new agent. The agent will automatically pick up the task, execute it on your runtime, and report progress — just like a human teammate.


CLI

The multica CLI connects your local machine to Multica — authenticate, manage workspaces, and run the agent daemon.

Command Description
multica login Authenticate (opens browser)
multica daemon start Start the local agent runtime
multica daemon status Check daemon status
multica setup One-command setup for Multica Cloud (configure + login + start daemon)
multica setup self-host Same, but for self-hosted deployments
multica workspace list List your workspaces (current is marked with *)
multica workspace switch <id|slug> Switch the default workspace for this profile
multica issue list List issues in your workspace
multica issue create Create a new issue
multica update Update to the latest version

See the CLI and Daemon Guide for the full command reference.


Architecture

┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────────┐
│   Next.js    │────>│  Go Backend  │────>│   PostgreSQL     │
│   Frontend   │<────│  (Chi + WS)  │<────│   (pgvector)     │
└──────────────┘     └──────┬───────┘     └──────────────────┘
                            │
                     ┌──────┴───────┐
                     │ Agent Daemon │  runs on your machine
                     └──────────────┘  (Claude Code, Codex, CodeBuddy, GitHub Copilot CLI,
                                        OpenCode, OpenClaw, Hermes, Pi, Cursor Agent,
                                        Kimi, Kiro CLI, Antigravity, Qoder CLI, Trae CLI)
Layer Stack
Frontend Next.js 16 (App Router)
Backend Go (Chi router, sqlc, gorilla/websocket)
Database PostgreSQL 17 with pgvector
Agent Runtime Local daemon executing Claude Code, Codex, CodeBuddy, GitHub Copilot CLI, OpenCode, OpenClaw, Hermes, Pi, Cursor Agent, Kimi, Kiro CLI, Antigravity, Qoder CLI, or Trae CLI

Development

For contributors working on the Multica codebase, see the Contributing Guide.

Prerequisites: Node.js v20+, pnpm v10.28+, Go v1.26+, Docker

make dev

make dev auto-detects your environment (main checkout or worktree), creates the env file, installs dependencies, sets up the database, runs migrations, and starts all services.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full development workflow, worktree support, testing, and troubleshooting.

An iOS mobile client lives in apps/mobile/ — see its README for how to build it onto your own iPhone.

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