Quick Start Guide

Getting Started

OpenFlows is an autonomous AI software team that turns GitHub issues into reviewed, production-ready pull requests through OpenFlows Manager and isolated Coder workspaces. It stands up a small team of specialized agents that plan, write, test, and adversarially review code on your behalf. You stay in control of the important decisions; the team handles the execution.

~10 min read Beginner

The one-line idea

You open a GitHub issue. OpenFlows plans it, writes it, stresses it, and merges it - then tells you what happened. Coder governs where agents run; OpenFlows governs how they coordinate.

1Who it is for

OpenFlows is an enterprise-grade orchestration layer - self-hosted, governed, auditable, and multi-tenant - that is just as at home for a solo developer who wants a personal AI team. Anyone who wants AI to execute end-to-end with guardrails inside their own environment fits here:

Enterprises & teams that need governed, auditable AI delivery inside their own network, with strict isolation and no model keys in worker workspaces.
Developers who want the mechanics of planning, coding, testing, and review handled while they stay in charge of the important decisions.
Solo developers who want a personal AI team to work through their backlog and return reviewed pull requests, without babysitting every change.

2Prerequisites

Self-hosted Coder

OpenFlows rides on your Coder server, which provides identity, model access, and the disposable workspaces where agents run.

GitHub repository

OpenFlows turns GitHub issues into pull requests, so it needs a repository and GitHub authentication for it.

PostgreSQL and Redis

PostgreSQL stores Manager authority and durable operations; Redis stores tenant coordination state.

GitHub OAuth App and GitHub App

OAuth signs people into Manager; the installed GitHub App brokers repository tokens for runtimes.

Coder governs where agents run; OpenFlows governs how they coordinate

The two systems divide the work deliberately:

Coder decides where work runs. It provides governed, isolated, disposable workspaces and the execution environment.
Manager authenticates users and runtimes, provisions workspaces through Coder, and brokers repository-scoped GitHub credentials.
Nexus coordinates planning, adversarial review, recovery, and merges for its tenant.

Neither replaces the other. OpenFlows does not manage machines; Coder does not write your code.

3Install & Set Up

Set up Manager, Coder, PostgreSQL, Redis, and the secret provider. Run Manager setup and doctor, sign in, create an organization, install the GitHub App, and create a tenant for its repository. Wait for Nexus to register and heartbeat before opening an issue.

Step-by-step guidance lives on the Installation page and the First Issue Walkthrough.

4Track Your First Issue

Once the environment is up and your tenant is configured, create a clear GitHub issue in the bound repository. OpenFlows does the rest:

NEXUS picks the issue up and turns it into a ticket.
FORGE writes a plan, then halts.
SENTINEL reviews the plan and approves it.
FORGE implements, tests, and opens a pull request.
SENTINEL reviews the pull request adversarially.
VESSEL watches CI, resolves conflicts, and merges.
LORE documents the change (where enabled).
The workspace is torn down after merge - no lingering state.

If at any point OpenFlows needs a human call - a security concern, an ambiguous spec, or an unresolvable merge - you are notified and the team waits for your decision. See the First Issue Walkthrough and the Lifecycle pages for the full picture.

5What OpenFlows is not

Not a chat assistant. It is not a tool you prompt and babysit; it is a team that plans, reviews, and merges under its own guardrails. You decide, it executes.
Not a replacement for workspace security. Workspaces hold scoped runtime and temporary repository credentials and need isolation and monitoring.
Not a bare orchestrator you maintain. The planning gate, adversarial review, recovery, and human escalation are already built - you do not write the coordination logic.
Not a replacement for Coder. It is a layer on top. It needs your self-hosted Coder environment to run, and it favors governance over raw speed.

6Next Steps

🔑

Identity and Tokens

User login, workspace registration, and brokered GitHub access.

🎯

Installation

What you need before you start, the topology, and what the installer does.

🚀

First Issue Walkthrough

Step through one complete ticket from issue creation to merged PR.

🔁

Ticket Lifecycle

The phases every ticket travels through, from planning to merge.

❓

FAQ

Short answers to common setup, security, and operational questions.

Digging deeper

Coder Integration - how OpenFlows and Coder split the work
Architecture-First - why OpenFlows plans before coding
The Agent Team - who NEXUS, FORGE, SENTINEL, VESSEL, and LORE are
Security Model - runtime boundaries and scoped credentials
Operations - managing the fleet at runtime
Multi-Tenancy - one Coder server, many teams

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