Publication No. CAR-1970-08Apache-2.0

Owner Workshop ManualOwner Workshop Manual

CAR — Agent RuntimeAll models, cloud and local brains

CAR is a program you install on your own computer that runs AI agents and looks after them: it keeps them alive in the background, restarts them when they crash, and stops to ask your permission before anything risky — it can even text you for the OK.

Its signature habit is proof: for coding jobs and goal runs it writes down up front what done must look like as real checks, then re-runs those checks itself and refuses to say finished until they actually pass.

The thinking can come from cloud models, local models, or agents like Claude Code; either way the work, the rules, and the receipts stay on your machine.

We run our own fleet of agents on it every day — it is the harness we trust them with.

Exploded workshop-manual illustration of CAR as an agent runtime machine assembly 123
Fig. 0.1Exploded agent runtime assembly, prepared for bench inspection.
Printed for operators who inspect receiptsREV. A — 2026-08-01
Section 1 — General DescriptionCAR — Agent Runtime

Model identification and service intent

SECTION 1 General Description

CAR is not a chat window. It is a supervised runtime installed on your own computer, built for long-running agents that need a home, a restart policy, and a hard rule that risky work stops for permission.

Read it like a machine with three serviceable assemblies. The proof assembly checks the work after the model claims it is finished. The supervision assembly keeps the agent alive and asks before risky operations. The brain coupling lets different thinking engines connect without giving away the harness, rules, files, or receipts.

Exploded axonometric technical illustration of computing modules arranged like an engine teardown 123
Fig. 1.1Major assemblies removed and numbered for service.
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1.1 Proof-of-done unit

The runtime re-runs real checks. Exit codes decide done, never the model's self-report.

Spec: the AI does not grade its own work.
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1.2 Supervised home

Agents persist in the background, auto-restart on crash, and stop to ask permission before risky work, even by text message.

Spec: supervised persistence with approval stop.
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1.3 Owned harness coupling

Cloud models, local models, or agents like Claude Code can do the thinking while the work, rules, and receipts stay on your machine.

Spec: pluggable brains, owned harness.
Note

Do not evaluate this machine by the charm of the driver. Evaluate it by whether the service checks run after the driver says the job is done.

General Description1-3
Section 2 — Principle of OperationCAR — Agent Runtime

Operating cycle, normal service

SECTION 2 Principle of Operation

  1. Check value: installed locally

    2.1 Fit runtime to the operator's machine

    CAR is installed on the computer that owns the work. The changed files, rules, and receipts stay there, not inside a rented chat surface.

  2. Check value: agent remains alive

    2.2 Start agent under supervision

    The runtime keeps the agent running in the background and restarts it when it crashes. The agent is treated as a worker process that needs a harness.

  3. Check value: risky work pauses

    2.3 Route risky operations through approval

    Before anything risky, CAR stops and asks permission. The approval can reach the operator by text message when the machine needs the OK away from the bench.

  4. Check value: real checks pass

    2.4 Re-run the proof procedure

    For coding jobs and goal runs, CAR writes down what done must look like as real checks, then re-runs them itself before accepting completion.

Specifications, service data
Restart policyAuto-restart on crash
Permission gateStops before risky work; can text for OK
Evidence storageWork, rules, and receipts stay on your machine
Brain interchangeCloud models, local models, or agents like Claude Code
LicenseApache-2.0
Principle of Operation2-6
Section 3 — The Approval GateCAR — Agent Runtime

Risk stop and operator permission

SECTION 3 The Approval Gate

Cutaway workshop-manual illustration of a gate and valve assembly representing permission approval 123
Fig. 3.1The approval gate in cutaway, showing the operator stop.
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3.1 Risk sensing port

Risky work does not pass through as ordinary flow. It is detected as a permission event.

Service action: pause.
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3.2 Operator approval stop

The runtime asks before continuing, including by text message when that is the practical route.

Service action: obtain OK.
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3.3 Supervised restart return

If the agent crashes, CAR brings the process back under the same supervised runtime.

Service action: restart in harness.
Warning

Never substitute a model's confident explanation for operator approval. The gate exists because risky work belongs under human permission.

The Approval Gate3-7
Section 4 — Proof of DoneCAR — Agent Runtime

Completion circuit and re-check loop

SECTION 4 Proof of Done

Closed-loop workshop-manual circuit diagram representing CAR proof-of-done checks 123
Fig. 4.1Completion circuit with return line through the check runner.
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4.1 Done definition reservoir

The job starts with real checks written down as the definition of done.

Medium: executable evidence.
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4.2 Check runner pump

CAR re-runs those checks itself after the agent claims completion.

Acceptance: exit codes.
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4.3 Refusal return line

If checks do not pass, the runtime refuses to say finished. The AI does not get to grade its own work.

Failure mode: not done.
The thinking is rented from clouds and chat windows; the work itself — the files it changes, the rules it must obey, the evidence that it did what it claims — deserves to live somewhere you own.
Proof of Done4-11
Section 5 — Parts CatalogueCAR — Agent Runtime

Installable parts and release counter

SECTION 5 Parts Catalogue

Order the part that matches the bench. The macOS package installs CAR Host.app plus the car CLI. Windows operators may use Scoop or the installer. Developers may fit the runtime through npm or pip.

Release parts list
Part No.DescriptionApplicationOrder
CAR-DARWIN-ARM64-PKGCAR-darwin-arm64.pkgmacOS, Apple Silicon, macOS 26+. One double-click installs CAR Host.app + the car CLI.CAR-darwin-arm64.pkg
CAR-WIN-SCOOPScoop installation pathWindows package route.
CAR-WIN-EXECAR-setup-x64.exeWindows installer route.CAR-setup-x64.exe
CAR-NPM-RUNTIMEDeveloper runtime packageJavaScript projects.
CAR-PIP-RUNTIMEDeveloper runtime packagePython projects.
License plate

CAR is Apache-2.0 licensed.

Parts Catalogue5-4