explaingit

forgeailab/forge

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

15RustAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · moderate

TLDR

A local, self-hosted control panel that runs AI coding agents like Claude Code and Codex through a real task lifecycle with isolated workspaces and review gates.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Forge))
    What it does
      Task lifecycle manager
      Isolated git worktrees
      Review gates with CI
    Tech stack
      Rust
      SQLite
      React
      MCP
    Use cases
      Run multiple agents safely
      Enforce CI before merge
      Local control panel
    Audience
      Solo developers
      Small teams
      Agent power users
    Surfaces
      REST API
      CLI forge-ctl
      Web UI

Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Run several AI coding agents at once without them stepping on each other's files

USE CASE 2

Set up a review gate that blocks merging until CI checks pass

USE CASE 3

Give a small team a shared local dashboard for agent-driven development work

USE CASE 4

Try out agent workflows safely in disposable git worktrees before trusting them on a real branch

What is it built with?

RustSQLiteReactMCPREST API

How does it compare?

forgeailab/forgecodeaashu/agents-are-thinkinghulk-2019/fujisim
Stars151515
LanguageRustRustRust
Setup difficultymoderateeasyeasy
Complexity3/52/52/5
Audiencedeveloperdevelopergeneral

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Install via npm, Homebrew, or the install script, building from source requires Rust and Cargo.

Free to use, modify, and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

Forge is a local-first tool for people who run AI coding agents like Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini and want a proper way to manage the work those agents produce. Instead of letting an agent edit files directly in your main project folder, Forge gives each task its own isolated git worktree, so agents cannot interfere with each other and you can discard a task's changes without touching the rest of your repository. Every task moves through a clear lifecycle: from to-do, to in progress, to review, to merging, and finally done, with an audit log tracking what happened along the way. You can define CI steps for each task, and Forge will block the work from merging until those checks pass. This gives teams a review gate similar to what they would expect from a human pull request process, but applied to agent-generated code. The project runs entirely on your own machine. It uses a single binary and SQLite for storage, with a local server that only listens on your own computer, so there are no cloud accounts, no telemetry, and no outside service required. You can install it through npm, Homebrew, or a shell script, and there is a demo mode that seeds sample data so you can try the interface before connecting a real agent. Forge supports multiple ways of interacting with it: a REST API, an MCP endpoint, a command line tool called forge-ctl, and a built-in web interface built with React, all shipped in the same binary. It is built specifically for people who already use coding agents and want a control layer around them. It is not meant to be a chat interface bolted onto an editor, if that is what you want, the project itself points to alternatives like Cursor or Cline instead. The project is currently in public beta, meaning parts of its API and command line flags may still change before a stable release. It is released under the MIT license.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Show me how to install Forge and run it in demo mode to see the task board
Prompt 2
Help me connect Claude Code to Forge so it works through Forge's task lifecycle
Prompt 3
Write a Forge task definition with CI steps that must pass before merging
Prompt 4
Explain how Forge's isolated git worktrees keep multiple agents from conflicting
Prompt 5
Walk me through Forge's REST API so I can create tasks from a script

Frequently asked questions

What is forge?

A local, self-hosted control panel that runs AI coding agents like Claude Code and Codex through a real task lifecycle with isolated workspaces and review gates.

What language is forge written in?

Mainly Rust. The stack also includes Rust, SQLite, React.

What license does forge use?

Free to use, modify, and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is forge to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is forge for?

Mainly developer.

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