explaingit

yaodub/cast

24TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · moderate

TLDR

Self-hosted multi-user AI agent framework built on Claude. Define agents as config folders, enforce access control in files (not prompts), and share agents via Slack, Telegram, or web, each user gets their own private conversation.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Cast))
    Agent Definition
      Config folders
      Design dashboard builder
      Claude Code skills
    Access Control
      File-based rules
      Identity management
      Rules hidden from model
    Multi-User
      Per-user private chats
      Team or household sharing
      Invite system
    Interfaces
      Slack
      Telegram
      Web dashboard
    Infrastructure
      Docker or Apple Container
      Node 20 plus pnpm
      Anthropic API key
    Status
      Developer alpha
      Core settled
      Build console newer
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Code map

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Share a single AI agent setup across a team or household with per-user private conversations

USE CASE 2

Build and iterate on agents using a chat-based dashboard or Claude Code custom skills

USE CASE 3

Enforce access control and identity rules in config files, not model instructions

USE CASE 4

Self-host a multi-agent system with routing and isolation between agents

Tech stack

TypeScriptAnthropic ClaudeNode.jspnpmDockerSlackTelegramMCP

Getting it running

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires Node 20+, pnpm, and either Docker (Linux) or Apple Container (macOS). Clone repo and run 'pnpm start' to build the agent container image and open the dashboard.

MIT License, use, copy, modify, distribute, and sublicense freely including in commercial projects. No warranty provided.

In plain English

Cast is an open-source, self-hosted framework for running AI agents built on Anthropic's Claude, designed for teams or households who want to share the same agent setup. The main problem it addresses is that most agent tools assume one developer talking to one agent. As soon as more people need to use the same setup, questions about identity and access control become difficult to answer. Cast handles that by putting access rules in configuration files rather than in the model's instructions. Because the model never sees those rules directly, it cannot accidentally reveal them or be talked out of enforcing them. Agents in Cast are defined as folders of files, not written code. You can create and modify them in two ways: through a chat-based dashboard builder called Design, where you describe what you want in plain English and it scaffolds the files for you, or through Claude Code using three custom skills that integrate the building process into a coding session. Both approaches edit the same files, so you can mix and match. Once an agent is running, each person you invite gets their own private conversation with it over Slack, Telegram, or a web interface. Getting Cast running requires a container runtime (Apple Container on macOS or Docker on Linux), Node 20 or later, and either an Anthropic API key or a Claude.ai account token. Running "pnpm start" from the cloned repository installs dependencies, builds the agent container image, and starts the server. The dashboard opens at a local web address and starts empty, walking you through creating your first agent. The project is in developer alpha. The core pieces, including agent isolation, identity management, routing, and access control between agents, are the most settled parts. The in-browser build console is newer and described by the author as less stable. The license is MIT.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
How do I create my first agent in Cast and what files does it generate?
Prompt 2
How does Cast enforce access control without putting rules in the model's system prompt?
Prompt 3
What are the differences between using the Design dashboard builder vs Claude Code skills to build agents?
Prompt 4
How do I invite multiple users and give each their own private conversation with a shared agent?
Prompt 5
What container runtime and environment do I need to run Cast locally?
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