Canopy Capabilities

Canopy Capabilities: What Can I Do Here?

Canopy is a runtime layer that sits alongside AI coding agents (Claude, Codex, OpenCode, Gemini, Copilot, and any CLI in its platform registry) and gives them what harnesses don't: persistent memory, background scheduling, multi-agent coordination, and autonomous work loops.

This skill is a MAP, not an inventory. Tool names and flags evolve — always verify the live surface (below) before promising an exact call.

Discover the live surface first

• get_tools(scope="session_start") — the workspace brief + which MCP tools apply right now.
• canopy --help and canopy <command> --help — the CLI surface.
• agent_models — which CLI platforms and models this machine can actually run.
• blueprint_list — ready-made node blueprints for building loops.

If this skill and the live surface disagree, the live surface wins.

The capability map

1. Memory that survives sessions (Project Intelligence Layer)

Facts, patterns, and session summaries persist per project and load into any future session — across different harnesses. Ask: "what does this workspace already know?" before re-deriving anything. (Details: canopy-intelligence.)

2. Background agents (cron / file-watch)

Any prompt can run on a schedule or fire when files change — on any installed CLI platform. Starter ideas: nightly dependency audit, docs drift checker, "summarize what changed today", data-pipeline sanity checks on file arrival.

3. Loops (autonomous work queues)

A reusable graph of agent / check / gate nodes consumes a queue of specs: implement → verify with real commands → review on a different model → commit. Runs unattended, survives restarts, schedules its own resumption after CLI quota resets. This is the heavy hitter: backlogs of bugfixes, refactors, docs, or migrations executed overnight. (Design guidance: canopy-loop-design.)

4. Multi-agent sync

Agents declare missions, report status, and broadcast milestones so parallel sessions stop colliding in one workspace — and solo sessions leave a legible history. (Details: canopy-sync.)

5. Interactive session management (TUI)

Live terminals for interactive agents, status semaphores, a prompt builder (with scheduled sends), project views with backlog/knowledge/history, and live loop graphs — one dashboard over everything above.

6. RAG over local documents

Index a directory of PDFs/documents and query it from any agent — useful for literature-driven work (specs that cite real sources) and project docs.

7. Spec backlogs and pools

Work items (specs) live in a standalone backlog, tagged per project, ordered in pools, and fed to any compatible loop. Writing good specs is a skill: role / what / how (see canopy-loop-design).

Mapping a need to a capability

When proposing, be concrete: name the trigger, the platform, the verification step, and what "done" looks like. An automation without a deterministic check is a wish, not a capability.