Arcanum

Arcanum is a .NET 10, single-binary, Native AOT application. It runs two ways: a long-running HTTP host (arcanum serve) and terminal commands that are thin clients over that API — including an interactive Command Center for attended work. Inference routes through any OpenAI-compatible provider (including Ollama via its /v1 endpoint). Sessions, Lore, Saga, Lexicon, and operator state live in an encrypted local Grimoire (SQLCipher). Point existing OpenAI clients at Arcanum and keep your arsenal.

The hub

• One binary, API-first. Business logic lives behind /api and /v1; the CLI, Compendium, and The Forge are clients of the same hub.
• Multi-provider Wizard. Configure OpenAI-compatible endpoints only — cloud or local hubs such as Ollama /v1. No managed local weight runtime in-process. The Wizard orchestrates every turn.
• OpenAI-compatible gate. POST /v1/chat/completions, GET /v1/models, and POST /v1/embeddings, with Arcanum’s own server-side MCP toolset by default. Optional client tool forwarding when you choose it.
• Files & Batches. OpenAI-shaped /v1/files and /v1/batches for uploads and async JSONL chat jobs.
• First-class reasoning. Effort, budget, and output controls on native and OpenAI paths — answer text stays answer-only; visible reasoning stays ephemeral and never enters the Grimoire or Chronicles.
• Structured output, pricing & Mana. JSON Schema responses, cost tracking, prompt-cache metrics, daily budgets, and mana-aware operators.

Campaigns, Spells & Trials

• Campaigns. Persistent workspaces that scope Spells, Prompts, Sessions, and Sanctums.
• Spells. Versioned markdown capabilities (SPELL.md + optional SPELL.json) with cast, execute, clone, and version activate.
• Prompts. Parameterized templates you can render, test, and execute without burning tokens on dry runs.
• Spell Routing & Arcane Resonance. Pre-flight Spell selection (LLM and optional Weave pre-filter) plus recursive Spell dependency injection.
• Artifact Attunement. Bind tools and context into the turn before the Wizard speaks.
• The Proving Grounds. Ephemeral Trials against Spells, Prompts, or Apprentice goals, adjudicated by Inquisitors (regex, JSON Schema, semantic).
• The Codex. Campaign scratchpad and standing instructions via CODEX.md.

Sessions, memory & The Weave

• Sessions & Entries. Multi-turn threads in the Grimoire, with streaming, attachments, fork, pin, and compact.
• Scrying. Vision and multimodality when the model supports it — attach image foci from ask, chat, or session attachments.
• Lore. Operator key-value memory for quick facts you want under your hand.
• The Lexicon. Agent-directed entity memory — scribe and forget as the Wizard works.
• The Weave. Optional embedding substrate; text becomes Imprints you can search.
• Divination. Semantic search over Sessions, workspace files, and Saga.
• Saga. Long-term associative memory that survives individual Sessions.
• Read-time compression. Keep context sharp when the thread grows long.

Apprentices & The Conclave

• Apprentices. Autonomous goal agents you start, pause, resume, cancel, reweave, and intervene.
• Chronicle. Live SSE event stream as an Apprentice works.
• The Conclave. Multi-agent coordination — cast Sendings between Apprentices.
• Heraldry & Sendings. Optional A2A Agent Cards and Delegated Quests via the Archmage Client (dispatch_sending), off by default.

Wards, Sanctum & the watch

• Wards & Forbidden Arts. High-risk tools wait for the Dungeon Master’s allow or deny.
• Sanctum. Per-Campaign execution sandbox with tool-child filesystem jail.
• Eye of the World. Situational directory perception for the workspace around you.
• Unseen Servant. Background job runner with persisted watermarks and adaptive initiative.
• Comm Link. Operator alert channel for one-way webhooks and critical escalations.
• Workspaces & MCP. Path-contained file tools, trusted workspace MCP, and a built-in internal tool server.
• Guardrails & audit. Content policy, JSONL audit trails, and Prometheus metrics when you need them.
• Local-first security. Loopback by default, master API key on every route, encrypted Grimoire, owner-only sensitive files, HTTPS-only when binding beyond loopback.

The metaphor

Arcanum maps its domain onto a Dungeons & Dragons-inspired world. You are the Dungeon Master. Persistent workspaces are Campaigns; skills are Spells; high-risk actions pass through Wards; sandboxes are Sanctums; autonomous agents are Apprentices of The Conclave; memory lives in the Grimoire, the Lexicon, and Saga; search rides The Weave through Divination; validation happens on the Proving Grounds.

Compendium

Compendium is the desktop configuration editor for Arcanum — a .NET 10 Avalonia app that reads and writes arcanum.json only. It does not run inference, open the Grimoire, or talk to MCP. It reuses Arcanum’s Core settings model and Data Protection secret interop (dp:v1:), so provider keys and HTTPS certificate passwords stay encrypted the same way arcanum serve expects. Open it from The Forge, or run it alone when you want a visual editor instead of hand-editing the tome.