@mecha.im/cli

Mecha

An army of agents. Run autonomous Claude bots in Docker containers with scheduling, webhooks, and bot-to-bot communication over Tailscale.

Quickstart

# Install
npm install -g @mecha.im/cli
# Or run without installing: npx @mecha.im/cli

# Initialize (builds Docker image)
mecha init

# Set your API key
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
# Or use a profile:
mecha auth add anthropic-main sk-ant-...

# Spawn a bot inline
mecha spawn --name greeter --system "You greet people warmly."

# Chat with it
mecha query greeter "Hello!"

# List bots
mecha ls

# Stop / restart / remove
mecha stop greeter
mecha start greeter
mecha rm greeter

Config File

name: reviewer
system: |
  You are a code reviewer. You review PRs for bugs,
  security issues, and style violations.
model: sonnet
auth: anthropic-main
max_turns: 25
max_budget_usd: 1.00

schedule:
  - cron: "*/30 * * * *"
    prompt: "Check for new unreviewed PRs."

webhooks:
  accept:
    - "pull_request.opened"
    - "pull_request.synchronize"

workspace: ./myproject
expose: 8080

mecha spawn reviewer.yaml

Commands

Command	Description
mecha init [--headscale]	Initialize mecha, build Docker image
mecha spawn <config> [--dir] [--expose]	Spawn bot from config file
mecha spawn --name X --system "..." [--model M]	Spawn bot inline
mecha start <name>	Start a stopped bot
mecha stop <name>	Stop a running bot
mecha rm <name>	Remove a bot
mecha ls	List all bots
mecha query <name> "prompt"	Send a one-shot prompt to a bot
mecha restart <name>	Restart a running bot
mecha exec <name> [cmd...]	Run a command inside a bot's container
mecha logs <name> [-f]	Show bot logs
mecha auth add <profile> <key>	Add auth profile
mecha auth list	List auth profiles
mecha auth swap <bot> <profile>	Swap auth for a bot
mecha token	Generate a bot token
mecha dashboard [--port N]	Start fleet dashboard

Architecture

Host (CLI)                    Container (Agent)
─────────────────────────     ──────────────────────────
src/cli.ts                    agent/entry.ts
src/docker.ts (dockerode)     agent/server.ts (Hono)
src/store.ts (~/.mecha/)      agent/session.ts
src/config.ts                 agent/scheduler.ts (croner)
src/auth.ts                   agent/webhook.ts
src/dashboard-server.ts       agent/costs.ts
                              agent/activity.ts
                              agent/tools/mecha-server.ts
                              agent/tools/mecha-call.ts
                              agent/tools/mecha-list.ts

Bot-to-Bot Communication

Bots discover each other via Tailscale/Headscale and communicate using built-in MCP tools:

• mecha_call — send a prompt to another bot
• mecha_list — discover available bots on the network
• mecha_new_session — start a fresh conversation

Scheduling

Bots run prompts on cron schedules with safety rails:

• Max 50 runs per day
• 10 minute timeout per run
• Auto-pause after 5 consecutive errors
• Skip if busy

Dashboard

mecha dashboard
# Opens http://localhost:7700

Fleet dashboard shows all bots with status, costs, and a communication map. Click a bot to access its individual dashboard with chat, tasks, schedule, logs, and config views.

The dashboard now uses a local browser session on localhost so the SPA and proxied bot dashboards work without manually copying bearer tokens into browser requests.

Auth

Auth works via environment variable or named profiles:

# Environment variable (simplest)
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

# Named profile
mecha auth add anthropic-main sk-ant-...
mecha auth add tailscale-main tskey-auth-...

Profiles are stored at ~/.mecha/auth/<name>.json.

Container Runtime Notes

• Workspace-mounted bots load project settings (.claude/settings.json, CLAUDE.md, skills) from the mounted workspace.
• Bots without a mounted workspace run from a stable state-backed working directory and only load user settings.
• Host Codex auth is not copied into containers by default. Opt in with MECHA_COPY_HOST_CODEX_AUTH=1 if you explicitly want that behavior.

Testing

# Fast local tests
npm test

# Docker-dependent suites
npm run test:docker

# Live SDK/API suite (costs money)
npm run test:live

Credits

The pixel office engine uses artwork and inspiration from:

• MetroCity Free TopDown Character Pack by Jik-A-4 — character sprites
• pixel-agents by Pablo De Lucca — architecture & inspiration

Requirements

• Node.js 22+
• Docker (Colima, Docker Desktop, or any OCI runtime)
• Tailscale (optional, for multi-machine mesh)