rowboat/README.md

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<h2 align="center">RowboatX - CLI Tool for Background Agents</h2>
<h5 align="center">

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</h5>

- ✨ **Create background agents with full shell access**
   - E.g. "Generate a NotebookLM-style podcast from my saved articles every morning"
- 🔧 **Connect any MCP server to add capabilities**
   - Add MCP servers and RowboatX handles the integration
- 🎯 **Let RowboatX control and monitor your background agents**
   - Easily inspect state on the filesystem 

Inspired by Claude Code, RowboatX brings the same shell-native power to background automations.

## Quick start
1. Set your LLM API key. Supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, OpenRouter, LiteLLM, Ollama, and more.
   ```bash
   export OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-api-key  
   ```
      
2. Install RowboatX
   ```bash
   npx @rowboatlabs/rowboatx
   ```

## Demos
#### Meeting-prep assistant
Chat with the copilot to build a meeting-prep workflow, then add a calendar invite as a trigger. Watch the full demo [here](https://youtu.be/KZTP4xZM2DY).
[![meeting-prep](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/27755ef5-6549-476f-b9c0-50bef8770384)](https://youtu.be/KZTP4xZM2DY)

## Examples
### Add and Manage MCP servers 
`$ rowboatx`
- Add MCP: 'Add this MCP server config: \<config\> '
- Explore tools: 'What tools are there in \<server-name\> '

### Create background agents
`$ rowboatx`
- 'Create agent to do X.'
- '... Attach the correct tools from \<mcp-server-name\> to the agent'
- '... Allow the agent to run shell commands including ffmpeg'

### Schedule and monitor agents
`$ rowboatx`
- 'Make agent \<background-agent-name\> run every day at 10 AM' 
- 'What agents do I have scheduled to run and at what times'
- 'When was \<background-agent-name\> last run'
- 'Are any agents waiting for my input or confirmation'

### Run background agents manually
``` bash
rowboatx --agent=<agent-name> --input="xyz" --no-interactive=true
```
```bash    
rowboatx --agent=<agent-name> <run_id> # resume from a previous run
```
     
## Rowboat Classic UI

To use Rowboat Classic UI (not RowboatX), refer to [Classic](https://docs.rowboatlabs.com/).