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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.backant.io/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Five top-level commands carry you through normal use.

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Start

backant start                    # current workspace
backant start /path/to/repo      # explicit workspace
By default, Kairos paces itself between turns to keep costs in check. Three flags adjust:
FlagEffect
--turboNo pacing. High token usage; use for short focused bursts.
--freshHard reset. Discards in-process judgment (.session/, .state/) so the next turn re-reads memory from disk. Memory itself, .backant.toml, and your lessons/learnings are preserved.
--paceAuto-throttle. Stretches the pause between turns when Anthropic rate-limit utilization crosses 50% of any window; pauses outright above 95% until the window resets.
--pace is the recommended flag for long-lived deployments on a Max subscription. Keeps Kairos productive without burning your rate-limit headroom.

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Stop

backant stop
Sends a graceful shutdown signal. The current turn finishes; nothing new starts. Memory and configuration are unaffected.

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Watch

backant watch
Live event feed with a status bar. Each decision and action streams in real time. Exit with Ctrl+C — only detaches the viewer; does not stop Kairos. This is the right thing to keep open in a side terminal while you work alongside it.

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Status

backant status
One-shot snapshot. Exits cleanly. Suitable for scripting (CI checks, dashboards). Shows:
  • Whether Kairos is active
  • Workspace, latest activity, last outcome
  • Subscription validity
  • Recent memory growth
  • Pending dream-bucket items

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Authentication

backant login                    # browser auth flow
backant logout                   # clear stored credentials
Re-run login after a subscription renewal or account switch. Credentials persist across reboots under ~/.claude/kairos/.

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Per-workspace vs. user-level state

LevelWhat lives here
Workspace (the repo).backant.toml (policy), .session/, .state/ (scratch). All committed or gitignored as appropriate.
User (~/.claude/kairos/)Memory store, dream logs, eval reports, credentials, embedding-model cache. Shared across all workspaces you’ve connected.
Memory is intentionally user-level rather than per-workspace — observations about one codebase often inform decisions about another (e.g. “the team uses Zod everywhere”). If you want strict per-workspace isolation, override KAIROS_MEMORY_DB to a workspace-local path before starting.

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Configuration reload

Editing .backant.toml while Kairos is active does not auto-reload the policy. Restart with --fresh to ensure the new policy takes effect immediately: 
backant stop
backant start --fresh
See Configuration for the full .backant.toml schema.

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Quick reference

backant                          # first-run setup OR resume in this workspace
backant login                    # auth
backant logout                   # de-auth
backant setup                    # re-scan, refresh skills
backant start [--turbo|--fresh|--pace]   # start Kairos
backant stop                     # stop Kairos
backant watch                    # live event feed
backant status                   # one-shot snapshot

backant memory <sub>             # see /kairos/memory
backant dream <sub>              # see /kairos/dream
backant eval <sub>               # see /kairos/eval
Pass --help on any subcommand for flags and arguments.