Patrick Buckley
3ce66960bc
* feat: modular system message composition with admin prompt policies (#267) Replace the monolithic persona+tools block in _init_system_messages() with a modular composition harness (turnstone/prompts/). System messages are now assembled from five typed layers: BASE (persona), ENV (client surface — web/cli/chat), CONTEXT (datetime, timezone, username), TOOLS (usage patterns), and POLICIES (behavioral rules with tool gating). Prompt policies are admin-managed via a new Prompts tab in the Governance group (CRUD with modal forms, tool gating, priority ordering, enable/disable). DB policies override file-based defaults by name; file-based policies serve as deployment defaults. Migration 031 adds the prompt_policies table. ClientType is threaded end-to-end from channel adapters through the SDK, HTTP API, WorkstreamManager, and session factory to ChatSession. Discord sessions now receive chat-optimized formatting (no tables, no Mermaid, concise output) instead of the web UI's rich markdown instructions. * fix: address CI failures and Copilot review feedback - Add client_type param to CLI session_factory (mypy protocol match) - Add prompt policy CRUD to PostgreSQL backend (test-postgres CI) - Fix ClientType resolution: compare against enum values, not members - Fix null client_type coercion (body.get returns None, not "") - Use local time with astimezone() instead of UTC with local tz name - Sanitize tool_gate in update endpoint (coerce null to empty string)
Turnstone
Multi-node AI orchestration platform. Deploy tool-using AI agents across a cluster of servers with direct HTTP routing, interactive interfaces, and enterprise governance.
Beta — Use at your own risk. APIs, configuration formats, and database schemas may change between versions without migration paths.
Named after the Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) — a shorebird that flips stones to discover what's hiding underneath.
What it does
Turnstone gives LLMs tools — shell, files, search, web, planning — and orchestrates multi-turn conversations where the model investigates, acts, and reports.
- Interactive sessions — terminal CLI or browser UI with parallel workstreams
- Cluster dashboard — real-time view of all nodes and workstreams with console routing proxy
- Intent validation — LLM judge evaluates every tool call with risk assessments and evidence
- Governance — RBAC, OIDC SSO, tool policies, skills, usage tracking, audit logs
- Multi-provider — OpenAI-compatible APIs (vLLM, llama.cpp, NIM) and Anthropic Messages API
- MCP support — external tool servers with native deferred loading (Anthropic/OpenAI) or BM25 fallback
Quickstart
pip install turnstone
# Terminal REPL
turnstone --base-url http://localhost:8000/v1
# Browser UI
turnstone-server --port 8080 --base-url http://localhost:8000/v1
# Cluster dashboard
pip install turnstone[console]
turnstone-console --port 8090
Docker
cp .env.example .env # edit LLM_BASE_URL, OPENAI_API_KEY, etc.
docker compose --profile production up
See QUICKSTART.md for the bootstrap wizard and docs/docker.md for Docker configuration and profiles.
Programmatic (SDK)
from turnstone.sdk import TurnstoneServer
with TurnstoneServer("http://localhost:8080", token="tok_xxx") as client:
ws = client.create_workstream(name="demo")
result = client.send_and_wait("Analyze the error logs", ws.ws_id, auto_approve=True)
print(result.content)
Tools
Built-in tools for shell, files, search, web, memory, notifications, and autonomous sub-agents — plus external tools via MCP with native deferred loading. See docs/tools.md for the full reference and docs/mcp.md for MCP configuration.
Architecture
Single-node: Client → Server (direct HTTP + SSE). No external dependencies beyond the database.
Multi-node: Client → Console (hash ring routing proxy) → Server nodes. The console maintains a 65536-entry bucket cache for O(1) workstream routing. A rebalancer daemon redistributes buckets when nodes join or leave.
| Component | Purpose |
|---|---|
turnstone |
Terminal CLI (REPL) |
turnstone-server |
Web UI + REST API + SSE events |
turnstone-console |
Cluster dashboard + routing proxy + admin panel |
turnstone-channel |
Channel gateway (Discord, with adapters for Slack/Teams planned) |
turnstone-admin |
User/token management CLI |
turnstone-eval |
Eval harness for prompt/tool optimization |
turnstone-bootstrap |
LLM-guided setup wizard |
Diagrams
UML diagrams in docs/diagrams/:
| Diagram | Description |
|---|---|
| System Context | Components and external dependencies |
| Package Structure | Python modules and dependency graph |
| Core Engine | SessionUI, ChatSession, LLMProvider |
| Conversation Turn | Message lifecycle through the engine |
| Tool Pipeline | Prepare / approve / execute |
| Workstream States | State machine transitions |
| Console Data Flow | Dashboard data collection |
| Deployment | Docker Compose topology |
| Auth | JWT, scopes, login flows |
| Channels | Discord adapter + routing |
| Judge | Intent validation pipeline |
| OIDC | SSO authorization code flow |
Documentation
| Topic | Link |
|---|---|
| Configuration reference | docs/settings.md |
| API reference | docs/api-reference.md |
| Docker deployment | docs/docker.md |
| Intent validation (judge) | docs/judge.md |
| Governance & RBAC | docs/governance.md |
| OIDC SSO | docs/oidc.md |
| TLS / mTLS | docs/tls.md |
| Channel integrations | docs/channels.md |
| Console dashboard | docs/console.md |
| Eval harness | docs/eval.md |
| Tools reference | docs/tools.md |
| MCP integration | docs/mcp.md |
Requirements
- Python 3.11+
- An OpenAI-compatible API endpoint or Anthropic API key
- Optional: PostgreSQL (
pip install turnstone[postgres]), Anthropic (pip install turnstone[anthropic]) - Git LFS for cloning (diagram PNGs)
License
Business Source License 1.1 — free for all use except hosting as a managed service. Converts to Apache 2.0 on 2030-03-01.