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+# Coding Agent - Project Status
+
+**Last Updated:** 2026-02-21
+
+## 🎯 Current State: MVP Complete
+
+The agent is functional and can write, read, and execute code in an isolated sandbox.
+
+---
+
+## ✅ What Works
+
+### Core Infrastructure
+- **Sandbox**: Podman + libkrun (microVM isolation)
+  - Network disabled
+  - Workspace mounted at `/workspace`
+  - Bind mount to `./workspace` on host
+  - 512MB memory limit
+
+- **Agent Loop**: Streaming responses with tool visibility
+  - Shows tool calls as they happen (`🔧 Running: bash(...)`)
+  - Streams text token-by-token
+  - Handles tool → response → tool chains
+
+- **Persistent History**: JSON files in `./history/`
+  - Format: `YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.json`
+  - Includes timestamps
+  - Auto-saves after each message
+
+### Tools Available
+1. **`bash`** - Execute shell commands in sandbox
+2. **`read_file`** - Read file contents from workspace
+3. **`write_file`** - Write/create files in workspace (creates parent dirs)
+
+### Testing
+- Unit tests: 13 passing
+- Integration tests: 5 passing
+- All critical paths covered
+
+---
+
+## ⚠️ Known Issues
+
+### 1. Output Corruption Bug
+**Symptom:** `ls -la` output shows `�total 40` with leading spaces/corrupt bytes
+
+**Status:** Investigated, not yet fixed
+
+**Workaround:** Output is still readable despite corruption
+
+**Notes:** 
+- `demux=False` is set but not working as expected
+- May be Podman SDK version issue or multiplex header stripping problem
+- Planned to let agent debug itself once fully operational
+
+### 2. Multi-line Paste
+**Symptom:** Pasting multi-line text causes each line to be processed as separate input
+
+**Status:** Known limitation of CLI `input()`
+
+**Workaround:** Don't paste multi-line prompts until TUI is built
+
+**Solution:** Build Textual TUI (planned)
+
+---
+
+## 🚀 Quick Start
+
+### Prerequisites
+```bash
+# Podman with krun runtime installed
+# Python 3.14
+# uv package manager
+```
+
+### Run the Agent
+```bash
+# Create workspace
+mkdir -p workspace
+
+# Set up .env
+cat > .env << EOF
+ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
+MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929
+MAX_TOKENS=8096
+SAFEDIR=./workspace
+USE_SANDBOX=true
+EOF
+
+# Start agent
+uv run python main.py
+```
+
+### Commands
+- `/quit` - Exit session
+- `/clear` - Clear conversation history
+- `/help` - Show available commands
+
+---
+
+## 📂 Project Structure
+```
+coding-agent/
+├── main.py                  # Entry point
+├── agent/
+│   ├── config.py           # Settings (Pydantic)
+│   ├── loop.py             # run_turn, run_session
+│   ├── history.py          # ConversationHistory
+│   └── tools.py            # TOOL_SCHEMAS, dispatch_tool
+├── sandbox/
+│   └── session.py          # PodmanSandbox
+├── tools/
+│   ├── bash.py             # bash tool
+│   └── files.py            # read_file, write_file
+├── tests/
+│   ├── conftest.py         # Shared fixtures
+│   ├── test_config.py
+│   ├── test_loop.py
+│   ├── test_sandbox.py
+│   └── test_files.py
+├── workspace/              # Agent's workspace (gitignored)
+└── history/                # Session history (gitignored)
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🔧 Development
+
+### Run Tests
+```bash
+# All tests
+uv run pytest
+
+# Unit tests only (fast, no sandbox)
+uv run pytest -m unit
+
+# Integration tests (requires sandbox)
+uv run pytest -m integration
+
+# Specific file
+uv run pytest tests/test_files.py -v
+```
+
+### Add a New Tool
+
+1. **Create tool implementation:**
+```python
+# tools/my_tool.py
+import asyncio
+
+async def my_tool(param: str, sandbox=None) -> str:
+    """Tool description."""
+    if sandbox is None:
+        return "Error: No sandbox available"
+    
+    try:
+        result = await asyncio.to_thread(sandbox.run, f"some command {param}")
+        return result
+    except Exception as e:
+        return f"Error: {e}"
+
+# Tool schema
+MY_TOOL_SCHEMA = {
+    "name": "my_tool",
+    "description": "What this tool does",
+    "input_schema": {
+        "type": "object",
+        "properties": {
+            "param": {
+                "type": "string",
+                "description": "Parameter description"
+            }
+        },
+        "required": ["param"]
+    }
+}
+```
+
+2. **Export from `tools/__init__.py`:**
+```python
+from tools.my_tool import my_tool, MY_TOOL_SCHEMA
+
+TOOL_SCHEMAS = [
+    BASH_SCHEMA,
+    READ_FILE_SCHEMA,
+    WRITE_FILE_SCHEMA,
+    MY_TOOL_SCHEMA,  # Add here
+]
+```
+
+3. **Add to dispatcher:**
+```python
+# agent/tools.py
+from tools import my_tool
+
+async def dispatch_tool(tool_name: str, tool_input: dict, sandbox=None):
+    # ...
+    elif tool_name == "my_tool":
+        return await my_tool(tool_input["param"], sandbox=sandbox)
+```
+
+4. **Write tests:**
+```python
+# tests/test_my_tool.py
+@pytest.mark.unit
+async def test_my_tool_no_sandbox():
+    result = await my_tool("test", sandbox=None)
+    assert "error" in result.lower()
+
+@pytest.mark.integration
+async def test_my_tool_works():
+    async with PodmanSandbox() as sb:
+        result = await my_tool("test", sb)
+        assert "expected output" in result
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🎯 Next Steps (Priority Order)
+
+### Immediate (Make Agent More Useful)
+1. **Fix output corruption bug**
+   - Let agent debug itself with current tools
+   - Or investigate Podman SDK version/settings
+
+2. **Add more file tools** (optional enhancements)
+   - `list_files(directory)` - better than `bash("ls")`
+   - `search_files(pattern)` - grep with nice output
+   - `edit_file(filepath, old, new)` - targeted edits
+
+### Short Term (Better UX)
+3. **Session resume**
+   - Add `/load <session-id>` command
+   - ~10 minutes of work
+
+4. **Build Textual TUI**
+   - Multi-line input support
+   - Better history viewing
+   - Collapsible tool output
+   - ~3-4 hours
+
+### Medium Term (Collaboration Features)
+5. **Git integration (host-side tools)**
+   - `git_clone(repo)` - uses your SSH keys
+   - `git_push(branch)` - uses your credentials
+   - `create_pr(title, body)` - uses GitHub/Gitea API
+   - Agent works on feature branches, you review PRs
+   - ~2-3 hours
+
+6. **Improve error messages**
+   - Better tool error reporting
+   - Exit codes visible to agent
+   - ~1 hour
+
+### Long Term (Advanced Features)
+7. **Web API interface**
+   - FastAPI + SSE for streaming
+   - Multi-user support (separate sandboxes)
+   - ~4-6 hours
+
+8. **Custom base image**
+   - Pre-install common packages
+   - Faster startup
+   - ~1-2 hours
+
+9. **Tool call optimization**
+   - Batch related operations
+   - Cache frequent commands
+   - ~2-3 hours
+
+---
+
+## 🧪 Testing the Agent
+
+### Simple Task
+```
+You: Create a Python script that prints "Hello, World!"
+```
+
+Expected: Agent writes file, shows content, runs it, shows output.
+
+### Medium Task
+```
+You: Create a Flask API with /health endpoint that returns {"status": "ok"}
+     Include requirements.txt
+```
+
+Expected: Agent writes app.py, requirements.txt, installs flask, tests the endpoint.
+
+### Complex Task
+```
+You: Create a data processing script that:
+     1. Reads a CSV file
+     2. Filters rows where value > 100
+     3. Saves to new CSV
+     
+     Include sample data and tests
+```
+
+Expected: Agent writes script, creates sample data, writes tests, runs everything.
+
+---
+
+## 📝 Notes
+
+### Why Podman + krun?
+- **VM-level isolation** (not just containers)
+- **Daemonless** (no background service)
+- **Rootless** by default
+- **Docker-compatible** API
+- Fast startup (~125ms)
+
+### Why Not Docker?
+- Container isolation only (not VM)
+- Requires daemon
+- Podman is drop-in replacement with better security
+
+### Why Not microsandbox?
+- Promising but immature (SDK version mismatches)
+- Podman + krun uses same underlying tech (libkrun)
+- More stable ecosystem
+- Can revisit microsandbox in 6-12 months
+
+### Sandbox Security Model
+- **Network disabled** - agent can't exfiltrate data
+- **Workspace mount** - only way to persist files
+- **Ephemeral VM** - destroyed after session
+- **Host git** - credentials never in sandbox
+- Agent works on feature branches, you review PRs
+
+### Design Decisions
+- **Streaming vs batched** - Streaming for better UX
+- **One tool per file** - Clear organization, easy to find
+- **Schemas with tools** - Keep related code together
+- **Keyword args for sandbox** - More maintainable
+- **JSON history** - Human-readable, git-friendly
+- **Async throughout** - Future-proof for web API
+
+---
+
+## 🤝 Contributing (Future)
+
+When ready to open-source:
+1. Add proper README
+2. Add LICENSE (MIT recommended)
+3. Add CONTRIBUTING.md
+4. Set up CI/CD (GitHub Actions)
+5. Add pre-commit hooks
+6. Document MCP integration path
+
+---
+
+## 📚 Key Learnings
+
+### What Worked Well
+- **Layered architecture** - Easy to add features on top
+- **Testing from the start** - Caught issues early
+- **Simple tools first** - bash/read/write covers 90% of needs
+- **Integration tests** - More valuable than complex unit tests
+
+### What Was Hard
+- **Async/sync boundaries** - `asyncio.to_thread` for podman SDK
+- **Streaming API** - Required rewriting entire request flow
+- **Mock complexity** - Some unit tests not worth the effort
+- **Version mismatches** - microsandbox SDK vs server
+
+### Surprises
+- **Podman multiplex headers** - Unexpected output corruption
+- **Multi-line paste** - CLI input() limitation
+- **Test refactoring** - Changing streaming broke all tests
+- **Path validation** - More edge cases than expected
+
+---
+
+## 🔗 Useful Links
+
+- **Anthropic API Docs**: https://docs.anthropic.com
+- **Podman Python SDK**: https://podman-py.readthedocs.io
+- **Textual TUI**: https://textual.textualize.io
+- **Pydantic**: https://docs.pydantic.dev
+
+---
+
+*This is a working MVP. The agent can write, read, and execute code safely. Everything else is enhancement.*