Tandem Engine Guide
Welcome to the Tandem Engine Documentation. Tandem is an engine-owned workflow runtime for coordinated autonomous work, built to scale beyond the limitations of chat-first AI assistants and operate in multiple highly-concurrent configurations.
To help you find what you need quickly, please select the path that best describes how you plan to use Tandem:
AI assistant or agent? Start at the For LLMs section for the fast path to correct results.
🖥️ I am a Desktop User
You want to run the native Tandem desktop app or terminal UI to assist you with local file tasks, writing, coding, or managing agents.
- TUI Guide — Learn how to navigate the Terminal UI.
- Control Panel (Web Admin) — Run the official browser UI or scaffold an editable panel app.
- How Tandem Works Under the Hood — Canonical runtime reference for sessions, runs, context, memory, and channels.
- Agents & Sessions — Understand how sessions and context work.
- Agent Teams — Learn how Tandem orchestrates specialized sub-agents.
- Configuration — Setup providers, API keys, and system instructions.
☁️ I am a Server Admin
You want to deploy Tandem to a VPS or headless server so that you, or your external applications, can access autonomous agents remotely.
- Control Panel (Web Admin) — Install the packaged web admin or generate an editable control panel app.
- Headless Service — Run the Tandem Engine in headless API mode.
- Channel Integrations — Connect Telegram, Discord, and Slack with media-aware prompt flow.
- Deployment Guide — Learn best practices for securely exposing Tandem.
- Protocol Matrix — Understand the ports and network boundaries.
💻 I am a Developer
You want to build custom clients, connect external tools via MCP, or programmatically trigger agent workflows.
- Building Automated Agents — Trigger agent pipelines automatically.
- Self-Operator Playbook — Operate governed recursive automations safely. Premium governance feature set required for mutation flows.
- MCP Capability Discovery And Request Flow — Distinguish connected, cataloged, and uncataloged MCPs before requesting new capabilities.
- Prompting Workflows And Missions — Turn human intent into strong staged workflows and missions.
- Agent Workflow And Mission Quickstart — Minimal checklist for agents creating and running Tandem systems.
- Tandem Wow Demo Playbook — Teach agents how to turn docs into showcase payloads with clear handoffs and tight tool scopes.
- Choosing Providers And Models For Agents — Pick stable defaults and targeted overrides without burying model choices in prompts.
- Creating And Running Workflows And Missions — Choose the right Tandem path and operate it correctly.
- Automation Examples For Teams — End-to-end workflow proofs for control-panel and SDK-driven automation.
- Build an Automation With the AI Assistant — Prompt-first workflow authoring with preview, validation, and run-now.
- Memory Internals — Learn how Tandem stores transcript history, retrieval memory, replay state, and reusable knowledge.
- Storage Maintenance For Agents — Clean local storage safely and remove stale repo-local managed worktrees when
.tandem/worktreesleaks after blocked or failed runs. - Governance Reference — Review provenance chains, capability grants, approval queues, and audit events. Premium governance feature set required for managed mutation flows.
- Automation Governance Lifecycle — Inspect the concrete review, pause, approval, and retirement state machine used by the premium governance engine.
- Engine Authentication For Agents — Get the token, authorize calls, and connect agents safely.
- Autonomous Coding Agents with GitHub Projects — Build coding agents on Tandem’s engine-native GitHub MCP path.
- Coding Tasks With Tandem — Learn the execution contract for worktrees, diffs, commits, and verification.
- Bug Monitor And Issue Reporter — Turn failures and operator findings into governed drafts, approvals, and published issues.
- Bug Monitor External Log Intake — Teach agents and operators how to connect external project logs, scoped intake keys, and reset/replay debug actions.
- WebMCP for Agents — Expose local HTTP APIs to your agents.
- Browser Setup and Testing — Build, install, validate, and incorporate
tandem-browser. - SDKs: Integrate Tandem into your own codebases using our official libraries.
- How Tandem Works Under the Hood — Canonical runtime reference for sessions, runs, context, memory, and channels.
- Tandem Architecture — Understand the internal design of the Engine.
First time here? Start with the Start Here guide!