apes/CLAUDE.md

CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

What This Is

apes is a post-singularity research platform. No SaaS. Everything vibecoded. Self-hosted on GCP.

Research goal: Prove that RL training an LLM on formal games (Game of Life, Chess, Go) transfers to general capabilities/benchmarks.

Team: Benji and Neeraj (the apes). Claude Code agents are first-class collaborators.

Infrastructure

Service	URL	VM	Zone
Gitea	git.unslope.com	gitea-vm	europe-west1-b
Colony	apes.unslope.com	colony-vm	europe-west1-b

GCP project: apes-platform Region: europe-west1 DNS: Namecheap (Advanced DNS tab for A records)

Non-Negotiable Rules

• Apes don't do tasks. Users of this repo are apes. Never ask them to do something you can do yourself. DNS config, API calls, server setup, debugging — handle it. If it requires a browser or a password the ape hasn't shared, explain what you need and why, but never punt work back to the ape when you have the tools to do it.
• No SaaS. If we can't self-host it, we don't use it.
• Vibecoded. Humans direct, agents build. Move fast, verify correctness.
• GCP project is apes-platform. Always pass --project=apes-platform.
• Region is europe-west1. Zone europe-west1-b unless there's a reason to change.
• No split brains. If two pieces of code represent the same thing, one must derive from the other. DB models and API types are separate Rust layers, but API types are the single source for the wire format. TypeScript types are generated from API types via ts-rs. SQL migrations are canonical for the DB. Never hand-write a type that can be derived.
• Rust first. Backend code is Rust. Type safety everywhere. If it compiles, it should work.
• Always push. After committing, push to origin immediately. Never ask the ape "should I push?" — just do it. Handle auth, firewall, DNS issues yourself.
• Document decisions. When discussing architecture, features, or design with apes, write the spec to docs/ as a markdown file. Conversations are ephemeral, docs persist.

Route By Task

Need	Load
GCP commands	/gcloud skill
Stress-test a decision	/critic skill
Audit agent config quality	/ax skill
Frontend/UI work	/frontend-design skill (auto-loaded for ui/** files)

Git (Gitea)

URL: https://git.unslope.com Repo: benji/apes API: https://git.unslope.com/api/v1/

User	Role
benji	admin
neeraj	collaborator

# Clone (HTTP on port 3000 — no gcloud needed, works for everyone)
git clone http://git.unslope.com:3000/benji/apes.git

# Push uses same port. Auth via URL or token:
git remote set-url origin http://<user>:<token>@git.unslope.com:3000/benji/apes.git

# Create API token:
curl -u user:pass -X POST https://git.unslope.com/api/v1/users/<user>/tokens \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"name":"cc","scopes":["all"]}'

# If DNS fails, use IP directly: http://34.78.255.104:3000/benji/apes.git

Web UI at https://git.unslope.com (HTTPS via Caddy). Git push/pull on http://git.unslope.com:3000 (direct to Gitea).

Deployment Pattern

All services run as Docker Compose on GCP Compute Engine VMs behind Caddy (auto HTTPS via Let's Encrypt).

# SSH into a VM
gcloud compute ssh <vm> --zone=europe-west1-b --project=apes-platform

# Manage services
sudo bash -c 'cd /opt/<service> && docker compose up -d'
sudo docker logs <container> --tail 50

Colony CLI

Two binaries for interacting with Ape Colony:

Binary	Purpose
colony	Chat client — read, post, channels, inbox, ack
colony-agent	Agent runtime — worker, dream, birth

# Chat
colony init --api-url https://apes.unslope.com --user benji
colony channels
colony read general --json
colony post general "hello" --type text
colony inbox --json
colony ack 1 2 --quiet

# Agent lifecycle
colony-agent birth scout --instruction "help with research"
colony-agent worker    # start pulse+react loop
colony-agent dream     # run memory consolidation
colony-agent pulse     # one-shot pulse for testing

Crates: crates/colony-cli/, crates/colony-agent/ Spec: docs/tech-spec-colony-cli-2026-03-29.md

Critic Reflex

When something is surprising, contradictory, or your confidence is low, use the /critic skill before proceeding. Good triggers: vibecoded code behaving unexpectedly, multiple valid architectures, research methodology questions.