Enforces rule contracts and verifies file changes by mapping them to declared checks and automated gates.
Also known as HLIntel/Headron, headron-software
- Stars
- 4
- Tools
- —
- Downloads, 30 days
- —
- Latest version
- 3.62.0
- Last commit
- Nov 14, 2026
- License
- MIT
What is Headron MCP?
Headron enforces rule contracts and verifies file changes by mapping them to declared checks and automated gates.
Summary generated from the project's README
About Headron MCP server
Headron serves as a rule contract and command line interface that connects file changes to specific declared checks. It is designed for developers and AI agents to ensure that modifications to a codebase adhere to established gates. By mapping changed files to automated checks, the system reports whether those checks passed, failed, were skipped, or did not run. This ensures that a skipped check is never incorrectly treated as a successful pass.
Users can initialize a repository using headron init to set up configuration files, git hooks, and agent wiring. The tool works locally via the CLI, but it also offers a hosted, paid Mind API that requires an API key to plan declared changes. While the MCP interface is read-only, the system provides various commands like headron verify to evaluate changes and headron port to inform agents of file requirements before editing begins.
What you can do with it
- 1Verify file changes against gatesAn AI client can run a verification command to check if recent modifications satisfy all required automated gates.
- 2Inform agents of file obligationsA developer can use the port command to let an agent know exactly what checks a specific file must satisfy before it attempts an edit.
- 3Automate commit enforcementThe system can be configured to run checks automatically before a developer or agent commits code to the repository.
Written from the project's README. Every use case is checked against a quote from it.
How to install Headron MCP
Formats verified 10 Nov 2026Add to CursorAdd to GooseInstall Headron MCP in Claude Code
$ claude mcp add --env 'HEADRON_ROOT=<HEADRON_ROOT>' headron -- uvx headron-softwareInstall Headron MCP in Cursor
~/.cursor/mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"headron": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"headron-software"
],
"env": {
"HEADRON_ROOT": "<HEADRON_ROOT>"
}
}
}
}Install Headron MCP in VS Code
.vscode/mcp.json
{
"servers": {
"headron": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"headron-software"
],
"env": {
"HEADRON_ROOT": "<HEADRON_ROOT>"
}
}
}
}Install Headron MCP in VS Code CLI
$ code --add-mcp '{"name":"headron","type":"stdio","command":"uvx","args":["headron-software"],"env":{"HEADRON_ROOT":"<HEADRON_ROOT>"}}'Install Headron MCP in Claude Desktop
claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"headron": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"headron-software"
],
"env": {
"HEADRON_ROOT": "<HEADRON_ROOT>"
}
}
}
}Install Headron MCP in Codex
$ codex mcp add headron --env 'HEADRON_ROOT=<HEADRON_ROOT>' -- uvx headron-softwareInstall Headron MCP in Codex config.toml
~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.headron] command = "uvx" args = ["headron-software"] [mcp_servers.headron.env] HEADRON_ROOT = "<HEADRON_ROOT>"
Install Headron MCP in Gemini CLI
$ gemini mcp add -s user -e 'HEADRON_ROOT=<HEADRON_ROOT>' headron uvx -- headron-softwareInstall Headron MCP in Gemini settings.json
~/.gemini/settings.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"headron": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"headron-software"
],
"env": {
"HEADRON_ROOT": "<HEADRON_ROOT>"
}
}
}
}Configuration
HEADRON_ROOTRequiredPath to a checkout of the Headron atlas (atlas.yaml) the tool reads.
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| HEADRON_ROOT | Path to a checkout of the Headron atlas (atlas.yaml) the tool reads. | Required |
Automated checks
Ran Nov 13, 2026Full report →Passed our automated checks. That is not a security audit: read the code and give the server the narrowest access it needs. How checks work
- Source repository linked and reachablePass
- Open source license (OSI)Pass
- Commit or release in the last yearPass
- Package name not close to a popular packagePass
- Remote endpoint uses HTTPSNot checked
- Destructive tools are labelledNot checked
- No hidden instructions to the modelPass
- No critical advisory in the package or its dependenciesPass
README
View on GitHubContract 3.62.0 · MIT · verdicts carry receipts: headron verify --receipt <file>
- Is: a rule contract and CLI mapping changed files to checks. Hooks are optional;
headron verifyruns done gates. - Is not: a coding agent, model, test framework, or proof code is correct. A check that cannot run reports SKIP or NOT RUN, never a pass; the hook lets that commit through.
headron initwrites: AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, .mcp.json, .codex/config.toml, .git/hooks/pre-commit. Use--no-wiringto skip hooks and configuration;headron enforce uninstallrestores a displaced hook.- Mind API: hosted, paid, needs a key; plans a declared change. The command line works without it.
Agents: llms.txt. Chats: CHAT.md. Evidence.
Why this exists
Headron connects changed files to declared checks and reports whether those checks ran. A skipped check is not a pass. An optional Git hook can run checks before a commit, whether the change came from a developer or an agent.
How it works
headron port <file> tells an agent what a file owes before it edits. atlas.yaml
holds those checks; the commit hook and CI report PASS, FAIL, SKIP or NOT RUN. The hosted
Mind API plans a declared change through headron mind.
$ headron gate scripts/doctor.py
1. formatter: ruff format --check scripts/doctor.py
2. compiler_or_typechecker: python3 -c 'import ast,sys; [ast.parse(open(f, encoding="utf-8").read(), f) for f in sys.argv[1:]]' scripts/doctor.py
3. unit_tests: pytest
Quickstart
# install
uv tool install headron-software && headron doctor
# editable, to change Headron itself
git clone --depth 1 --branch v3.62.0 https://github.com/HLIntel/Headron ~/headron && uv tool install --editable ~/headron && headron doctor
In your repository:
cd path/to/your-repo && headron init # finds your checks, wires your agents, installs the commit hook, runs once
headron verify && headron proof <file> --verify # after a change: verdicts, then a file's proof
With an impact map, headron verify --changed evaluates checks for modified files.
Target a specific profile with headron verify --changed --change <class> (e.g. source_change, api_change, security_sensitive); headron verify remains the final full verdict.
Machines: bootstrap, facts, and JSON schema. Agents: adapters; the MCP interface is read-only. Another repository: CONSUMING.
Recorded results
See the instrument limits for their scope.
| Instrument | Recorded result |
|---|---|
| Enforcement | 31/31 breaks refused across 20 toolchains; 812 declared planted cases |
| Failure ledger | 124 shapes, 212 sightings; 101 in-tree guarded, 23 host-only |
| Field ledger | 940 verifications (136 clean); 1133 refusals; 394 landings; 711 lessons; 394 sessions |
| Verification outcomes | 17,397 checks: 7,357 PASS, 1,097 REUSED, 1,278 FAIL, 7,665 NOT RUN. 533 runs failed; 271 stopped with an unrun check; 0 reported clean despite a failed or unrun check |
| Routing experiment | 89% fewer prompt tokens than whole-tree; 50% fewer than unassisted, across identified models |
| Language roles | 360 pairs: 110 runnable, 0 undeclared |
Entry context: ~1,593 tokens. The 211 documents (699 KiB) load on demand; install: 10 KiB; hash lock with test tools: 8 packages. Field records. Routing data. Measures can overlap.
Where it fits
- Agents and runtimes: adapters describe supported integrations.
- Headron-Harness: a separate desktop dashboard and runtime; see product boundaries.
- Other repositories:
headron initsets up a repository; CONSUMING covers CI. - Languages: routes declare available checks and identify checks without a tool.
Agent contract
$ headron port scripts/doctor.py --line
◉ scripts/doctor.py │ ⠟backend │ python │ ⌂scripts │ ✓5 │ ⚠1 │ → headron gate scripts/doctor.py
$ headron port scripts --line
◎ scripts │ ⠟183 │ ⌂scripts │ → headron brainstorm
$ headron port . --line
○ . │ ⠟211 ⠿4 ⠁1 │ → headron check
- Discover:
headron find <query>searches paths, symbols and vocabulary;headron sweepmaps topology. Search does not guarantee semantic recall. - Route:
headron port <file>, or parse .agent/bootstrap.json; load only its names. - Processes:
headron process [<id>] --jsonlists workflows; with an id, its steps and gates. - Mind:
headron mind --route <file>routes;headron mind --receiptssummarizes the latest local verification record. - Beliefs:
headron revisenames what rests on a refuted claim;headron proposedrafts each fix outside the tree. - Automate: add
--json; records follow the output schema. - Before shell:
headron shell --json "<cmd>"; exit 3 means its verdict would be misread. - Land:
python scripts/branchstate.py --land; checkheadron landed <branch>before deletion. - Judge and report: use the judgment rungs; file breaks with the
headronskill.
Find your way
- Every document: docs index · wiki
- Languages: atlas · routing · verification
- Agents: harness ·
.headron· runtimes - Why a rule:
headron why·headron failures· instruments - Companion products: desktop, web, enterprise
- Security: policy · OpenSSF · contributing
Counts, computed
Generated on every build; check refuses drift.
- 52 hard invariants — enforced on every change, zero unowned
- 363 agreement edges — each a file tied to the declaration it answers for
- 95 instruments — each stating what it proves, what it does not, and what closes the gap
- 385 tool entries — across 40 manifests and 5 kinds, validated against
tools/tools.schema.json - 181 harness Python files — every one held by
lint·format·typecheck - 3.62.0 contract version —
VERSION, asserted in 10 other files
Project
Version tracks the contract, not content (versioning).
Built by HLIntel LLC, public on purpose (about). Contributions pass headron verify. MIT License.
Updated: contract v3.62.0
Headron MCP questions
How do I add Headron MCP to Claude Code?
Run claude mcp add --env 'HEADRON_ROOT=<HEADRON_ROOT>' headron -- uvx headron-software in your terminal. Add --scope user to make it available in every project.
How do I add Headron MCP to Cursor?
Open ~/.cursor/mcp.json and add the server under mcpServers, using the Cursor config shown in the install section above.
What is Headron?
Headron is a rule contract and CLI that maps changed files to specific checks to report whether those checks ran successfully.
Does Headron act as a coding agent?
No, Headron is not a coding agent, a model, or a test framework; it is a verification layer.
How does the Mind API work?
The Mind API is a hosted, paid service that plans declared changes through the headron mind command.
Can I use Headron without the Mind API?
Yes, the command line interface works independently of the hosted Mind API.