Symbiotic AI

Turn one conversation into a clear next step and a system you can keep using. Symbiotic AI gives any model a durable way to carry your context, commitments, and current direction across sessions.

Watch the tutorial

The System

The system is simple on purpose: a small set of files that turns one useful session into ongoing context.

File	Purpose	Changes
SOUL.md	Agent personality, identity, values, how it thinks and talks	Monthly
USER.md	Your profile: identity, psychology, wiring, mission, energy patterns	Monthly
AGENTS.md	How the agent operates: protocols, tools, patterns, interventions	Weekly
NOW.md	Current state: tasks, queue, log, active projects, deadlines	Daily

The agent reads all 4 at session start. Updates NOW.md as you work. The system gets smarter the longer you use it -- not because of AI improvements, but because the files accumulate real context about you.

What Makes It Different

It challenges you. From a real conversation:

AI: "You find something valuable -> People want it -> You feel repulsed by the exchange -> You give it away for free -> You have no money -> Repeat. That's not idealism. That's self-punishment."

It remembers. Persistent memory across sessions. Patterns, quotes, history stored in your files.

It acts. Writes code, researches, creates files. Not just advice.

It evolves. After 100+ sessions, your files contain hard-won insights about what works for you specifically. No generic advice. Your patterns, your bugs, your wins.

Installation

Hermes Agent (recommended)

Install Hermes, clone this repo as your workspace, then start Hermes inside it:

# 1) Install Hermes Agent
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc  # or: source ~/.zshrc

# 2) Clone your Symbiotic workspace
git clone https://github.com/lout33/symbiotic-ai ~/symbiotic-ai
cd ~/symbiotic-ai

# 3) Optional but recommended: use the Symbiotic voice globally in Hermes
mkdir -p ~/.hermes
cp SOUL.md ~/.hermes/SOUL.md

# 4) Start Hermes from inside the workspace
hermes

What goes where with Hermes:

• SOUL.md -> global voice at ~/.hermes/SOUL.md
• AGENTS.md, USER.md, NOW.md -> live in your workspace/project root
• Run hermes from that workspace so the agent starts with your current context

If you already have a ~/.hermes/SOUL.md, merge it instead of overwriting it.

Claude Code / opencode quick installer

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lout33/symbiotic-ai/main/install.sh | bash

Manual clone

git clone https://github.com/lout33/symbiotic-ai
cd symbiotic-ai

How It Evolves

1. Week 1-2: Fill in SOUL.md (who is the agent?), USER.md (who are you?), AGENTS.md (basic rules), NOW.md (what are you doing?)
2. Month 1: The agent starts noticing your patterns. NOW.md log grows. You learn what works.
3. Month 2+: Optional files appear as needed. Milestones accumulate naturally.
4. Ongoing: SOUL.md and USER.md get refined as you learn more about yourself and what agent personality works.

Examples

Not sure what filled-in files look like? The examples/ folder has 3 complete setups showing what the system looks like after weeks of real use:

• jamie/ -- 22yo CS student juggling classes, internship apps, and a side project
• sam/ -- 30yo mid-level dev focused on career growth and interview prep
• morgan/ -- 35yo marketing manager integrating AI into their workflow

Each has all 4 files filled in with realistic data. Start from the root templates and make them yours.

The Memory Log

In NOW.md, the agent maintains a dated log of patterns, quotes, and insights:

### Jan 10
- Avoided user call. Rescheduled twice. Pattern: building = safe, talking = scary.

### Jan 15
- Had first user call. Quote: 'I've been building what I think they want instead of asking'

### Feb 1
- Pattern confirmed: 3 weeks on feature nobody asked for. This is the 3rd time.

Commands

Command	What it does
/start-day	Morning kickoff. Sets MIT for the day.
/check-day	Quick accountability check-in.
/end-day	Evening review. Captures wins, lessons.
/reflect	Deep reflection. Surfaces patterns. Creates journal entry.

Commands work manually or scheduled via cron. See commands/README.md.

Optional Files

The system grows with you. Just create the file. The agent discovers and uses it.

Tier-1 Optional

These are the first files to add after the core 4.

File	Purpose	When to Add
COMMITMENTS.md	Said vs Did tracking	First optional file to add if you want stronger accountability, pattern detection, and "you said this before" interventions
WINS.md	Shipped projects, milestones, pattern breaks	When you need evidence you're making progress
IDEAS.md	Quick idea capture	When ideas come faster than you can act
LOG_ARCHIVE.md	Archived memory logs from NOW.md	When NOW.md gets too long

Other Optional

File	Purpose	When to Add
JOURNAL.md	Longer-form reflections	When sessions aren't enough depth

HEARTBEAT: Screen-Aware Accountability

Optional. Your AI monitors your screen activity, compares it against your tasks in NOW.md, and pings you on Telegram when you drift.

[14:30] DOING: VS Code - building landing page components
SHOULD: Ship landing page
Flow state. Keep going.

[15:15] DOING: YouTube - watching programming streams (45 min)
SHOULD: Ship landing page
You know what you should be doing.

Powered by OpenClaw + what-did-i-do screen tracker. Setup guide

Interoperability

One directory, multiple interfaces:

Framework	Config	Best For
Hermes Agent	Put AGENTS.md, USER.md, and NOW.md in your workspace. Optionally copy SOUL.md to ~/.hermes/SOUL.md for a stable global voice. Run hermes from the workspace root.	Full agent runtime: tools, memory, web, code execution, automation
OpenClaw	Set workspace in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json	HEARTBEAT, Telegram, scheduled check-ins
Claude Code	~/.claude/CLAUDE.md (concatenate the 4 files)	Deep coding sessions
opencode	~/.config/opencode/ or project root	Terminal-based sessions

What Goes Where

Question	Answer
"Will this change next week?"	Yes -> NOW.md. No -> the stable file it belongs to.
"Is this about the agent or the user?"	Agent -> SOUL.md. User -> USER.md.
"Is this a protocol or personality?"	Protocol -> AGENTS.md. Personality -> SOUL.md.
"Not sure?"	Put it in NOW.md. Move it later.

Community

GitHub Discussions -- Ask questions, share your setup, propose ideas.

Show Your Symbiosis: Post your configuration in Show and tell. Your SOUL.md personality, conversation screenshots, custom commands. Think r/unixporn but for AI agents.

Want to contribute? See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Philosophy

Symbiotic > Assistive. Challenge > Validate. Memory compounds. Ship ugly.

The Ecosystem

Project	What it does
OpenClaw	Personal AI assistant runtime. Powers HEARTBEAT, Telegram, cron.
what-did-i-do	Passive screen tracker with Gemini Vision
writing-style-skill	Make AI write like you

---

Created by @lout33