Code Quorum

Independent reviews have become an important part of how I use agentic tools. Inspired by similar work, I built Code Quorum for my own use and am sharing it in case others find it useful.

Code Quorum is a macOS multi-agent council for Claude Code and Codex. The active host writes its own review, assessment, or plan while external seats work in parallel. A structural anti-bias gate keeps every perspective independent until the final synthesis.

It can use existing Claude Code, ChatGPT/Codex, and Gemini/Antigravity subscriptions. The OpenCode seat uses OpenRouter, with DeepSeek V4 Flash as its default model. Both CLI hosts are supported, along with Codex in the ChatGPT desktop app and the Code surface in the Claude desktop app.

Host	Default external council
Claude Code	Codex + Gemini + OpenCode
Codex	Claude subscription + Gemini + OpenCode

The host is never also a subprocess seat. The start/await split requires the host to form its own answer before q_await exposes peer output, and every council skill calls the blocking completion notification in the same turn as its start.

External seats are read-only, but read-only does not mean data-local. Review Security and data boundaries before using Code Quorum on private material.

Every repository-reading MCP council start requires an explicit absolute project cwd. The MCP tools reject an omitted or blank value rather than falling back to the server's plugin-cache or runtime directory. The host skills supply this value during normal /q-* and $code-quorum:q-* use. Plan and scope files must also resolve inside that directory; absolute paths, .. traversal, and symlink escapes are rejected before their contents are read.

Workflows

The host can select a workflow from a matching plain-language request. Use the forms below to select one explicitly:

Workflow	Claude Code	Codex	Shell
Plan	/q-plan <task>	$code-quorum:q-plan <task>	uv run quorum q-plan <task>
Brainstorm	/q-brainstorm <topic>	$code-quorum:q-brainstorm <topic>	uv run quorum q-brainstorm <topic>
Skystorm	/q-skystorm <topic>	$code-quorum:q-skystorm <topic>	host-only skill
Validate	/q-validate <plan-path>	$code-quorum:q-validate <plan-path>	uv run quorum q-validate <plan-path>
Review	/q-review [target]	$code-quorum:q-review [target]	uv run quorum q-review [target]
Research	/q-research <topic>	$code-quorum:q-research <topic>	uv run quorum research <topic>
Help	/q-help	$code-quorum:q-help	host-only skill

uv run quorum --help lists the exact shell surface. The main modifiers are:

Option	Effect
--extended	Adds another divergence round for host brainstorming, or expands validation/review to 4 rounds with a stance rotation.
--mode critique	Makes later validation/review rounds attack peer positions instead of revising toward agreement.
--scope <doc>	Declares in-bounds, out-of-bounds, and accepted-risk areas for a whole-codebase review.
--exploratory	Makes host research hunt for cross-domain analogies instead of direct prior art.
--no-research	Runs brainstorming or skystorm from model priors alone.

Research sources and credentials

q-research queries all seven sources by default. Repeat --source <name> to restrict a run. It accepts up to three --query-lane formulations and reports a Source/lane status table so a strong source cannot hide a collision elsewhere. Use --purpose methods (default) for balanced all-time and recent OpenAlex strata, or --purpose currency for the recent five-year stratum only. Literature sources search every lane; artifact sources (Context7, GitHub, and Hugging Face) search only the primary lane to avoid redundant results and API traffic. The per-source result limit stays fixed across lanes, so additional lanes broaden coverage without growing the digest without bound.

Source	Target	Credential policy
arXiv (arxiv)	Scholarly papers and preprints from arXiv search.	None.
OpenAlex (openalex)	Methods searches balance all-time relevance/canonical candidates with recent five-year candidates and retain the stratum labels; currency searches use only the recent stratum. Exploratory mode also produces a subfield map.	OPENALEX_API_KEY or QUORUM_OPENALEX_API_KEY is required for normal OpenAlex use. QUORUM_OPENALEX_EMAIL identifies the client but does not replace the key.
Europe PMC published (europepmc-published)	Published life-sciences literature, including PubMed/MEDLINE records, reviews, MeSH metadata, and full-text availability. Exact matches have priority; MeSH synonym expansion only backfills a thin exact result set.	None.
Europe PMC preprints (europepmc-preprints)	Life-sciences preprints from bioRxiv, medRxiv, Research Square, and similar sources; arXiv records are excluded.	None.
Context7 (context7)	High-trust library matches and documentation snippets.	CONTEXT7_API_KEY is recommended because anonymous requests can be rate-limited.
GitHub (github)	Public repositories matched by name, description, and topics, then ranked by stars.	GH_TOKEN or GITHUB_TOKEN is recommended for higher limits. Private repositories are excluded.
Hugging Face (huggingface)	Public model IDs and metadata, ranked by downloads. Term-fallback results carry [broadened].	HF_TOKEN or QUORUM_HF_TOKEN is recommended for account-level Hub limits. Private models are filtered out.

Code Quorum reads credentials from the process environment and sends tokens only in authorization headers. The generated Codex adapter forwards the named variables but does not store their values in the plugin artifact. OpenAlex is the only source that requires a key for normal use; the others improve reliability or rate limits.

Verify Hugging Face search from a checkout with:

uv run quorum research "sentence embedding" --source huggingface --limit 5
uv run pytest tests/test_research_live.py -m live -k huggingface -q

The CLI check must return model links and a nonzero HuggingFace source count. The live tests cover direct search, configured-token authentication, distinctive-term union, and the full research_topic path. Without a token, the authentication test skips while anonymous checks still run.

Requirements

Code Quorum currently supports macOS and requires Python 3.13+, the uv package manager, and the binaries for the seats you intend to use. Each seat relies on its own login or key; Code Quorum does not write credential values into plugin artifacts. Seat CLIs retain their own authentication and runtime state as described in SECURITY.md.

Seat	Binary	Auth	Cost
codex	codex	the CLI's own login (codex login; --with-api-key for metered use)	ChatGPT subscription or metered API key
gemini	agy	Google OAuth via agy	Google AI subscription; metered GEMINI_API_KEY is an explicit SDK opt-in
opencode	opencode	OPENROUTER_API_KEY in the environment	metered through OpenRouter
claude (Codex host only)	claude	the CLI's own claude.ai login	Claude subscription only; API-key routing is stripped

The Gemini seat depends on the macOS Seatbelt sandbox; Claude uses a read-tool allowlist instead. A Codex host also needs a narrowly scoped LaunchAgent helper for its Claude and Gemini seats. Codex and OpenCode have no Seatbelt dependency but are untested on other platforms.

Install

Clone the stable checkout and configure the seats:

git clone https://github.com/sdewell/code-quorum.git
cd code-quorum
uv sync
agy  # complete Google OAuth login, then exit
uv run quorum setup-agy                    # one-time Gemini seat config
uv run quorum setup-models --host claude   # use --host codex for Codex
uv run quorum doctor --host claude         # or codex / both
uv run quorum auth-check --seat gemini --host claude

doctor checks binaries, configuration shape, and sandbox readiness. It does not test live credentials. auth-check runs agy models inside the same sandbox used by the seat and requires at least one valid model row without sending a model prompt. A missing or revoked login directs the user back to interactive agy; Code Quorum never silently changes to a metered API route.

On a Codex host, install and verify the helper from a real terminal before the Codex authentication check:

uv run quorum install-seat-helper-launchagent   # --allowed-root <dir> to widen
uv run quorum seat-helper-status
uv run quorum auth-check --seat gemini --host codex

Every MCP workflow permits cwd under ~/Code and ~/src by default; the Codex helper applies the same roots before accepting Claude or Gemini requests. Set CODE_QUORUM_HELPER_ALLOWED_ROOTS or install the helper with repeated --allowed-root options to use other project roots. Reinstall it from the updated stable checkout after every Code Quorum upgrade. Incompatible helper protocols fail closed, and installation from Codex's replaceable plugin cache is rejected.

Read-only boundaries

Every external seat is read-only and refuses to run if its boundary cannot be applied. Enforcement differs by seat: Codex uses its native read-only sandbox, Claude exposes only read tools, Gemini uses macOS Seatbelt, and OpenCode uses an isolated HOME with restricted permissions.

Gemini's Seatbelt profile denies other home-directory reads, with explicit exceptions for agy authentication and runtime state. It does not deny readable paths outside $HOME. Code Quorum provides no universal path fence for Claude, Codex, or OpenCode. Council material can leave the machine under the user's configured provider accounts. The full boundary table, data-egress map, strict-isolation guidance, and credential handling are in SECURITY.md.

Data and approvals on Codex

Codex treats tool approval, filesystem containment, and authorization to send material off-machine as separate decisions. A target such as main...HEAD bounds the prepared review diff; it does not restrict an external seat's read-only access to the working directory.

When approvals_reviewer = "auto_review" is enabled, a council start may need explicit authorization naming the payload and recipients. Users who want unattended access can opt in per tool, but Code Quorum never writes those approval entries itself.

SECURITY.md contains the one-off authorization example, all six Codex approval blocks (including the shared q_await tool), project AGENTS.md guidance, path-confinement limits, and the approval-preserving update procedure. Review it before enabling unattended workflows.

Configuration

Each seat resolves its model through one ladder, first hit wins: per-run flag -> environment variable -> the choice recorded by quorum setup-models -> the shipped pin. Recorded choices never change silently; a seat that cannot honor one fails loudly while the rest of the council continues.

uv run quorum setup-models --host claude
uv run quorum setup-models --seat codex --model gpt-5.6-terra --effort medium

Variable	Effect
CODE_QUORUM_HOST	default host profile (claude or codex)
CODE_QUORUM_GEMINI_MODEL	Gemini seat model (an id from agy models)
CODE_QUORUM_GEMINI_BACKEND	cli (subscription) or sdk (metered GEMINI_API_KEY)
CODE_QUORUM_OPENCODE_MODEL	OpenCode seat model
CODE_QUORUM_OPENCODE_DEBUG	0 disables failed-run diagnostic capture
CODE_QUORUM_CLAUDE_MODEL / _EFFORT	Claude seat model and effort
CODE_QUORUM_CODEX_MODEL / _EFFORT	Codex seat model and reasoning effort

OpenCode configuration

The OpenCode seat requires OPENROUTER_API_KEY and does not load your personal OpenCode configuration. It uses an isolated HOME and rebuilds this generated configuration before every run. The shipped model is openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash; its OpenRouter chunkTimeout is 90000 milliseconds.

Code Quorum sets OPENCODE_DISABLE_PROJECT_CONFIG=1 and OPENCODE_PURE=1. The generated council agent permits only Read, glob, and list, denies shell and mutation tools, blocks .env and .env.*, and permits .env.example. Failed or empty runs write raw stdout/stderr captures to ~/.cache/code-quorum/opencode-debug unless CODE_QUORUM_OPENCODE_DEBUG=0 is set. The directory is 0700, capture files are 0600, prompt text is omitted from command metadata, and only the newest 20 captures are retained. Raw streams can still contain reviewed material. See ARCHITECTURE.md and SECURITY.md for the full boundary design.

Disabling a seat

If a live probe fails because a seat is absent or logged out, quorum setup-models can mark it disabled in models.toml. Disabled seats are skipped by the default roster and reported by doctor, but an explicit --agent <seat> request still runs them.

Install as a plugin

Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add sdewell/code-quorum
/plugin install code-quorum@code-quorum

For the Claude Code CLI, load OPENROUTER_API_KEY and optional research keys before starting the host. For example:

source ~/.zshrc.local
claude

For the Claude desktop app, make the keys available to the current macOS login session before opening it:

source ~/.zshrc.local
launchctl setenv OPENROUTER_API_KEY "$OPENROUTER_API_KEY"

The launchctl value is inherited by every subsequently launched application until it is unset, logout occurs, or the machine reboots. Start Claude Code, then remove the login-session copy; the already-running app retains its copy for plugin subprocesses:

launchctl unsetenv OPENROUTER_API_KEY

After installing or upgrading the plugin, or after changing a key, quit Claude Code completely and start a new Claude Code session. A plugin reload can pick up code changes but cannot change the environment inherited by the running host.

The Claude plugin starts its MCP server with uv run --directory ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} quorum-mcp, so uv and Python 3.13+ must be on PATH.

Codex:

Register the public marketplace and install the plugin:

codex plugin marketplace add sdewell/code-quorum --ref main
codex plugin add code-quorum@code-quorum
codex plugin list

For the ChatGPT desktop app, fully quit and reopen the app after registering the marketplace. Open Plugins, choose Personal, select Code Quorum, and click Install.

After either Codex surface installs the plugin, prepare the stable checkout from a real terminal:

uv sync
uv run quorum install-seat-helper-launchagent
uv run quorum seat-helper-status

The Codex launcher starts that checkout's prepared .venv directly. MCP startup therefore does not depend on a writable uv cache, network downloads, or an environment inside the replaceable plugin directory. For later upgrades, one command refreshes the checkout, plugin, environment, approvals, and helper:

uv run quorum update-codex

Fully restart Codex and start a new thread afterward. If an older checkout does not yet have update-codex, use the one-time legacy sequence in SECURITY.md.

In Codex CLI, open /hooks to review and trust each code-quorum command hook. Codex skips plugin hooks until each current definition hash is trusted. A changed definition requires re-review and trust for that changed definition.

The generated launcher recovers standard user and Homebrew binary directories (~/.local/bin, ~/.opencode/bin, /opt/homebrew/bin, and /usr/local/bin) for a desktop app with a minimal PATH.

For Codex CLI, source the key environment before launching Codex. For the ChatGPT desktop app, set keys in the current macOS login session:

source ~/.zshrc.local
launchctl setenv OPENROUTER_API_KEY "$OPENROUTER_API_KEY"

The value is visible to every subsequently launched application until it is removed. Start Codex, then remove the login-session copy; the running app keeps the value it already inherited:

launchctl unsetenv OPENROUTER_API_KEY

After a plugin upgrade or key change, fully quit and reopen Codex and start a brand-new Codex thread. Do not resume a thread created before the restart; its tool registry may still refer to the prior plugin process.

For approval-preserving updates, never use codex plugin remove as the normal path. Follow the verified sequence in SECURITY.md.

Design

ARCHITECTURE.md describes the shared CLI/MCP spine, seat adapters, round model, anti-bias mechanisms, packaging, and failure boundaries. The short version: round 1 contains no peer output, later rounds anonymize peers by stance, and the host does not receive the council matrix until q_await.

Attribution

These projects inspired the workflow shape; no code, prompts, or documentation were copied:

• SnakeO/claude-co-commands - independent host work before peer output.
• agentic-box/owlex - multi-agent council architecture and cognitive roles.
• karpathy/llm-council - anonymized peer review by content rather than model identity.

License

MIT.