Getting Started

Prerequisites

Rust toolchain (rustup.rs)
An AI coding agent: OpenCode (default), Claude Code, or Codex
macOS or Linux

Install

cargo install cryochamber

This installs cryo, cryo-agent, cryo-gh, and cryo-zulip binaries.

Initialize a Project

mkdir my-project && cd my-project
cryo init                      # for opencode (writes AGENTS.md + cryo.toml + README.md)
cryo init --agent claude       # for Claude Code (writes CLAUDE.md + cryo.toml + README.md)

Write Your Plan

Edit plan.md — describe the goal, step-by-step tasks, and notes about persistent state. See the Mr. Lazy and Chess by Mail examples for reference.

Review cryo.toml and adjust the agent command, retry policy, and inbox settings as needed.

Recommended: Tell your AI coding agent to install the skill instead of editing files manually:

Add the make-plan skill from https://github.com/GiggleLiu/cryochamber

Then run /make-plan to create a new project interactively via guided Q&A.

Start the Daemon

cryo start                                                    # start the daemon
cryo-zulip init --config ./zuliprc --stream "my-stream"       # if using Zulip
cryo-zulip sync
cryo-gh init --repo owner/repo                                # if using GitHub Discussions
cryo-gh sync
cryo web                                                      # if using the web UI
cryo watch                                                    # follow the live log

What Happens

Cryochamber installs an OS service (launchd/systemd) that survives reboots
The daemon runs your agent with the plan and a task prompt
The agent does its work and calls cryo-agent hibernate to schedule the next wake
The daemon sleeps until the next wake time and repeats
New messages in messages/inbox/ wake the daemon immediately

Session events are logged to cryo.log. Monitor progress with cryo watch. Check state with cryo status.

Verify It’s Working

After starting, confirm the first session completes:

cryo status    # should show "Daemon: running" with session number and PID
cryo watch     # follow the live log — look for "agent hibernated" to confirm success

Here’s what a successful session looks like in cryo.log:

--- CRYO SESSION 1 | 2026-02-25T01:13:12Z ---
task: Continue the plan
agent: opencode
inbox: 0 messages
[01:13:12] agent started (pid 75159)
[01:13:50] hibernate: wake=2026-02-25T01:16, exit=0,
           summary="Completed first task, scheduling next check"
[01:14:00] agent exited (code 0)
[01:14:00] session complete
--- CRYO END ---

Day-to-Day Usage

cryo status          # quick health check
cryo log             # read full session history
cryo web             # visual overview in the browser
cryo send "message"  # send a message to the agent's inbox
cryo receive         # read messages the agent sent you
cryo wake            # force an immediate wake
cryo restart         # restart the daemon
cryo cancel          # stop the daemon and clean up
cryo ps              # list all running daemons

Example Run

The examples/mr-lazy/ example demonstrates the full daemon lifecycle. The agent has a 25% chance of waking up each session — otherwise it complains and goes back to sleep.

cd examples/mr-lazy && cryo init && cryo start && cryo watch

Keyboard shortcuts

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