HumanLayer

The current product is a desktop app (macOS), a web and mobile UI, a HumanLayer API and daemons. A daemon, either started by the desktop app or run on a remote host, launches Claude Code or Codex sessions on its machine; the API passes work to connected daemons and streams session events back to every interface. The code in the humanlayer/humanlayer repository (the earlier open-source CodeLayer daemon, UI and CLI, plus the removed SDK) is marked deprecated in its README and is not the source of this app.

Orchestration follows workflow phases. A task picks a workflow; guided ones begin with research questions, move through design and a structure outline split into vertical slices, then implement phase by phase. Skills for each phase run in the main session and start sub-agents for focused jobs such as locating code, analysing it, implementing or reviewing. Some transitions can auto-advance; design and outline handoffs always wait for a person.

State lives in tasks. Each task has a local directory that the daemon syncs to the cloud whenever the agent reads or writes a file there with its file tools; text artifacts are stored in the cloud (up to 10 MB each) and appear in the artifact view for comments. Sessions keep their own messages and settings, while the task keeps them grouped across workstations.

Checkpoints are built into the workflows: a design discussion keeps each choice open until the user answers, a PRD needs approval of the full product solution, a technical design needs separate approval of system and program design, feedback on a structure outline changes the outline instead of starting implementation, and normal implementation pauses for manual review after its checks pass. Reviewers comment inline on synced artifacts (including guests through public review links since 0.179.0), and agents read those comments in later sessions. Users can also message a running session from the web or mobile UI. The deprecated CLI in the repository offered an MCP permission-prompt tool for Claude Code approvals.

brew install --cask humanlayer/humanlayer/humanlayer

# macOS app (needs a HumanLayer account; Claude Code installed and signed in)
brew trust --tap humanlayer/humanlayer
brew install --cask humanlayer/humanlayer/humanlayer
open /Applications/HumanLayer.app      # sign in; the local daemon starts with the app

# CLI for Codex sessions or a remote daemon host
npm install -g @humanlayer/cli@latest
humanlayer login
humanlayer agents auth codex
humanlayer agents --help               # launch commands change between releases

# In the app: Create Task -> Workflow ONESHOT or RPI -> Coding Agent Claude Code or codex
# Inside an RPI session, phases are driven with skills, e.g.:
#   /rpi:create-outline turn the approved design into testable implementation phases
#   /rpi:describe-pr

• The humanlayer/humanlayer repository is a public issue tracker; its README says the code there is deprecated. Install the app from Homebrew or the download link instead of building the repository.
• Requires a HumanLayer account. The desktop app targets macOS on Apple silicon; Linux, Windows and other hosts use a remote daemon.
• Claude Code (or Codex) must already be installed and signed in; HumanLayer uses your own subscriptions or API keys.
• With worktree timing set to Never, the session edits the selected checkout directly, so use a clean branch.
• The browser app does not yet offer workspace management, an embedded terminal or path auto-complete.
• Custom Codex endpoints need both CODELAYER_CODEX_BASE_URL and CODELAYER_CODEX_API_KEY; quit the app and reopen it from the same terminal so it inherits the variables.
• Only files the agent touches with its file tools inside the task directory sync to the cloud.

The repository carries an Apache License 2.0 notice, but its README says that code is deprecated. The current HumanLayer app is not open source; the homepage FAQ answers 'Not yet'.

Both lived in the humanlayer/humanlayer repository. The SDK was removed (see humanlayer.md), and the README now calls the remaining code deprecated and points to the rebuilt product at humanlayer.com. The current docs still use CODELAYER_ in some environment variable names.

The docs cover Claude Code and Codex, including handing a session between them. The homepage FAQ also lists Copilot and Fireworks.

Only in deprecated code. The hlyr CLI in the repository shipped an MCP server and a Claude Code approval tool. The current docs treat MCP as the coding agent's own configuration, which sessions load from the primary repository; they document no HumanLayer MCP server.

The homepage lists a free Starter tier (up to 3 team members, 200 sessions a month), Pro at $100 per user per month, and a custom-priced Enterprise tier. Model usage runs on your own Claude, Codex or other subscriptions.