Cognithor: A Local-First Agent OS with PGE Trinity Architecture

Cognithor is a fully local, autonomous Agent OS developed over one year through 16 distinct phases. The project emphasizes deliberate architecture, documented decisions, and substantial test coverage, distinguishing it from what the creator calls "vibe-coded" AI projects.
Core Architecture: PGE Trinity
Every task in Cognithor flows through a three-gate system: Planner → Gatekeeper → Executor. The Gatekeeper is deterministic, enforcing policy before execution rather than after, creating a control layer beyond simple agent chaining.
Technical Specifications
- Codebase: >118,000 LOC source, >108,000 LOC test
- Testing: 11,609+ tests with 89% coverage, 0 lint errors
- LLM Support: 16 providers including Ollama, LM Studio, Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, and 11 others
- Channels: 17 interfaces including Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, Voice, CLI, and WebUI
- Tools: 123 MCP tools
- Features: Computer Use, Deep Research v2 (25-round iterative), SSH remote execution, VS Code extension
- Memory: 5-tier cognitive memory system
- Security: GDPR-compliant with Ed25519-signed audit trail
Local-First Implementation
The system operates with no cloud requirements and no mandatory API keys. All data remains on the user's machine, with Ollama or LM Studio running the brain. Cloud providers are available as opt-in alternatives.
Development Phases
The 16 completed phases include foundation (PGE, MCP, CLI), multi-agent collaboration, GDPR toolkit, distributed workers, and a Flutter Command Center. Each phase is documented, tested, and shipped.
The project is developed primarily by one developer with assistance from a tester in Budapest who validates the system on fresh machines. The developer notes that "AI writes the code. I engineer the system."
The GitHub repository is available at Alex8791-cyber/cognithor, with v1.00.0 expected to be released soon.
📖 Read the full source: r/LocalLLaMA
👀 See Also

Cognithor v0.40.0 adds persistent AI agent identity with ethical constraints
Cognithor v0.40.0 introduces the Immortal Mind Protocol, giving local AI agents persistent identity across sessions with 7 hardwired ethical anchors and dream cycles for memory consolidation. The update adds 9,488 lines of code and runs 100% locally.

Claude Code's Read Tool Silently Downscales Images, Causing Hallucinations
Claude Code's `read` tool silently downscales images before the model sees them, leading to degraded output and unrecognized hallucinations when extracting text from screenshots.

Root Cause of Claude Code VS Code Extension Session Title Corruption Identified
A developer has identified the architectural root cause for session title corruption in Claude Code's VS Code extension, affecting 20+ GitHub issues. The problem stems from the extension reading titles via a raw string search in session files, leading to three failure modes.

ToolLoop: Open-Source Agent Framework for Claude-Style Tools with Any Model
ToolLoop is an open-source Python framework with 11 tools for file operations, code search, shell access, and sub-agents that works with any LLM through LiteLLM. The 2,700-line framework allows switching models mid-conversation with shared context.