Gent

A Ruby CLI tool for centralized AI agent configuration management.

Overview

Gent solves the problem of managing duplicate configuration files across multiple AI tools. Instead of copy-pasting rules and settings between Claude, Codex, Windsurf, and other agents, gent creates a single source of truth that can be linked to all your AI tools.

Features

• Centralized config management - One config file, linked to multiple agents
• MCP server synchronization - Manage MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers centrally
• Multi-format support - Handles JSON (Claude), TOML (Codex), and Markdown configs
• Global and project-level configs - Support for both system-wide and project-specific rules
• Smart linking - Safely backs up original configs before creating symlinks
• Multiple agent support - Currently supports Claude Code, Codex, and Windsurf
• Shared skills directory - Centralize Claude/Codex skills into a single source of truth
• Modular architecture - Clean, extensible Ruby modules for easy maintenance

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/willhs/gent.git
cd gent

# Install dependencies
bundle install

# Make executable and add to PATH
chmod +x bin/gent
# Add bin/gent to your PATH or create a symlink:
# ln -s $(pwd)/bin/gent /usr/local/bin/gent

gent --help

Example Output

$ gent list --global
Supported agents:

  claude code  ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md            (linked -> /Users/you/.config/gent/rules.md)
    MCP:       ~/.claude.json                 (synced -> /Users/you/.config/gent/mcp.yaml)
  codex        ~/.codex/AGENTS.md             (linked -> /Users/you/.config/gent/rules.md)
    MCP:       ~/.codex/config.toml           (synced -> /Users/you/.config/gent/mcp.yaml)
  windsurf     ~/.codeium/windsurf/memories/global_rules.md (linked -> /Users/you/.config/gent/rules.md)

Central MCP config:
  /Users/you/.config/gent/mcp.yaml          (2 MCP servers)

Usage

# Link all agents to centralized config (rules + skills)
gent init

# Link specific agent (text configs + MCP servers)  
gent link claude
gent link codex
gent link windsurf

# Unlink specific agent (restores originals)
gent unlink claude

# Use global configs (stored in ~/.config/gent/)
gent init --global
gent link claude --global

# View current linking status, MCP sync info, and skills status
gent list
gent list --global

Configuration

Agent paths and MCP configs are defined in config/config.yml:

local_configs:
  "claude code": "CLAUDE.md"
  codex: "AGENTS.md"
  windsurf: ".windsurfrules"

global_configs:
  "claude code": "~/.claude/CLAUDE.md"
  codex: "~/.codex/AGENTS.md"
  windsurf: "~/.codeium/windsurf/memories/global_rules.md"

gent_dirs:
  local: ".gent/rules.md"
  global: "~/.config/gent/rules.md"

# MCP (Model Context Protocol) server configs
mcp_configs:
  "claude code": "~/.claude.json"
  codex: "~/.codex/config.toml"

gent_mcp_dirs:
  local: ".gent/mcp.yaml"
  global: "~/.config/gent/mcp.yaml"

# Skills directory sharing
skill_dirs:
  local:
    "claude code": ".claude/skills"
    codex: ".codex/skills"
  global:
    "claude code": "~/.claude/skills"
    codex: "~/.codex/skills"

gent_skill_dirs:
  local: ".gent/skills"
  global: "~/.config/gent/skills"

How it Works

Text Config Management

1. Backup: Original agent configs are safely backed up to .gent/original_configs/
2. Link: Agent config files are replaced with symlinks to your centralized gent config
3. Sync: All linked agents automatically use the same rules and settings

MCP Server Management

1. Extract: MCP servers from agent configs are copied to central mcp.yaml (if central is empty)
2. Centralize: All agents' MCP configs point to the same centralized server definitions
3. Format Preservation: JSON (Claude) and TOML (Codex) formats are maintained
4. Restore: Original MCP configs are restored when unlinking

Skills Directory Sharing

1. Seed: If the central skills directory is empty, gent copies existing Claude skills into it
2. Link: Agent skill directories are replaced with symlinks to the central skills directory
3. Restore: Original skill directories are restored when unlinking

MCP Server Formats

Claude (JSON): ~/.claude.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "puppeteer": {
      "type": "stdio", 
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/server.js"]
    }
  }
}

Codex (TOML): ~/.codex/config.toml

[mcp_servers.puppeteer]
command = "node"
args = ["/path/to/server.js"]
type = "stdio"

Central (YAML): ~/.config/gent/mcp.yaml

puppeteer:
  type: stdio
  command: node
  args: ["/path/to/server.js"]

Project Structure

bin/gent              # Executable CLI
lib/
├── gent.rb          # Main CLI class
└── gent/
    ├── config_manager.rb    # YAML/JSON/TOML config handling
    ├── file_manager.rb      # File operations & symlinks
    ├── mcp_manager.rb       # MCP server synchronization
    └── agent_manager.rb     # Agent linking/unlinking logic
config/config.yml     # Agent and MCP configuration paths
gent.gemspec         # Gem specification with dependencies