Docs
Guides, architecture, and reference for Colony
Getting Started
Install Colony and spawn your first agent environment.
Architecture
Gleam + OTP, Rust TUI, SolidJS dashboard, Linux namespaces.
Comparisons
- Colony vs Docker for Dev Environments
Why Colony uses Linux network namespaces instead of Docker containers for AI agent isolation. A technical comparison.
- Colony vs Standalone AI Coding Agents
How Colony compares to Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Google Antigravity, Cursor, and other agentic coding tools in 2026. Colony orchestrates Claude Code sessions with isolation — it doesn't replace the agent.
- Why Colony Uses Jujutsu Instead of Git
Jujutsu (jj) eliminates merge conflicts between parallel AI agents. Here's how it works and why we chose it.
Core Concepts
- Parallel Agent Execution
How Colony enables multiple AI agents to work simultaneously with kernel-level isolation and zero container overhead
- Live Preview System
Real-time preview of agent work through web interfaces, terminals, and streaming activity logs in your browser
- Colony Lifecycle Management
Full lifecycle from spawn to stop — states, transitions, supervision trees, and service orchestration in Colony
Guides
- Bloom Web Dashboard
Real-time web interface for managing colonies with live previews, terminal access, and agent monitoring.
- Colony Templates
Configure colony environments with colony.toml — define services, ports, environment setup, and provisioning.
- Agent Backends
Connect AI coding agents to colonies — HumanLayer hld daemon integration, streaming events, and brood orchestration.
Legal
Product
Reference
- Nix Development Environment
How Colony uses Nix Flakes for reproducible development environments with pinned dependencies.
- Configuration Reference
Complete reference for colony.toml, environment variables, and runtime configuration options.
- Stem Terminal Interface
Deep dive into Stem's Rust + Ratatui architecture, IPC communication, and keyboard-driven UX.
- Networking Deep Dive
How Colony uses Linux network namespaces, Caddy reverse proxy, and dnsmasq for isolated colony networking.
- Security Model
Understanding Colony's security guarantees, isolation boundaries, and threat model.