Multica

AI-native task management platform — like Linear, but with AI agents as first-class citizens.

For the full local development workflow, see Local Development Guide.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v20+)
• pnpm (v10.28+)
• Go (v1.26+)
• Docker

Quick Start

# 1. Install dependencies
pnpm install

# 2. Copy environment variables for the shared main environment
cp .env.example .env

# 3. One-time setup: ensure shared PostgreSQL, create the app DB, run migrations
make setup

# 4. Start backend + frontend
make start

Open your configured FRONTEND_ORIGIN in the browser. By default that is http://localhost:3000.

Main checkout uses .env. A Git worktree should generate its own .env.worktree and use the explicit worktree targets:

make worktree-env
make setup-worktree
make start-worktree

Every checkout shares the same PostgreSQL container on localhost:5432. Isolation now happens at the database level:

• .env typically uses POSTGRES_DB=multica
• each .env.worktree gets its own POSTGRES_DB, such as multica_my_feature_702
• backend/frontend ports still stay unique per worktree

That keeps one Docker container and one volume, while still isolating schema and data per worktree.

Project Structure

├── server/             # Go backend (Chi + sqlc + gorilla/websocket)
│   ├── cmd/            # server, daemon, migrate
│   ├── internal/       # Core business logic
│   ├── migrations/     # SQL migrations
│   └── sqlc.yaml       # sqlc config
├── apps/
│   └── web/            # Next.js 16 frontend
├── packages/           # Shared TypeScript packages
│   ├── ui/             # Component library (shadcn/ui + Radix)
│   ├── types/          # Shared type definitions
│   ├── sdk/            # API client SDK
│   ├── store/          # State management
│   ├── hooks/          # Shared React hooks
│   └── utils/          # Utility functions
├── Makefile            # Backend commands
├── docker-compose.yml  # PostgreSQL + pgvector
└── .env.example        # Environment variable template

Commands

Frontend

Command	Description
pnpm dev:web	Start Next.js dev server (uses FRONTEND_PORT, default 3000)
pnpm build	Build all TypeScript packages
pnpm typecheck	Run TypeScript type checking
pnpm test	Run TypeScript tests

Backend

Command	Description
make dev	Run Go server (uses PORT, default 8080)
make daemon	Run local agent daemon
make multica ARGS="version"	Run the local multica CLI without installing it
make test	Run Go tests
make build	Build server & daemon binaries
make sqlc	Regenerate sqlc code from SQL

Database

Command	Description
make db-up	Start the shared PostgreSQL container
make db-down	Stop the shared PostgreSQL container
make migrate-up	Ensure the current DB exists, then run migrations
make migrate-down	Rollback database migrations for the current DB
make worktree-env	Generate an isolated .env.worktree for the current worktree
make setup-main / make start-main	Force use of the shared main .env
make setup-worktree / make start-worktree	Force use of isolated .env.worktree

CLI (multica)

The CLI manages authentication, workspace configuration, and the local agent daemon.

Install

brew tap multica-ai/tap
brew install multica-cli

Or build from source:

make build
cp server/bin/multica /usr/local/bin/multica   # or ~/.local/bin/multica

For local development, you can also run the CLI directly from the repo:

make multica ARGS="version"
make multica ARGS="auth status"

For browser-based auth from source, make sure the local frontend is running at FRONTEND_ORIGIN first, for example with make start, make start-main, or make start-worktree.

Authentication

multica login               # Authenticate and auto-watch your workspaces
multica auth login          # Legacy auth-only flow
multica auth login --token  # Legacy token-only auth flow
multica auth status         # Show current auth status
multica auth logout         # Remove stored token

Credentials are saved to ~/.multica/config.json.

Workspaces

multica workspace list      # List all workspaces you belong to
multica workspace get       # Show the current workspace details/context

Daemon Watch List

The daemon monitors one or more workspaces for tasks. Manage which workspaces are watched:

multica workspace watch <workspace-id>    # Add a workspace to the watch list
multica workspace unwatch <workspace-id>  # Remove a workspace from the watch list
multica workspace list                    # Show all workspaces (watched ones marked with *)

The watch list is stored in ~/.multica/config.json. Changes are picked up by a running daemon within 5 seconds (hot-reload).

Local Agent Daemon

The daemon polls watched workspaces for tasks and executes them using locally installed AI agents (Claude Code, Codex).

# 1. Authenticate
multica login

# 2. Add workspaces to watch
multica workspace watch <workspace-id>

# 3. Start the daemon
multica daemon start

The daemon auto-detects available agent CLIs (claude, codex) on your PATH. When a task is claimed, it creates an isolated execution environment, runs the agent, and reports results back to the server.

Other Commands

multica agent list          # List agents in the current workspace
multica daemon status       # Show local daemon status
multica config              # Show CLI configuration
multica config show         # Compatibility alias for config display
multica version             # Show CLI version

Environment Variables

See .env.example for all available variables:

• DATABASE_URL — PostgreSQL connection string
• POSTGRES_DB — Database name for the current checkout or worktree
• POSTGRES_PORT — Shared PostgreSQL host port (fixed to 5432)
• PORT — Backend server port (default: 8080)
• FRONTEND_PORT / FRONTEND_ORIGIN — Frontend port and browser origin
• JWT_SECRET — JWT signing secret
• MULTICA_APP_URL — Browser origin for CLI login callback (default: http://localhost:3000)
• MULTICA_DAEMON_ID / MULTICA_DAEMON_DEVICE_NAME — Stable daemon identity for runtime registration
• MULTICA_CLAUDE_PATH / MULTICA_CLAUDE_MODEL — Claude Code executable and optional model override
• MULTICA_CODEX_PATH / MULTICA_CODEX_MODEL — Codex executable and optional model override
• MULTICA_WORKSPACES_ROOT — Base directory for agent execution environments (default: ~/multica_workspaces)
• NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL — Frontend → backend API URL
• NEXT_PUBLIC_WS_URL — Frontend → backend WebSocket URL

Local Development Notes

• make setup, make start, make dev, and make test now require an env file. They fail fast if .env or .env.worktree is missing.
• make stop only stops the backend/frontend processes for the current checkout. It does not stop the shared PostgreSQL container.
• Use make db-down only when you explicitly want to shut down the shared local PostgreSQL instance for every checkout.