Skein

Skein: Agent swarm orchestrator that executes explicit task graphs with a persistent epoch fence.

Skein is a fail-closed orchestration tool for local agent swarms designed to execute explicit task graphs with bounded concurrency and a persistent epoch fence. It features an emergency stop mechanism that invalidates queued work and rejects late completions from older epochs instead of merely labeling tasks as canceled. The system runs locally without requiring a daemon, database, or external runtime dependencies. It supports JSON manifests for argv arrays, dependency graphs, multi-pass blocks, worker limits, and per-pass timeouts, along with a Go embedding API. Skein is built for developers managing local agent swarms who need strict execution control and verifiable stop proofs.

Skein at a glance

Best for: Software engineer
Runs on: Linux, macOS, Windows, CLI, API, open source
Pricing: Free
Released: November 2026
Category: AI agent tool
Website: github.com/balanov/skein

Key features

Executes explicit task graphs with bounded concurrency
Maintains a persistent epoch fence and stop latch
Rejects late completions from old epochs
Terminates tracked local process trees
Uses JSON manifests for dependency graphs and limits
Provides a Go embedding API
Stores run reports and events locally

Use it for

Orchestrating local agent swarms
Running explicit task graphs with bounded concurrency
Enforcing emergency stops that invalidate queued work
Embedding task graph execution in Go applications

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