Arka

Your terminal, upgraded. Route plain English to 70+ local skills — deterministic offline routing, voice, 24-provider LLM failover, and security gates on by default.

Documentation: arka-agent.mintlify.site · Repository: github.com/Sumit884-byte/arka · Local landing preview: landing/ (python3 -m http.server from that folder)

PyPI downloads

Live charts: pypistats.org/packages/arka-agent · pepy.tech/projects/arka-agent · snapshot 2026-08-30

Why Arka?

• Deterministic routing: 120+ symbolic rules handle most requests with zero LLM tokens before any model is called.
• Extensible: Add third-party skills via skill.json plugins — no fork required.
• Secure by default: Prompt-injection checks, risky-action prompts, and hard blocks on destructive shell patterns.
• Local-first: Skills run on your machine; LLM calls failover across Gemini, Groq, Ollama, and 20+ other providers.

If Arka looks useful, star the upstream repo — it helps others discover the project and signals that it's worth a look:

gh repo star Sumit884-byte/arka

Or open github.com/Sumit884-byte/arka and click Star.

Architecture

Arka is built as a layered system. Requests flow through deterministic symbolic routing first (zero LLM tokens), fall back to a multi-provider LLM chain only when needed, and dispatch to a pluggable skill dispatcher. All layers — MCP server, remote API server, memory, telemetry, and cloud deployment — are independently composable.

flowchart TD
    CLI["🖥️ CLI / Natural Language Input\n`arka ...` or `arka ask '...'`"]

    subgraph Router["Routing Layer (zero-token-first)"]
        SR["⚡ Symbolic Router\n120+ deterministic rules"]
        LLM["🤖 LLM Failover Chain\nGemini → Groq → Ollama\n→ OpenRouter → 20+ providers"]
        SR -->|"no match"| LLM
    end

    subgraph Dispatch["Skill Dispatcher"]
        SD["🎯 Skill Dispatcher\nHosted-mode guard · Security gate\nPrompt-injection check"]
    end

    subgraph Skills["70+ Skills"]
        direction TB
        CODE["💻 Code & Repo\ncode · repo_health · repo_map\nreview · ci · pr_check · security"]
        DATA["📊 Data & Research\nask · search · pdf_rag\nstocks · data_ask · kaggle"]
        MEDIA["🎵 Media & Voice\nvoice · youtube · spotify\ncompose_video · tts"]
        INFRA["☁️ Infra & Deploy\ndeploy · cloud · railway\ndocker · render · vercel"]
        MEM["🧠 Memory\nmemory · recall · supermemory\ncontext · session"]
    end

    subgraph Interfaces["Interfaces"]
        MCP["🔌 MCP Server\nstdio / SSE\nCursor · Claude · Copilot"]
        REMOTE["🌐 Remote HTTP API\nGET /v1/health\nPOST /v1/agent\nMobile UI :8765"]
        TLM["📡 Telemetry\nOpenTelemetry · SigNoz"]
    end

    subgraph LLMs["LLM Providers"]
        G["Gemini"]
        GQ["Groq"]
        OL["Ollama (local)"]
        OR["OpenRouter\n+ 20 providers"]
    end

    CLI --> Router
    SR -->|"matched rule"| SD
    LLM --> G & GQ & OL & OR
    LLM --> SD
    SD --> CODE & DATA & MEDIA & INFRA & MEM
    SD --> MCP
    SD --> REMOTE
    SD --> TLM

    style CLI fill:#1e293b,color:#f8fafc,stroke:#f97316
    style SR fill:#0f172a,color:#fb923c,stroke:#f97316
    style LLM fill:#0f172a,color:#a78bfa,stroke:#7c3aed
    style SD fill:#0f172a,color:#34d399,stroke:#059669
    style MCP fill:#0f172a,color:#60a5fa,stroke:#2563eb
    style REMOTE fill:#0f172a,color:#60a5fa,stroke:#2563eb
    style TLM fill:#0f172a,color:#94a3b8,stroke:#475569
    style CODE fill:#0f172a,color:#f8fafc,stroke:#334155
    style DATA fill:#0f172a,color:#f8fafc,stroke:#334155
    style MEDIA fill:#0f172a,color:#f8fafc,stroke:#334155
    style INFRA fill:#0f172a,color:#f8fafc,stroke:#334155
    style MEM fill:#0f172a,color:#f8fafc,stroke:#334155
    style G fill:#1a2744,color:#93c5fd,stroke:#1d4ed8
    style GQ fill:#1a2744,color:#93c5fd,stroke:#1d4ed8
    style OL fill:#1a2744,color:#93c5fd,stroke:#1d4ed8
    style OR fill:#1a2744,color:#93c5fd,stroke:#1d4ed8

Key design properties:

• Zero-token-first — Symbolic routing resolves most requests without any LLM call.
• Hosted-mode safety — Skill dispatcher blocks desktop/GUI/audio skills automatically on cloud/headless Linux (ARKA_HOSTED_MODE=1).
• Multi-platform deploy — arka deploy --all deploys to Cloud VM, Railway, Vercel, Netlify, Render in one command.
• MCP + Remote API — Arka exposes all skills as MCP tools (stdio/SSE) and a REST HTTP API on port 8765.

Privacy

Arka is designed so you stay in control of your data:

• Runs on your machine — Skills execute locally. There is no hosted Arka account and no shared demo instance; your terminal, files, and config stay on your system.

• Local-first routing — 120+ symbolic rules handle many requests with zero LLM tokens, so common tasks never leave your machine.

• You choose where prompts go — LLM calls use only the providers you configure (Gemini, Groq, Ollama, etc.). For sensitive work, force a local-only boundary:

  arka run-only-local-llm "summarize this repo"
  arka hybrid config local-only
  

  With local-only, hosted providers are not used as fallbacks.

• Secrets stay local — API keys and .env live under your user config directory (~/.config/arka/ on Linux, ~/Library/Application Support/arka/ on macOS). arka integration setup never prints secret values.

• Memory stays local by default — Long-term memory uses a local cache unless you add a Supermemory key (MEMORY=auto falls back to local). Set MEMORY=local to keep recall entirely on disk.

• Web content is sanitized — Arka strips suspicious injection patterns from search results and scraped pages before they reach the model (SECURITY_SANITIZE=1 by default).

• Risky actions need confirmation — Installs, deletes, downloads, and automation prompt [y/N] unless you explicitly auto-confirm (SECURITY_ACTIONS=1 by default).

• Telemetry defaults to SigNoz — OpenTelemetry traces, metrics, and logs export to http://127.0.0.1:4318 by default. Set OTEL_SDK_DISABLED=true or OTEL_TRACES_ENABLED=0 to opt out.

Details: Security model · Memory · Hybrid local/hosted routing

Supported platforms

Requirements: Python 3.11+. Optional: fish shell for natural-language routing and voice integration.

Config paths: ~/.config/arka/ (Linux), ~/Library/Application Support/arka/ (macOS), %APPDATA%\arka\ (Windows).

Installation

PyPI package name is arka-agent — published at pypi.org/project/arka-agent.

Recommended (standalone, no clone, no build):

uv installs arka-agent from PyPI — no separate uv registry or token:

uv tool install "arka-agent[chat]"
arka setup
arka doctor

Or with pipx:

pipx install "arka-agent[chat]"
arka setup
arka doctor

One-off without global install:

uvx --from "arka-agent[chat]" arka doctor

Or with pip in a venv:

python3 -m pip install "arka-agent[chat]"
arka setup
arka doctor

GitHub fallback (if you need the latest commit before the next PyPI release):

pipx install "arka-agent[chat] @ git+https://github.com/Sumit884-byte/arka.git"
arka setup
arka doctor

From a git clone (best for contributors or tracking main):

Upstream (canonical):

git clone https://github.com/Sumit884-byte/arka.git
cd arka
./scripts/refetch.sh --install
arka setup
arka doctor

Working from a fork (recommended if you do not have push access to upstream):

gh repo fork Sumit884-byte/arka --clone
cd arka
./scripts/refetch.sh --install
pip install -e ".[chat,dev]"
arka setup
arka doctor

Example active fork: sumitmishra884byte-cpu/arka (fork of upstream). Sync your fork before opening a PR:

gh repo sync --source Sumit884-byte/arka
git push origin main

Configure API keys (at least one cloud key or local Ollama):

cp .env.example ~/.config/arka/.env   # macOS/Linux; see Supported platforms for Windows path

Add a free-tier key from Google AI Studio or Groq Console, then run arka free tier setup for recommended .env settings.

Optional one-liners:

brew install fish                    # macOS — unlocks full skill router
arka mcp doctor && arka mcp install   # verify MCP server; print Cursor snippet

See the Quickstart guide and MCP integration for fish setup, Cursor merge steps, and optional extras ([voice], [pdf], [all]).

Try Arka without building from source

There is no hosted demo instance or shared test account. The fastest path to evaluate Arka:

1. Browse the live docs — arka-agent.mintlify.site (skills catalog, routing concepts, CLI reference).

2. Install in one command — use the pip/pipx git install above (no manual build step).

3. Use free-tier LLM keys — Gemini and Groq both offer free tiers; Ollama is local and costs nothing:

   arka free tier setup
   arka doctor
   

4. Run sample commands that exercise routing and LLM failover:

   arka ask "what is Rust?"
   arka "convert 100 USD to INR"
   arka council "should I learn Rust?"
   arka quiz python
   arka coding-tui .
   arka repo_health scan
   

   Inside the coding TUI, /test scripts runs verification scripts discovered under scripts/ (no hardcoded list — Arka inspects filenames, docstrings, argparse, and test_* functions). Use /test for pytest and repo_health scan to see why each script matched.

5. Try MCP in Cursor — after install, arka mcp doctor then arka mcp install; merge the printed snippet into Cursor Settings → MCP and restart Cursor.

Full walkthrough: Quickstart · Free credits guide

Quick start

Get to a working answer in under a minute:

arka doctor                              # verify install + keys
arka ask "what is Rust?"                 # web + AI answer
arka "convert 100 USD to INR"            # natural language routing
arka council "should I learn Rust?"      # multi-persona deliberation

Voice (optional):

arka listen    # then say: "hey arka, what's the weather"

More guides — skills, stocks, PDF RAG, Google Workspace, goal agent, testing — live on the documentation site.

Built with Codex & GPT-5.6

Arka was built for the OpenAI Build Week Developer Tools track (July 2026):

• Codex — routing rule hardening, NL routing test coverage, coding TUI iteration (/plan auto-execute, /test, /test scripts), and demo pipeline tooling.
• GPT-5.6 — primary model in the arka ask failover chain and agent steps inside arka coding-tui (via OpenRouter).

Judges can reproduce the full path with pipx install "arka-agent[chat]", arka setup, and arka doctor. Demo video and CLI screenshots live under recordings/.

Contributing

We welcome contributions of all sizes! Please read our Contribution Guidelines to get started with the local development workflow.

Quick fork workflow with GitHub CLI:

gh repo view Sumit884-byte/arka          # upstream metadata
gh repo fork Sumit884-byte/arka --clone  # your fork + local clone
cd arka
pip install -e ".[chat,dev]"
pytest
# push to your fork, then open a PR back to Sumit884-byte/arka
gh pr create --repo Sumit884-byte/arka

Look for the good first issue label on GitHub Issues to find a welcoming entry point.

License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.