An open-source, model-agnostic runtime for building AI agents that actually persist. Define your agent in YAML, point it at any model provider, and let it build memory over time. No framework lock-in, no proprietary formats, no starting from scratch every conversation. Agents that remember, learn, and run anywhere.
The Problem
Building AI agents today means vendor lock-in, no persistence, starting from scratch every conversation. Frameworks are heavy, opinionated, and tied to specific providers. You shouldn't need a PhD in LangChain to make an agent that remembers yesterday.
The tools that exist either lock you into a single model provider, bury you in abstraction layers, or treat memory as an afterthought. Nothing built for people who just want a persistent, portable agent they actually control.
Ark is the runtime I built because everything else got in the way.
What It Does
Everything you need to define, run, and maintain persistent AI agents. Built for builders, not framework tourists.
YAML-First Configuration
Define your agent's personality, tools, and behavior in a single YAML file. No boilerplate code, no framework ceremony. Change the config, change the agent.
Model Agnostic
Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Ollama, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Switch providers by changing one line. Your agent's identity doesn't depend on who's hosting the model.
Built-In Persistence
SQLite-backed memory that survives restarts. Your agent remembers conversations, learns from mistakes, and builds context over time. No external database required.
Self-Correction
Structured mistake logging and pattern recognition. When an agent gets something wrong, it records why, and the pattern feeds back into future behavior. Agents that actually improve.
Tool Use
Give agents the ability to execute real actions — file operations, web searches, API calls, shell commands. Controlled, auditable, and sandboxed.
Zero Lock-In
Plain files, standard protocols, no proprietary formats. Move your agents between machines, share configs across teams, fork and modify without asking permission.
Under the Hood
Ark is a TypeScript runtime built on Node.js and SQLite. Agents are defined in YAML configuration files — personality, tools, model provider, memory settings — all in one place. The runtime handles conversation management, persistent memory, tool execution, and self-correction out of the box.
No cloud dependency, no mandatory accounts, no telemetry. It runs on your machine, stores data in local SQLite, and talks to whatever model provider you point it at. Open source from day one.
Your agents deserve a real runtime.
Open source. Define in YAML. Run anywhere.