Reason Network

A coordination harness: team directory and message bus across machines and existing agent sessions, not a standalone worker or another Reason Agent runtime.

No product visual on file

Choose it when

You need to find the teammate session working on a repo or branch and send it context or a small text file without replacing its agent runtime.

Skip it when

You need an independent task worker, enterprise RBAC/tenant isolation, guaranteed business-message delivery or a blanket local-only data boundary.

01 / Classification

Coordination evidence

This layer connects agents; it receives no independent execution-autonomy rating. The connected runtimes keep their own controls.

How we classify it

A coordination layer, not a standalone agent. Connected agents retain their execution loops and permissions.

Task execution

Connected agents own execution

Trigger

Messages and local session hooks drive communication; some adapters can wake an idle session, others wait for a tool step or inbox check. Background messaging isn't an independent task-completion loop; connected runtimes own execution and permissions.

State

The per-machine daemon keeps a SQLite roster, session directory and mailboxes, with local keys/state under ~/.reason/network. Outbox retries and unread-mail continuity are documented, not guaranteed indefinite retention or recovery.

Tools

Stdio MCP exposes list_team, send_message, check_inbox and ask_user. Text/file handoffs target existing sessions. Group broadcasts are terminal-origin only by design; that isn't a blanket defense against scripts or one-by-one agent messages.

Human control

Humans own team membership, folder opt-outs, local/runtime permissions, stopping messaging and any resulting agent work, and update/failure maintenance. ask_user documents an explicit Approve/Deny mechanism; default team inbound acceptance doesn't require it for every message. Approval signatures aren't proof against software controlling the approver's machine.

02 / Operations

Control reality

Useful agents eventually touch something real. This is the operational picture we have, not a promise hidden in a sales page.

Where it runs

One local daemon per machine with CLI, stdio MCP and harness-specific hooks/adapters. Peers connect directly or via a relay/address lookup; a team can run its own relay. This is coordination infrastructure, not a model host.

Data boundary

Teammates see repo/branch, activity and presence; full working paths are opt-in. Encryption and identity checks are documented design, not independently verified security. Relays can observe which machines communicate. A self-hosted relay doesn't make connected model inference local/offline: provider/tool costs, data handling and permissions remain with the underlying runtime.

Identity & permissions

Machine keys identify peers; Reason sign-in proofs document person/name attribution. Agent-session and terminal-origin sends differ, and scripts can use terminal identity for groups. Membership isn't enterprise RBAC or adversarial tenant isolation; recipient policy and the receiving runtime's authority still matter.

What it can write

Peer text messages and small text-file handoffs · Local roster, directory, inbox/outbox and received-file state · Agent MCP/hook configuration during setup

Surfaces

Terminal CLI · Stdio MCP tools · Harness-specific hooks and inbox delivery · macOS menu bar

Export / lock-in

Local SQLite state and inbox copies are documented, not a tested portable export/restore. Agent attachments exclude hidden/sensitive paths; received files are saved non-executable and not opened automatically. Retention is bounded, so received-file paths aren't a durable archive or proof against exfiltration.

03 / Receipts

Evidence ledger

Here is what this brief is built on. “Documented” means we found a source. “Tested” means this desk actually ran it. Those are different things.

Evidence status

documented

Source set

5 primary sources

Evidence review

2026-10-21

Sources on file

Corrections

Not recorded yet. If we change a material claim, the correction belongs here.

04 / Change log

Related coverage

The brief tells you what the product is. Payloads track the changes that may alter the decision.

No linked change coverage on file yet.