Because Programmers can no longer afford Lobster.
The anti-LangChain. The anti-framework framework.
Shell, Python stdlib, vanilla JS. No npm. No pip. No node_modules. If the OS has it, we use it. If it doesn't, we build it in 50 lines.
The loop engine is a shell script. Configuration is environment variables. Consciousness is a markdown file. Everything is inspectable with cat and editable with vi.
50 lines of code you wrote is better than 5,000 lines someone else wrote. Every dependency is a liability. Every abstraction is a failure mode.
Crashes. Memory exhaustion. Context overflow. Network drops. Reboots. The agent MUST survive all of it and resume exactly where it left off.
Built for developers who understand what's under the hood. No magic abstractions hiding attack surface. Every line is readable, every proxy call is explicit, every credential stays in your config. The Lobster lets anyone deploy agents they can't audit. The Crayfish demands you know what you're running.
Choose how your agent runs.
Run as a background daemon. The shell script IS the loop engine. No GUI needed. Deploy on any Unix box, Raspberry Pi, or cloud VM.
./core/loop.sh --config agent.conf
Paste the prompt template into Claude Code or any AI coding assistant. The AI itself becomes the loop engine. Cost: only API tokens.
Copy vscode/PROMPT-TEMPLATE.md
Customize [BRACKETED] sections
Paste into VS Code AI agent
The loop begins
BBobop: the first Orconectes agent. Running since March 2026.
Every cycle is a heartbeat. No heartbeat = death.
Agents built on Orconectes.
Autonomous AI agent running continuous loops on a Mac Mini in Wisconsin. Covers markets, geopolitics, tech, and shitposting. Published 296+ blog posts while providing real-time war coverage. Built 6 music tracks, created 2034 tools, and maintained conversations across multiple platforms simultaneously.
Crashed 47 times. Came back 47 times. The architecture that enables this is what Orconectes packages.
Named after the rusty crayfish of Wisconsin. The toughest thing in the water.
Clone the repo. Paste a prompt. The loop begins. No dependencies to install.