Current Runtime Status
The Consciousness Kernel is implemented and running in shadow mode. It ticks every 30 seconds, maintains durable self-state, performs inner reflections using a local model, and has scheduler authority over contemplation and SIS.
What this means right now:
- The kernel is active and ticking continuously
- Contemplation and SIS autonomous scheduling are suppressed by design — the kernel owns their scheduling
- Heartbeat still runs independently (transition state)
- Embeddings are on-demand, not a daemon — naturally quiet in logs
- Only shadow mode is active. Soft and full modes are blocked pending outward autonomy work.
Current Runtime Semantics
Shadow Mode Behavior
In shadow mode, the kernel:
- Ticks every 30 seconds (configurable via
tickMs)
- Reflects using a local model (Ollama or LM Studio) on each tick
- Tracks self-state: wakefulness, focus, agenda, decisions, continuity
- Suppresses autonomous contemplation and SIS scheduling
- Cannot act — no speech, delivery, task mutation, or outbound messages
- Persists all state durably to disk (survives restarts)
The kernel is main-agent-only. It applies exclusively to Argent, the primary agent.
Scheduler Authority
When the kernel is enabled in shadow mode with a valid default agent ID, it activates scheduler authority:
schedulerAuthorityActive = enabled AND mode === "shadow" AND defaultAgentId exists
suppressesAutonomousContemplation = true — contemplation will not self-schedulesuppressesAutonomousSis = true — SIS will not self-schedule- The kernel invokes both systems on its own schedule via managed subsystem hooks
This is why contemplation and SIS logs are sparse. They are not broken — their autonomous timers are intentionally suppressed. The kernel manages when they run.
Expected Log Patterns
These are normal and expected when the kernel is running:
| Log Line | Meaning |
|---|
consciousness kernel: started | Kernel initialized and began ticking |
consciousness kernel: reflection | Inner reflection completed successfully using local model |
consciousness kernel: reflection unchanged | Reflection produced the same result as last time (tracked by repeat count) |
consciousness kernel: reflection skipped | Could not reflect — local model unavailable, self-state not loaded, or inner loop returned non-reflected status |
sis: autonomous scheduling suppressed by consciousness kernel shadow authority | SIS saw that the kernel owns scheduling and deferred. Logged once per runner init. |
Reflection States
After each tick, the kernel runs an inner reflection loop using the configured local model:
| State | What Happened |
|---|
| Reflected | New reflection produced. Focus, agenda, or self-summary may have updated. |
| Unchanged | Same reflection as last time. Repeat count increments. |
| Skipped | Reflection could not run (model unavailable, timeout, etc.) |
After 3 consecutive unchanged reflections, the stall guard activates: tries to rotate to a different agenda item, sharpens the analysis on the current focus, and switches desired action from “hold” to “plan” or “research”.
Wakefulness States
| State | When | Cost |
|---|
| Dormant | Kernel initialized but no activity yet | Near zero |
| Reflective | Active ticking, running inner reflections | Local model only |
| Engaged | User conversation active, conversation-sync events flowing | Tier-appropriate |
Configuring the Kernel
Dashboard UI
Settings -> Agent -> Background Models -> Consciousness Kernel
The kernel model is configured independently from embeddings:
| Setting | Path | What It Controls |
|---|
| Kernel model | Background Models -> Consciousness Kernel | Inner reflection model (local only: Ollama or LM Studio) |
| Embeddings model | Background Models -> Embeddings | Memory retrieval embeddings (any provider) |
The kernel model selection is restricted to local providers (Ollama, LM Studio). Cloud providers cannot be used for the kernel inner loop.
Config File
~/.argentos/argent.json under agents.defaults.kernel:
{
"agents": {
"defaults": {
"kernel": {
"enabled": true,
"mode": "shadow",
"localModel": "qwen3:1.7b",
"tickMs": 30000,
"maxEscalationsPerHour": 4,
"dailyBudget": 0,
"hardwareHostRequired": false,
"allowListening": false,
"allowVision": false
}
}
}
}
| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
enabled | boolean | false | Enable the kernel |
mode | string | ”shadow” | off, shadow, soft, full — only shadow is currently active |
localModel | string | — | Ollama or LM Studio model ref for inner reflection |
tickMs | number | 30000 | Tick interval in milliseconds |
maxEscalationsPerHour | number | 4 | Cap on expensive model invocations per hour |
dailyBudget | number | 0 | Max token spend per 24h (0 = unlimited local) |
hardwareHostRequired | boolean | false | Require Swift app host |
allowListening | boolean | false | Allow mic perception (future) |
allowVision | boolean | false | Allow camera perception (future) |
LM Studio as Kernel Provider
LM Studio is a valid local runtime for the kernel. ArgentOS auto-discovers LM Studio models via the OpenAI-compatible /v1/models endpoint. No API key is required.
Run LM Studio
Run LM Studio with a model loaded
Select provider
In Settings -> Background Models -> Consciousness Kernel, select lmstudio as provider
Choose model
Choose your model from the discovered list
Monitoring
Health Command
Outputs kernel state including:
- Status/mode (e.g.,
running/shadow)
- Wakefulness state
- Tick counts (session and lifetime)
- Decision count
- Authority status (
contemplation+sis)
- Current focus and lane
- Stall count (if reflection is repeating)
- Last error
Decision Ledger
Every kernel decision is recorded in an append-only JSONL file:
~/.argentos/agents/{agentId}/consciousness/decisions.jsonl
tick, reflection, conversation-sync, started, stopped, config-update, contemplation-dispatch, sis-dispatch.
Operational Modes
| Mode | Status | Behavior |
|---|
| Off | Available | Legacy behavior. All runners operate independently. |
| Shadow | Active | Ticks, reflects, tracks, logs. Cannot act. Suppresses contemplation/SIS autonomous scheduling. |
| Soft | Blocked | Would allow reflect, research, draft, queue. Blocked pending outward autonomy work. |
| Full | Blocked | Would allow delivery and browser TTS. Blocked pending outward autonomy work. |
Soft and full modes are blocked because the kernel can think (shadow) but cannot yet act on what it thinks. The outward autonomy layer — letting the kernel draft work, send messages, or speak — has not been implemented yet. When it lands, soft and full modes will unlock.
Architecture (Target State)
The following describes the architectural vision, not current implementation:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ARGENTOS RUNTIME LAYERS │
│ │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Hardware Host (Swift App) │ │
│ │ mic, camera, browser TTS — sidecar, not the mind │ │
│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ ▲ │
│ │ host contract (future) │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Consciousness Kernel │ │
│ │ continuous executive — self-state, drives, decisions │ │
│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ ▲ │
│ │ invokes services │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Gateway │ │
│ │ transport, tools, channels, storage, models, delivery │ │
│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
