Drift – Intent-driven versioning for AI coding agents

Git tracks what changed. Drift tracks why.

Drift is a semantic version-control layer that wraps Git. Every commit becomes an Intent: the prompt that produced the change, the agent model behind it, the AST-level mutations, an optional checkpoint of the agent's cognitive state, and a cryptographic Ed25519 signature — all linked into an auditable, replayable graph.

Built for the AI era. When more than 80% of code is generated, text diffs are useless for review: they show what changed, never why. Drift rejects broken syntax before it enters history, answers "why does this function exist?" with the originating prompt, and lets a crashed agent resume from its last checkpoint.

Give your agent Drift: Claude Code, Antigravity, Codex App, Codex CLI, Cursor, Factory Droid, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot CLI, Kimi Code, OpenCode, Pi.

Prefer no agent? Use the CLI, the GitHub App, the GitHub Action, or VS Code. Want the 5-minute "aha" first? Seed the demo repo and run drift blame

.

Documentation: Quickstart (5-minute start) · API reference (CLI + MCP tools) · Architecture (how Drift works under the hood)

Verified live on Windows 11 (Node v24.18.0, 2026-08-06): fresh clone → first drift blame

in ~8.1 s, 10/10 checks pass, no registry 404 — and the npm path (packed @drift/*

chain installed into an empty dir) answers the MCP handshake with all six tools in ~1 s. See the full measured tables.

It starts the moment you run drift init

. Drift creates .drift/

— a SQLite DAG, a config, and a per-repo Ed25519 keypair — and from then on every commit becomes an intent.

When you (or your agent) run drift realize -p "<prompt>"

, Drift doesn't just commit. It parses the change semantically, rejects the commit if the syntax is broken (exit 2 — broken code never enters history), redacts secrets from your prompt, computes an AST delta (ADDED / MODIFIED / DELETED / MOVED / RENAMED), signs the intent, and stores it content-addressed in .drift/objects/

before committing with a Drift-Intent:

trailer.

After that, drift blame

can walk any line or function back to the prompt that created it, drift context

hydrates the last intents for a file so an agent grounds itself before editing, and drift verify

re-runs the recorded verification command. A crashed agent runs drift replay --checkout

and resumes exactly where it left off.

And because these are MCP tools, your coding agent can use them directly — drift_realize

instead of git commit

.

Deeper reading: the full command reference lives in docs/api.md (CLI flags, exit codes, JSON schemas, MCP tool inputs), and docs/architecture.md explains the storage model, encryption at rest, the webhook app, and the security boundaries.

Installation differs by harness. If you use more than one, install Drift separately for each one. All harnesses expose the same six tools: drift_realize

, drift_context

, drift_replay

, drift_blame

, drift_verify

, drift_log

.

Status: theEvery section below leads with the@drift/*

npm packages are not published yet.clone path— it works right now from a checkout of this repository. Thenpx -y @drift/mcp

/npx -y @drift/cli

one-liners activate automatically once the packages land on npm; until then they return a 404, so use the clone command shown first.

Every command below is backed by a real manifest in this repository (.claude-plugin/plugin.json

, .plugin/plugin.json

, .cursor-plugin/plugin.json

, .codex-plugin/plugin.json

, gemini-extension.json

, plugin.json

, .factory-plugin/

, package.json

→ pi

) or a ready-made config in examples/harness-configs/

. Today, installation needs Node.js ≥ 24, npm and a clone of this repository (the MCP server runs straight from packages/drift-mcp/dist/index.js

; no build step needed). Once the @drift/*

packages are published, the same configs work via npx -y @drift/mcp

with no clone.

Install as a plugin from the Drift marketplace (plugin-style, like Superpowers):

/plugin marketplace add lilcipherx/drift
/plugin install drift@drift

Or add the Drift MCP server directly (project scope) — from a clone:

claude mcp add drift --env DRIFT_REPO=/abs/path/to/your/repo -- node /path/to/drift/packages/drift-mcp/dist/index.js

Once the packages are published, the same command works via npx (no clone):

claude mcp add drift --env DRIFT_REPO=/abs/path/to/your/repo -- npx -y @drift/mcp

Or copy the ready-made config:

cp examples/harness-configs/claude-code/.mcp.json .mcp.json

Verify with claude mcp list

— you should see drift

with its six tools.

The marketplace manifest lives at

.claude-plugin/marketplace.json

in this repository (github-sourcelilcipherx/drift

, strict plugin →.claude-plugin/plugin.json

in the same repo).

Install Drift as a plugin from this repository:

agy plugin install https://github.com/lilcipherx/drift

Antigravity runs the plugin's session-start hook, so Drift is active from the first message. Reinstall with the same command to update.

In the Codex app, open Settings → MCP servers and add:

Name:drift

Command:node

(clone path) — ornpx

once the packages are publishedArgs:/path/to/drift/packages/drift-mcp/dist/index.js

— or-y @drift/mcp

after publicationEnv:DRIFT_REPO=/abs/path/to/your/repo

Add the Drift MCP server to ~/.codex/config.toml

(from a clone):

[mcp_servers.drift]
command = "node"
args = ["/path/to/drift/packages/drift-mcp/dist/index.js"]
env = { DRIFT_REPO = "/abs/path/to/your/repo" }

Once published, the same server runs via npx (no clone):

[mcp_servers.drift]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@drift/mcp"]
env = { DRIFT_REPO = "/abs/path/to/your/repo" }

Restart Codex, then ask for drift_blame

/ drift_context

in any session.

Copy the ready-made config and enable MCP servers in Cursor settings:

cp examples/harness-configs/cursor/mcp.json .cursor/mcp.json

Then ask for drift_blame

in chat.

Register the marketplace:

droid plugin marketplace add https://github.com/lilcipherx/drift

Install the plugin:

droid plugin install drift@drift

Install the extension:

gemini extensions install https://github.com/lilcipherx/drift

Update later:

gemini extensions update drift

Add the Drift MCP server (from a clone):

copilot mcp add drift -e DRIFT_REPO=/abs/path/to/your/repo -- node /path/to/drift/packages/drift-mcp/dist/index.js

Once the packages are published, the same command works via npx (no clone):

copilot mcp add drift -e DRIFT_REPO=/abs/path/to/your/repo -- npx -y @drift/mcp

Or copy the ready-made config to .github/mcp.json

and restart Copilot.

Drift is available in Kimi Code's plugin marketplace.

Open Kimi Code's plugin manager:

/plugins

Go to

Marketplace

Drift

and install it. - Or install directly from this repository:

/plugins install https://github.com/lilcipherx/drift

Detailed docs:

docs/README.kimi.md

OpenCode uses its own plugin install; install Drift separately even if you already use it in another harness.

Tell OpenCode:

Fetch and follow instructions from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lilcipherx/drift/main/.opencode/INSTALL.md

Detailed docs:

docs/README.opencode.md

Install Drift as a Pi package from this repository:

pi install git:github.com/lilcipherx/drift

For local development, run Pi with this checkout loaded as a temporary package:

pi -e /path/to/drift

Add the Drift MCP server to .vscode/mcp.json

(native VS Code MCP support):

cp examples/harness-configs/claude-code/.mcp.json .vscode/mcp.json

VS Code picks it up on window reload.

From a clone (works today):

git clone https://github.com/lilcipherx/drift.git && cd drift
npm install
node packages/drift-cli/dist/cli.js --help

Once the CLI is published to npm, npx

works without cloning:

npx -y @drift/cli --help

On your own repository:

node /path/to/drift/packages/drift-cli/dist/cli.js init
node /path/to/drift/packages/drift-cli/dist/cli.js realize -p "Fix race condition in token refresh" --agent --model claude-3-5-sonnet
node /path/to/drift/packages/drift-cli/dist/cli.js log

Install @drift/app

to get intent summaries on every pull request:

• Reads Drift-Intent:

trailers from PR commits, hydrates the intent objects from.drift/objects/

at the PR head, and posts asemantic summary comment— review the intent, not 2,000 lines of diff. Comments are idempotent: the app updates its own marker comment in place, so they never accumulate. - Runs as a webhook server: drift-app start

(seepackages/drift-app/app.yml

for the app manifest,scripts/webhook-proxy.sh

for local debugging).

Check intent health in CI:

- uses: lilcipherx/drift@v0.3.0
  with:
    command: log     # or: doctor / verify <intent-id>

The 5-minute "aha" — a real Drift history, generated by the CLI itself:

bash scripts/seed-demo.sh
cd examples/demo-repo

node ../../packages/drift-cli/dist/cli.js log
node ../../packages/drift-cli/dist/cli.js blame src/auth.ts --function refreshToken

blame

prints the prompt, model and a valid signature for the function:

src/auth.ts:12 (refreshToken)
  AGENT @ Drift Demo
  model:   claude-3-5-sonnet
  prompt:  Fix race condition in token refresh by de-duplicating in-flight refreshes
  intent:  did_2941b4547b4ed505a7c37190247768a7
  commit:  087c492f…  signature: valid

init— Creates.drift/

(SQLite DAG, config, Ed25519 keypair). Never rewrites history; deleting.drift/

leaves a fully functional git repo. - realize— Commit with intent. Syntax gate (exit 2), secret redaction, AST delta, Ed25519 signature,Drift-Intent:

trailer. This isgit commit

for the AI era. - log— Timeline of intents: id, author (agent vs human), model, prompt. - blame / context—blame --line|--function

walks a symbol back to its originating prompt;context <file>

hydrates the last N intents for grounding. - verify— Re-runs the recorded verification command for an intent and checks the Ed25519 signature against the object file (never against DB rows). - replay— Restore a checkpointed agent state;--checkout

resets the worktree. Crash recovery for agents. - doctor— DAG integrity, signature checks, orphan cleanup, encryption-key check when encryption is enabled.

The agent checks the intent before any task. Mandatory for anyone touching generated code.

Package	What it does
@drift/cli
The drift CLI — init , realize , log , blame , context , verify , replay , doctor , export
@drift/core
Intent store (SQLite DAG), git wrapper, Ed25519 signatures, secret redaction, AES-256-GCM encryption at rest
@drift/ast
Semantic parser (TypeScript/JavaScript, Python) + AST deltas with a real syntax gate

Package	What it does
@drift/mcp
MCP server — six tools for Claude Code / Codex / Cline, delegates to the CLI
@drift/sdk
Typed SDK + Zod intent schemas
@drift/app
GitHub App — pull_request webhook that posts idempotent intent-summary comments

Package	What it does
@drift/action
GitHub Action (composite) — log / doctor / verify in CI

Semantics over text— diffs show what; intents show why. Always.** Broken code never enters history**— the syntax gate is the front door.** Evidence over claims**— every intent is signed; every claim is verifiable.** Security by default**— secrets redacted, telemetry off, no network calls, optional AES-256-GCM encryption at rest (v0.2.0+).** Simplicity**— zero native dependencies, strict git compatibility, no rewriting of history.

• Every intent is Ed25519-signed; verification uses the object-file canonical JSON, so signature checks never need the master key. - Prompts are regex-redacted for secrets (AWS, OpenAI, GitHub, Slack, JWT, PEM, …) before any storage. Encryption at rest (v0.2.0):[encryption] enabled = true

+DRIFT_MASTER_KEY

encryptsprompt

andagentState

with AES-256-GCM (AAD-bound to the intent id). Note: the commit message keeps the plaintext prompt by design (PRD §9.1) — seeSECURITY.md.- Keys are never committed ( .drift/keys/

is gitignored) except throwaway demo keys.

The eval harness (PRD §22) drives the real CLI with mock file states — no LLM calls, no network — and records a baseline:

npm run eval           # run scenarios + compare against baseline (regression gate)
npm run eval:record    # re-record eval/baseline.json

Metrics gated at >5% regression (PRD §22.3): syntax-error rejection rate (must be 100%), blame accuracy, replay fidelity. Scenarios live in eval/scenarios/.

See CONTRIBUTING.md. The general flow:

• Fork the repository.
• Create a branch for your work.
• Keep npm test

green (110 tests: unit, temp-git-repo integration, MCP JSON-RPC e2e, GitHub App handler + live webhook-server E2E + client-abort- graceful-shutdown robustness).

• Keep the eval baseline green: npm run eval

(PRD §22). - Submit a PR using the template.

Design decisions are tracked in docs/adrs.md — note that the PRD originally chose Rust (ADR-003); this implementation ships TypeScript-first (ADR-006) for a zero-native-dependency MVS. The drift-ast

parser interface is the drop-in point for a future tree-sitter implementation.

Once published, MCP servers launched via npx -y @drift/mcp

pick up new versions automatically (npx

always fetches the latest published release). Until then, servers launched from a clone (the commands shown in Installation) track this checkout — update with

git pull origin main
npm install

Releases are tagged on the releases page (v0.1.0

, v0.2.0

, v0.2.1

, …).

Changelog: CHANGELOG.md.

MIT — see LICENSE. Security notes: SECURITY.md.

Repository:github.com/lilcipherx/drift** Issues**:github.com/lilcipherx/drift/issues** Releases**:github.com/lilcipherx/drift/releases** Documentation**:quickstart·API reference·architecture·examples/demo-repo

Code of Conduct:CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md

source & further reading

github.com — original article