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Jern Cloud – a coding agent bound by a policy file in your repository

Jern Cloud launched a governed cloud coding agent that operates under a repository-pinned policy file, with sessions running on isolated machines, hard token caps, and encrypted evidence, delivering pull requests for human review. The service is free for 30 days, then $19 per month per workspace, supports bring-your-own Anthropic, OpenAI, or Gemini keys, and is open-source under Apache-2.0. In a demo against the public jern-ai/jern-demo repository, the agent completed two attempts and opened pull request #20, adding Celsius-to-Kelvin conversion functions with tests and validation.

read6 min views3 publishedSep 3, 2026
Jern Cloud – a coding agent bound by a policy file in your repository
Image: source

Governed cloud coding agent

Connect a repository and open a session. A governed agent works on an isolated machine under a policy pinned for the whole session, a hard token cap, and encrypted evidence, then hands back a pull request you review. Nothing runs on your laptop and no credential reaches the agent.

Free for 30 days, then $19 a month per workspace. Bring your own Anthropic, OpenAI, or Gemini key. Open-source runtime, Apache-2.0.

  • Repository

  • jern-ai/jern-demo main @ f2d3a1c

  • Policy

  • Repository-owned baseline digest b2b19437

· pinned for the sessionedits within src/, tests/ - Environment

  • python · rev 2 immutable image and setup, pinned
  • Model
  • claude-opus-5 cap 200k tokens per attempt, metered by the gateway
  • Credentials in agent
  • None checkout, evidence, inference, and publication are separate short-lived credentials
  • Delivery jern/session-953b71f3…

open pull request #20 · Jern never merges

add functions to convert from Celsius to Kelvin and back

Added celsius_to_kelvin

and kelvin_to_celsius

to src/temperature.py

with tests. Pushed to the session branch and opened pull request #20.

reject values below absolute zero

Both functions now raise ValueError

below 0 K. Pull request #20 updated on the same branch.

A real session

The pull request arrives with its evidence. #

The session above ran on Jern Cloud against the public jern-demo repository. Two messages, two attempts, one pull request: #20, on a branch owned by the session.

Session · pull request ready

Open the pull request ↗

  • Repository

  • jern-ai/jern-demo

  • Policy

  • Repository baseline, digest b2b19437

  • Attempts

  • 2 · both within cap

  • Changed src/temperature.py

+17 −2

  • Branch jern/session-953b71f31b5e…

  • Pull request

#20 · Open for review

  • Evidence run run_7395bd05…

  • Credentials in agent

  • None

How a session works

Four steps. Nothing to install. #

  • 01

Connect

Install the GitHub App on the repositories you choose. Python, Node, and .NET environments are detected from the repository. A protected baseline in the repository is preferred; an organization default works until one exists.

  • 02

Open a session

Pick a repository and describe the work. The session pins the revision, the policy, the environment, the model, and the token cap. None of them can change afterwards.

  • 03

Watch it work

Each message becomes one attempt on a fresh isolated machine. Live activity, budget, and evidence show in the session as it runs. Interrupt at any time.

  • 04

Review the pull request

Changes land on the session's branch as one pull request that follow-up messages keep updating. Your branch protection and reviewers apply. Jern never merges.

What is different

Guarantees you approve once, not actions you supervise all day. #

Every one of these is enforced by the runtime or the control plane and shown inside the session, where a reviewer forms trust.

Policy pinned by digest

The repository's baseline decides which paths can change and which commands run without asking. The runner verifies its digest before the agent starts, and it cannot change for the life of the session.

No credential in the agent

Checkout, evidence upload, model inference, and publication each use a separate short-lived credential held by the runner. The agent process has none, and its only network route is the inference gateway.

Hard caps, metered where it counts

Tokens are counted by the gateway from the provider's own response, not by the agent. Wall clock, process count, output size, and attempts per task are capped too.

Encrypted evidence for every attempt

The exact trace is encrypted with AES-256-GCM before it reaches a database. Open it from any assistant turn. Retention is yours to set and is enforced automatically.

Immutable environment

The image and setup command are pinned by revision per session. A change to the environment is a new revision, never a surprise mid-session.

Review is the only exit

Work ends on an isolated branch as a pull request, or as a labelled failure. Optionally, every attempt waits for a human approval before it runs.

How it compares

Hosted agents ask for trust. Jern gives you something to check. #

Cursor Cloud Agents, Devin, and Codex cloud run capable agents. The difference is what you can verify afterwards, and what the agent can reach while it works.

In every session Jern Cloud Typical hosted agent
Policy Repository-owned, protected by your reviewers, pinned by digest for the session Per-run settings, changeable by whoever starts the run
Credentials in the agent None. Checkout, inference, evidence, and publication use separate short-lived credentials outside the agent A repository token and often a provider key in the agent's environment
Network One route, to the inference gateway. No GitHub, registries, or internet from the agent Usually open, sometimes an allowlist
Cost control Your own provider key, a hard cap per attempt metered from the provider's usage, a monthly workspace allowance Bundled credits or seat pricing, usage counted by the vendor
Evidence The exact trace, encrypted before storage, with a receipt you can replay A transcript in the vendor's UI
Runtime Open source, Apache-2.0. The same agent runs on your laptop Proprietary
Delivery One pull request per session on an isolated branch. Never merges A pull request or a direct push, depending on settings

Comparisons describe common designs of hosted coding agents in general, not any vendor's current terms. Check the security page for what Jern does not defend against.

The boundary is the product

Isolate execution. Centralize control. #

Each attempt runs on a machine created for it and destroyed afterwards. The agent lives in a private network namespace with one route: the Jern gateway, which holds the provider key, enforces the cap, and meters usage. Publication happens outside the agent, after policy and secret checks.

Read the data flow and honest limits → Your repository Source at a pinned revisionProtected policy baselineBranch protection and reviewersThe pull request

Isolated machine + Jern Cloud Agent with no credentialsGateway holds the model keyCap enforced and meteredEvidence encrypted, then the machine is destroyed

An inspectable foundation

Trust starts in the open. #

Policy enforcement, receipt derivation, trace formats, and replay live in the Apache-2.0 Jern repository. The control plane does not reinterpret what the runtime recorded, and the same runtime runs on your laptop.

One price, your own key

Priced like infrastructure, because that is what it is. #

Sessions run on your own Anthropic, OpenAI, or Gemini key, so tokens bill to your account and never to a shared pool. Jern's price covers the control plane: the isolated machines, the gateway, the evidence, and the policy enforcement. Every new workspace gets 30 days free, no card needed. When the trial ends, sessions stay readable and new work s until you subscribe.

$19 per workspace / month

after a 30-day free trial

  • Up to 10 governed repositories
  • Up to 10 team members
  • Isolated machine for every attempt, destroyed afterwards
  • Hard cap per attempt, metered from your provider's own usage
  • Encrypted evidence, 90-day retention you control
  • Email support from the people who built it

Start with GitHubModel usage is billed by your provider on your own account and is not included. Larger workspaces and support commitments:

hello@jern.ai. Your next pull request can arrive with evidence

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