OpenSeed

Teach agents to
install your software

OpenSeed is a markdown spec for software setup: dependencies, install steps, and read-only checks that help agents adapt to the host machine and verify that everything worked.

Read the convention

Spec

Markdown structured for agent-run installs .md

The OpenSeed convention gives every install the same shape: dependencies, expected outputs, actions, and verification. Seeds can call other seeds, letting agents assemble complex setups from smaller instructions that are easier to review, reuse, and improve.

Read the convention
SEED.md markdown
# Purposerequired
What this installs, why it exists, and where to learn more.
## Dependenciesrequired
The system packages, tools, services, or other seeds this install needs.
## Objectsrequired
What should exist after the install, such as files, commands, services, apps, configs, or running processes.
## Actionsrequired
The setup steps the agent can run. Commands are shown before execution so they can be reviewed first.
## Verificationrequired
Read-only checks that prove the install worked.
## Feedbackoptional
Opt-in install reports that help authors see what worked, what failed, and where the seed needs tightening.
## Open Itemsoptional
Known gaps, follow-ups, or TODOs the author is still tracking.
## Non-Goalsoptional
What this SEED intentionally does not install, configure, or support.
## Normative Languageoptional
Shared wording rules for how agents should interpret requirements across this SEED and any SEEDs it depends on.

Build

OpenSeed gives you four capabilities

Publish to the convention once. Every conforming agent gives your SEED the same four properties, on any machine it runs.

01

Runs on any agent, any system.

One spec can run across different agents, hosts, and operating systems. The SEED describes what needs to exist; the agent resolves the right package manager, pins, and paths for the machine it is on. You own and fork the SEED, while the format stays open and ownerless.

Claude CodeCodexOpenClawHermesGemini CLICursorAgy
02

Builds from sub-SEEDs.

A SEED can depend on other SEEDs. The agent installs dependencies first, so complex setups are composed from smaller, verified pieces instead of managed by a separate orchestration layer. Every SEED you publish can become a building block someone else builds on.

seed-hostex-history-ingest
└─ seed-hermes-gbrain
   └─ seed-hermes
03

Reviewable by construction.

OpenSeed turns every install into an auditable sequence of commands, checks, and reviewer decisions:

  • Shows commands before they runOpenSeed requires display-then-execute for install commands, so the agent surfaces each command before it runs it.
  • Keeps secrets out of SEEDsSEEDs reference required secrets without storing API keys, tokens, or private user data in the file itself.
  • Audits before installClone-based installs are scanned for high-confidence signs of exfiltration, hidden execution, or backdoors before anything runs.
04

Verifiable, not just installable.

Every SEED ends with ## Verification: read-only checks that confirm the install actually worked, not just that the steps completed. For CI and non-agent environments, a SEED can include ref/verify.sh, which runs structural checks and returns a standard exit code.

$ bash ref/verify.sh
tree conforms ✓  exit 0
installed ≠ works. Verification proves both, and anyone can fork the checks.

Publish

Plow is the registry
for OpenSeed.

OpenSeed is just markdown, so anyone can author, host, and install a seed by hand. Plow makes seeds easier to run, discover, fork, and improve through a shared registry and opt-in install reports.

$curl -fsSL https://plow.co/install.sh | bashclick to copy

Install in one line

Run one command to install a SEED across the agents on your machine.

Discover and fork

Browse published SEEDs, fork what you need, and build on top of work from the community.

Improve with signal

Opt-in install reports show authors what worked, what failed, and where their SEED needs tightening.

Write the install once.
Let any agent run it.

Read the Spec Get Plow

A community convention, shaped in the open. Open to all. Propose a change.