Question 1

What is Npxstack Forge and what capabilities does it include?

Accepted Answer

Npxstack Forge is a complete autonomous software engineering platform that goes far beyond a simple interactive chat terminal. It includes: (1) Headless autonomous task execution ("forge run") for CI/CD and scripts, (2) Stack preflight inspection ("forge inspect") that detects frameworks, build tools, and test suites, (3) Test-driven verification and self-healing repair loops that fix regressions automatically, (4) Interactive pair-programming terminal ("forge") with multi-turn memory, (5) Persistent local SQLite ledger tracking runs and costs, (6) Hard financial budget guards, and (7) Hybrid inference supporting 100% offline Ollama and Cloudflare Workers AI edge models.

Question 2

How does the Autonomous Headless Mode ("forge run") work in CI/CD?

Accepted Answer

With "forge run <goal> --yes-safe", Forge operates headlessly without human intervention. It analyzes project dependencies, generates an architectural plan, writes atomic file diffs, executes project tests, and iteratively repairs any test failures up to safety limits, recording every step in a local SQLite database.

Question 3

How does the Self-Healing Test & Repair Loop work?

Accepted Answer

When Forge modifies code, it automatically runs your project's configured test runner (Vitest, Jest, PyTest, Go test, Cargo test). If tests fail, Forge captures stderr/stdout within bounded buffers, analyzes the stack trace, identifies the root cause, and applies corrective patches in iterative repair cycles until all tests pass.

Question 4

How does the Local SQLite Audit Ledger work?

Accepted Answer

Forge automatically maintains a local SQLite database at ~/.npxforge/npxforge.sqlite. It records every run ID, prompt, model call duration, token expenditure, and Git diff checkpoint. You can review your development history anytime with "forge runs", "forge show <id>", or "forge diff".

Question 5

What financial budget controls and cost guards are available?

Accepted Answer

Forge enforces strict budget guardrails configured in ~/.npxforge/config.json or passed via flags: --max-cost sets a hard USD spending limit per run, daily and monthly budget caps prevent unexpected bills, and --max-cycles (default: 60) prevents infinite reasoning loops.

Question 6

How does the Zero-Leak Local Mode work with Ollama?

Accepted Answer

When you run Forge with --privacy local-only (or switch via /privacy local-only), all model calls are routed to your local Ollama daemon (http://127.0.0.1:11434). Zero packets leave your machine, guaranteeing complete intellectual property protection with zero cloud egress.

Question 7

What safety mechanisms does PathGuard provide?

Accepted Answer

PathGuard validates and resolves all file paths against your repository workspace root, blocking directory traversal attacks (such as ../../etc/passwd or symlink escapes). Destructive shell commands (file deletions, system-level execution) require explicit manual confirmation in your terminal.

Question 8

How do I install and configure Npxstack Forge?

Accepted Answer

Install with one line: Windows (PowerShell): "irm https://cli.npxstack.com/forge/install.ps1 | iex", Linux/macOS: "curl -fsSL https://cli.npxstack.com/forge/install.sh | bash", or npm: "npm install -g @npxstack/forge". Run "forge doctor" to verify your environment.