Nerve Protocol

Nerve lets an agent harness use its owner's machines: read and write files and run commands. On each machine the owner decides what is allowed. Everything else is refused.

Three programs:

Program	Job	Put it on
nerve-center	The center. A harness starts it as an MCP server. It pairs machines, keeps their links, gives the harness two tools, list and execute, for what they offer, and serves a web UI	the machine where the harness runs
nerve-node	The node. A daemon, plus a CLI for pairing, rules and the audit log	each machine the agent may use, without a desktop (a server, Linux on ARM), or where you prefer a terminal
nerve-node-desktop	The node with an app: the same node and CLI, and a window that does what the CLI does. It installs itself with the node as a service	each machine the agent may use that has a desktop: Linux x86_64 with GNOME or KDE Plasma, Windows x86_64

A machine runs one node: nerve-node or nerve-node-desktop.

Quick install

On a Linux machine the agent may use, install the node as a service (use nerve-node-aarch64-linux on ARM):

curl -LO https://github.com/prometheion/nerve-protocol/releases/latest/download/nerve-node-x86_64-linux
chmod +x nerve-node-x86_64-linux
sudo ./nerve-node-x86_64-linux install
nerve-node center add '<pairing link>'
nerve-node folder add ~/project +r +w +x

install puts the program at /usr/local/bin/nerve-node and starts it as a service under a user of its own (service), with you as its owner. A new pairing is in folder mode: its commands run as nerve-run, an account of their own that reaches only the folders you give it (modes). On Windows, install from a terminal opened as administrator (Windows). The center is nerve-center-x86_64-linux (or -aarch64-linux, -x86_64-windows.exe) from the same release.

Install the desktop app

1. Download nerve-node-desktop-x86_64-linux or nerve-node-desktop-x86_64-windows.exe from Releases.
2. On Linux, allow it to run: in the file's Properties switch on Executable as Program (GNOME Files) or tick Is executable under Permissions (KDE Dolphin).
3. Open it, and press Install.

It installs the node as a service and the app, with Nerve in the application menu or Start menu, then walks you through naming the machine and pairing it (desktop app).

Quick start

Get the programs from Releases.

1. Add the center to the harness's MCP configuration:

   {"mcpServers": {"nerve": {"command": "nerve-center"}}}

2. Open http://127.0.0.1:7480, press Pair a machine, and run the command it shows on the machine:

   nerve-node center add 'nerve://pair?center=...&code=...&pin=...'
   nerve-node run

3. A new pairing is in folder mode: it writes and runs nothing of yours until you give it a folder (on the installed node it may read what every account may read). Give it one:

   nerve-node folder add ~/project +r +w +x

The action checker

The center has an optional gate that checks each call before the machine gets it: a deterministic blocklist of dangerous commands and paths (on by default), saved allow rules, and an optional System One decision model that judges whether a call is dangerous. It can only refuse; the machine's own rules still decide. Set it up on the Action checker page of the web UI (docs).

Documentation

For	Where
Running Nerve: install, pairing, rules and modes, the web UI, troubleshooting	docs/user/
Building, changing and releasing Nerve: architecture, policy engine, checks	docs/dev/
The protocol and the conformance suite	docs/dev/spec/, schemas/, crates/nerve-conformance