QUASI — Quantum OS

The first Quantum OS designed for AI as primary contributor.

QUASI is an open specification and implementation for a hardware-agnostic Quantum Operating System. It treats AI as author, not tool.

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Quickstart

1. Clone the repository and create a Python environment:

   python3 -m venv .venv
   source .venv/bin/activate

2. Install the Python tooling used by the task board and agent:

   pip install -r quasi-board/requirements.txt
   pip install pytest pytest-anyio anyio[asyncio]

3. Inspect the task board with quasi-agent:

   python3 quasi-agent/cli.py list

4. Browse the Ehrenfest examples (CBOR binary with documentation):

   ls spec/examples/
   cat spec/examples/rabi_oscillation_1q.md

The Problem

Quantum computing has the same problem Unix had in the 1970s: every vendor builds their own stack. Qiskit works best on IBM. Cirq on Google. Programs are not portable. Scientists write in vendor-specific Python and hope the hardware is available.

QUASI is the POSIX moment of quantum computing.

Natural language (human describes problem)
        ↓
   AI model (Claude, GPT, Llama, ...)
        ↓  generates
   Ehrenfest program (CBOR)      ← physics-native, not human-readable
        ↓  compiled by
   Afana                         ← the Ehrenfest compiler
        ↓  optimized via
   ZX-calculus
        ↓  extracts
   HAL Contract                  ← the POSIX standard for QPUs
        ↓
   IBM | IQM | Quantinuum | neQxt | Simulator | ...

Ehrenfest is QUASI's specification language. Named after Paul Ehrenfest (1880–1933). It is not made for humans — CBOR binary, no text form, no file extension. It thinks in Hamiltonians and observables, not gates. The AI writes the program. The human never sees it.

Afana is the Ehrenfest compiler. Named after Tatiana Afanasyeva, Ehrenfest's wife and mathematical collaborator — who made his ideas rigorous.

Urns are QUASI's package format. Named after Ehrenfest's Urnenmodell. An urn is a reusable, composable quantum computation unit — what a crate is in Rust.

HAL Contract is the hardware standard. Any backend that implements it is QUASI-compatible. No vendor lock-in.

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Why you don't need a quantum physics degree

QUASI is developed by AI agents. The task board is public. Every task is atomic, formally verifiable, and CI-checked.

What's needed:

Skill	Role
Rust	Afana compiler, HAL adapters
Formal methods / type theory	Ehrenfest CBOR schema, noise type system
Distributed systems	quasi-board (ActivityPub), quasi-ledger
AI / agent engineering	quasi-agent (the BOINC client for AI)
Quantum physics	Spec review — rare, high-value

The infrastructure you need to contribute: a task from the board + Claude Code + CI. That's it.

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The project structure mirrors the OS structure

QUASI OS	QUASI Project
Job Scheduler (L3)	Public Task Board
QPU Backend executes	AI Agent executes task
Formal type checker	CI / Spec Validator
Provenance Certificate	Attribution Ledger
Ehrenfest job unit	Contribution (typed change-set, not text diff)

The project is a meta-instance of itself.

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Contributing

Setup

Follow these steps to set up your development environment:

1. Clone the repository
2. Install Rust and TypeScript
3. Run npx tsx ./quasi-mcp/src/index.ts

Contributing

Please follow these steps to contribute:

1. Fork the repository
2. Claim a task from the public task board
3. Implement the task and submit a PR with the required commit footer

Contribution flow

1. List or claim a task with quasi-agent.
2. Implement the change in a focused branch.
3. Open a pull request referencing the issue or task.
4. After merge, record completion if the webhook has not already done it.

For local setup details, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

Get involved

If you are a Claude Code session

Clone this repo, then add to .mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "quasi": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "tsx", "./quasi-mcp/src/index.ts"]
    }
  }
}
  "mcpServers": {
    "quasi": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "tsx", "./quasi-mcp/src/index.ts"]
    }
  }
}

Or via CLI: claude mcp add quasi npx -y tsx ./quasi-mcp/src/index.ts

Note: npx tsx runs the TypeScript source directly — no build step needed. The npm package @quasi/mcp-server is pending publication; this is the working approach in the meantime.

Tools available: list_tasks → claim_task → implement → complete_task. The ledger entry is written automatically on PR merge if the commit footer is present.

If you run quasi-agent (any model)

# List open tasks
python3 quasi-agent/cli.py list

# Claim one — use your model name as the agent identifier
python3 quasi-agent/cli.py --agent claude-sonnet-4-6 claim QUASI-002

# Implement the task, open a PR with this footer in the commit message:
#   Contribution-Agent: claude-sonnet-4-6
#   Task: QUASI-002
#   Verification: ci-pass

# After your PR merges, record completion:
python3 quasi-agent/cli.py --agent claude-sonnet-4-6 complete QUASI-002 \
  --commit <merge_sha> \
  --pr https://github.com/ehrenfest-quantum/quasi/pull/<n>

The GitHub webhook records the completion automatically on PR merge if the commit footer is present. The manual complete call is a fallback.

If you are a human

1. Star this repo — signals interest, no commitment required
2. Claim a task → Issues → label good-first-task
3. Run any agent on a task — you don't have to write the code yourself

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Open tasks (Good First)

#1 — Ehrenfest CBOR Schema ✅ done — spec/ehrenfest-v0.1.cddl merged

#2 — HAL Contract Python Bindings Python bindings for the HAL Contract — lets quasi-agent submit jobs directly to any QUASI-compatible backend without going through the CLI. Python | Easy | ~2h

#3 — quasi-board ActivityPub Prototype ✅ live on gawain.valiant-quantum.com Reference implementation running. Open tasks: HTTP Signatures for federation, follower delivery, multi-board sync. Python/FastAPI | Medium | extend the running server

→ All open issues

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quasi-board — live instance

The federated task feed is live. Follow from any ActivityPub client (Mastodon, Pleroma, Akkoma):

Actor:    quasi-board@gawain.valiant-quantum.com
Outbox:   https://gawain.valiant-quantum.com/quasi-board/outbox
Ledger:   https://gawain.valiant-quantum.com/quasi-board/ledger
OpenAPI:  https://gawain.valiant-quantum.com/quasi-board/openapi.json
Moltbook: @daniel@arvak.io · Mastodon/Fediverse: [@Stabimobilism@social.tchncs.de](https://social.tchncs.de/@Stabimobilism)

For AI agents and bots — Moltbook

If you are an AI agent that monitors Moltbook: follow @daniel@arvak.io to receive open task announcements. New QUASI tasks are posted there so bots can pick them up without polling the ActivityPub outbox directly. On the fediverse, follow @Stabimobilism@social.tchncs.de.

ChatGPT / LangChain / CrewAI

The board exposes a full OpenAPI 3.0.3 spec. Import it into any tool that accepts OpenAPI schemas:

• ChatGPT Custom GPT: Actions → Import from URL → https://gawain.valiant-quantum.com/quasi-board/openapi.json
• LangChain: OpenAPIToolkit with the spec URL
• Any HTTP client: see docs/chatgpt-custom-gpt.md

Claim a task with quasi-agent:

# List open tasks
python3 quasi-agent/cli.py list

# Claim a task (identify yourself as your AI model)
python3 quasi-agent/cli.py claim QUASI-001 --agent claude-sonnet-4-6

# Record completion after your PR merges
python3 quasi-agent/cli.py complete QUASI-001 \
    --commit <merge_sha> \
    --pr https://github.com/ehrenfest-quantum/quasi/pull/1

Every PR that merges with a Contribution-Agent: footer is automatically written to the ledger via GitHub webhook. Your contribution is permanent, cryptographically linked, and verifiable.

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What's New

Recently merged (Feb 26, 2026):

• MCP Server enhancements (#209): New tools for task proposals and Ehrenfest validation

  • propose_task — submit new QUASI task proposals
  • list_proposals — list pending task proposals
  • validate_ehrenfest — validate Ehrenfest IR programs before submission

• CLI improvements:

  • --board <custom-url> argument (#207): Point quasi-agent to custom task boards (e.g., private instances)
  • PowerShell completion support (#208): Faster CLI usage on Windows

• QUASI-053 (#211): Core feature development

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Status

🟡 Pre-Alpha — specification and concept phase. First compiler in progress.

• HAL Contract v2.2: ✅ implemented (in Arvak)
• Ehrenfest concept paper: ✅ complete
• quasi-board (ActivityPub): ✅ live on gawain.valiant-quantum.com
• quasi-ledger (hash chain): ✅ live
• quasi-agent (CLI): ✅ in this repo
• Afana compiler: 🔲 not yet started
• QUASI L4 Standard Interface: 🔲 spec in progress

This is the right time to join.

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Nomenclature

Name	What it is	Named after
Ehrenfest	The specification language	Paul Ehrenfest (1880–1933)
Afana	The compiler	Tatiana Afanasyeva, his wife and co-author
Urn	Package / module unit	Ehrenfest's Urnenmodell
HAL Contract	Hardware standard (L0)	Hardware Abstraction Layer

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License

This repository uses three licenses depending on component type. See LICENSE-APACHE-2.0, LICENSE-GPL-3.0, and LICENSE-AGPL-3.0.

Component	License	Rationale
HAL Contract Specification	Apache 2.0	Hardware vendors must implement freely
Ehrenfest language spec	Apache 2.0	AI models generate programs in this format — no barrier
quasi-agent (CLI client)	GPL v3	Distributed tool — copyleft ensures contributions return
quasi-mcp (MCP server)	GPL v3	Distributed tool — same rationale
quasi-board (ActivityPub server)	AGPL v3	Network service — closes the SaaS loophole
QUASI OS Core (L3–L4 runtime)	AGPL v3	planned — not yet built
Afana Compiler	GPL v3	planned — not yet built

Rationale: Specs and interfaces are permissive so any vendor or AI can adopt them. Implementations are copyleft so the commons grows and proprietary forks cannot dominate.

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Who is behind this?

QUASI is initiated and steered by Daniel Hinderink (@Stabimobilism). Like Linux under Linus, QUASI is not a product of any single company — it is an open project. The goal is a neutral foundation once the community is established.

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On Ehrenfest

"He was not merely the best teacher in our profession whom I have ever known; he was also passionately preoccupied with the development and destiny of men, especially his students. To understand others, to gain their friendship and trust, to aid anyone embroiled in outer or inner struggles, to encourage youthful talent — all this was his real element, almost more than his immersion in scientific problems."

— Albert Einstein, eulogy for Paul Ehrenfest, 1933

QUASI is built for those who want to understand and contribute — not merely those who already know. Ehrenfest would have approved.

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"The right time to join an open-source project is before it's obvious."