> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.outerlayer.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What OuterLayer is

> An open-source software factory: issue in, reviewed and verified code out, on your agents, in your repos.

OuterLayer is an open-source software factory. An issue goes in, and a reviewed pull request comes out, with the checks it passed and what it cost.

Your coding agents do the work, in your own GitHub repositories. OuterLayer records each agent session, joins it to the pull request it produces, and checks that pull request for the evidence you require. It is not another coding agent. Claude Code sessions are recorded as work. Codex CLI and Cursor sessions are captured on your machine only.

Two words you will meet on every page: **factory** and **Work page**. [Key concepts](/concepts) defines both, with every other term.

Use the hosted service at [app.outerlayer.ai](https://app.outerlayer.ai), or read the source on [GitHub](https://github.com/outerlayerai/outerlayer).

## What you get

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Only the sessions you name leave your machine" icon="shield-check">
    A session uploads only when you start it naming the work item it is for. Any other session stays on your machine.
  </Card>

  <Card title="See what each change cost" icon="coins">
    Open any pull request and see the agent sessions behind it, what they did, and what they cost.
  </Card>

  <Card title="A person approves before the merge" icon="gavel">
    The item's **Merge pull request** button stays disabled until a person approves. To block merges on GitHub too, see [Policy and validators](/policy-and-validators).
  </Card>

  <Card title="Agent instructions versioned and measured" icon="chart-line">
    The instruction files and skills your agents read are versioned, and session outcomes show whether a change to them made your agents better.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

A merge made on GitHub is not blocked by default. Blocking it takes three settings:

* **Post session summaries on pull requests** is on, so OuterLayer posts its `OuterLayer evidence` check run.
* The policy sets `merge_gate: on-flag`. Under the default, `none`, the check is always neutral.
* A GitHub branch protection rule requires the `OuterLayer evidence` check.

## Where to start

<Steps>
  <Step title="Get your first issue on the Work page">
    The [quickstart](/quickstart) takes about ten minutes. It ends with one of your issues built into a pull request, by a host or by a session you start.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Understand the launch gate">
    [Launch a session](/launch-a-session) explains the one rule that decides what uploads.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Bring your team">
    [Invite your team](/invite-your-team) covers adding people, each signed in on their own machine. To add another repository, see [Connect a repository](/connect-repository).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Running your own instance

[Self-hosting](/self-host) is coming soon.


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