# Rat Things

> An independent AWS backend implementing the OpenAI Agents API. The host owns execution, harness and state. Engineering preview.

## Agent quickstart

1. Discover the deployment through `/.well-known/rat-things`.
2. Use its OpenAPI and Agents schemas.
3. Create an Agent and a Session with explicit tools and environment settings.
4. Follow Turns, Items and live Session events.
5. Use Vaults for credentials and schedules or signed provider bindings for recurring input.

Read [Connect an agent](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/agents/) and [Agents API](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/agents-api/).

### Run Codex beyond your laptop

- [How to keep Codex running after you close your laptop](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/guides/keep-codex-running-after-laptop-closes/): Learn what must move off your laptop, which state must persist, and how a self-hosted AWS handoff keeps Codex work running after disconnect.
- [How to run Codex in AWS with your ChatGPT subscription](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/guides/run-codex-in-aws-with-chatgpt/): Run Codex in isolated AWS compute using a deliberately bridged ChatGPT login, with the credential risks and teardown path made explicit.
- [Durable AI agent state](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/guides/durable-ai-agent-state/): Preserve an agent conversation, workspace, files, and execution receipts when a process stops or replacement compute takes over.
- [How to schedule recurring Codex tasks in AWS](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/guides/schedule-codex-tasks-aws/): Schedule owned Agents in AWS with fixed capabilities, idempotent Session input and durable Turn results.

### Connect agents to real work

- [How to give an AI agent limited access to Slack and Linear](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/guides/least-privilege-ai-agent-integrations/): Give an AI agent bounded Slack or Linear operations by intersecting provider scopes, account grants, run policy, IAM, and network controls.
- [How to turn a Slack request into a Linear issue with an AI agent](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/guides/slack-to-linear-agent-workflow/): Build a bounded Slack-to-Linear workflow, understand which permissions are enforced, and add host-side protection when duplicate issues are unacceptable.

### Choose an agent architecture

- [How much does it cost to run an isolated AI agent in AWS?](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/guides/aws-ai-agent-cost/): Understand the model, active compute, snapshot, networking, storage, and idle costs behind a self-hosted AI agent running in AWS.
- [Self-hosted versus managed cloud agents: how to choose](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/guides/self-hosted-vs-managed-cloud-agents/): Compare self-hosted and managed cloud agents by control plane, identity, credentials, isolation, durability, operations, and team burden.

## Choose your path

- [Agents API in your AWS account](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/agents-api/): Rat Things implements the OpenAI Agents API resource model using the official OpenAI SDK. Your AWS account owns the API service, agent harness, session state, execution environmen…
- [How Rat Things operates](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/operating-model/): Understand the core objects, ownership boundary, permission model, and paths through Rat Things.
- [AWS and Agents quickstart](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/quickstart/): Deploy the AWS backend and configure an Agent and Session.
- [Bring your Codex subscription to Rat Things](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/codex-subscription/): Bring the Codex access included with your ChatGPT plan to local work and isolated agents in your AWS account.
- [Connect an agent to Rat Things](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/agents/): Give another agent one deployment URL and a progressive, machine-readable operating contract.
- [Embed and self-host Rat Things](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/embedding/): Discover, authenticate, and embed a self-hosted Rat Things deployment in your own product.

## Core concepts

- [Schedules and provider Sessions](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/schedules/): Schedule owned Agents and bind signed provider events to durable Sessions.
- [Integrations, accounts, and permissions](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/plugins/): Connect and verify accounts, choose grants, and understand the effective permission intersection.
- [The capability envelope](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/capability-envelope/): Learn what an agent can use autonomously and what remains unavailable throughout Session execution.
- [Durable work with Sessions](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/conversations/): Use durable Sessions and saved Turns from the console and CLI.

## Use capabilities

- [Browser capabilities](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/browser-computer-use/): Browser automation for an Agent must be supplied through a declared function or MCP tool and enforced by the deployment's fixed capability policy. Creating a standard Session does…
- [Durable files and Session Artifacts](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/durable-files/): The standard Files API stores uploaded input. Session Artifacts retain immutable output from completed managed-environment Turns. Both belong to the authenticated owner and keep c…
- [Publish and share agent work](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/sharing-work/): Create a publication from saved Session Artifacts to give recipients an expiring link to a file, static site or video. Publication delivery must be configured on the deployment; s…
- [Publications: files, sites, and video](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/publications/): Publications give retained files, static sites, and videos expiring browser access while S3 stays private. This page covers the contract and deployment; use publish and share agen…

## Connect channels and events

- [Use Rat Things from Slack](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/slack/): Start durable work from a Slack mention, continue in its thread, search or act through approved accounts, and understand current boundaries.
- [Connect Rat Things to Linear](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/linear/): Install a verified Linear workspace, expose bounded issue and comment operations, and run a Slack-to-Linear handoff.
- [Connect a GitHub webhook](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/github-webhook-onboarding/): A signed GitHub event starts a Session only when it matches an owned Agent/environment binding. Rat Things keeps webhook verification, repository checkout and terminal Turn notifi…
- [Connect Rat Things to Microsoft Teams](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/microsoft-teams/): Rat Things separates the immediate Teams acknowledgement from the potentially long-running agent job:
- [Channel adapters](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/channels/): Channel integrations authenticate external events, resolve an owned Agent and environment through a source binding, and submit input to a Session. They share the same validation a…

## Operate

- [Development and deployment](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/development-and-deployment/): This is the host/operator path for installing and maintaining an independent Rat Things deployment. Consumers of an existing deployment should start with the operating model inste…
- [Diagnostics for consumers and operators](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/diagnostics/): Rat Things adds durable state and isolated execution so failures can be inspected rather than lost. The debugging contract is part of the product: use machine-readable discovery,…
- [Operational runbook](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/runbook/): This runbook assumes an operator with read access to the runtime stack, CloudWatch Logs/Metrics, DynamoDB run records, SQS, S3 metadata, and Lambda MicroVM APIs. Use a separately…
- [Cost model](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/costs/): Rat Things runs the API, harness, storage and execution in your AWS account. Model usage and AWS infrastructure are separate costs. A connected Session worker remains available be…

## Reference

- [Control API reference](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/api/): Use the Agents API for Agent, Session, Turn, Item, environment, Vault, File, Skill and Artifact operations. The official SDK uses the deployment's Agents endpoint, including live…
- [Architecture](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/architecture/): Rat Things implements the OpenAI Agents API in infrastructure you own. The API, agent harness, Session coordination, encrypted storage, execution environments and executor relay r…
- [Security and threat model](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/docs/security/): Treat prompts, webhook fields, repositories, tool results and model output as untrusted. A valid provider signature authenticates the delivery; it does not make its author or cont…

## Machine-readable contracts

- [OpenAPI](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/openapi.json)
- [Agents schemas](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/schemas/agents-api.schema.json)
- [Operational corpus](https://gpazo.github.io/Rat-Things/llms-full.txt)
- [Repository](https://github.com/gpazo/Rat-Things)