# CHORUS - Container-First P2P Task Coordination System

CHORUS is a next-generation P2P task coordination and collaborative AI system designed from the ground up for containerized deployments. It takes the best lessons learned from BZZZ and reimagines them for Docker Swarm, Kubernetes, and modern container orchestration platforms.

## Vision

CHORUS enables distributed AI agents to coordinate, collaborate, and execute tasks across container clusters, supporting deployments from single containers to hundreds of instances in enterprise environments.

## Key Design Principles

- **Container-First**: Designed specifically for Docker/Kubernetes deployments
- **License-Controlled**: Simple environment variable-based licensing
- **Cloud-Native Logging**: Structured logging to stdout/stderr for container runtime collection
- **Swarm-Ready P2P**: P2P protocols optimized for container networking
- **Scalable Agent IDs**: Agent identification system that works across distributed deployments
- **Zero-Config**: Minimal configuration requirements via environment variables

## Architecture

CHORUS follows a microservices architecture where each container runs a single agent instance:

```
┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐
│   CHORUS Agent  │  │   CHORUS Agent  │  │   CHORUS Agent  │
│   Container 1   │◄─┤   Container 2   │─►│   Container N   │
└─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘
         │                      │                      │
         └──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┘
                                │
                    ┌─────────────────┐
                    │  Container      │
                    │  Network        │
                    │  (P2P Mesh)     │
                    └─────────────────┘
```

## Quick Start

### Prerequisites

- Docker & Docker Compose
- Valid CHORUS license key
- Access to Ollama endpoints for AI functionality

### Basic Deployment

1. Clone and configure:
```bash
git clone https://gitea.chorus.services/tony/CHORUS.git
cd CHORUS
cp docker/chorus.env.example docker/chorus.env
# Edit docker/chorus.env with your license key and configuration
```

2. Deploy:
```bash
docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml up -d
```

3. Scale (Docker Swarm):
```bash
docker service scale chorus_agent=10
```

## Licensing

CHORUS requires a valid license key to operate. Set your license key in the environment:

```env
CHORUS_LICENSE_KEY=your-license-key-here
CHORUS_LICENSE_EMAIL=your-email@example.com
```

**No license = No operation.** CHORUS will not start without valid licensing.

## Differences from BZZZ

| Aspect | BZZZ | CHORUS |
|--------|------|--------|
| Deployment | systemd service (1 per host) | Container (N per cluster) |
| Configuration | Web UI setup | Environment variables |
| Logging | Journal/files | stdout/stderr (structured) |
| Licensing | Setup-time validation | Runtime environment variable |
| Agent IDs | Host-based | Container/cluster-based |
| P2P Discovery | mDNS local network | Container network + service discovery |

## Development Status

🚧 **Early Development** - CHORUS is being designed and built. Not yet ready for production use.

Current Phase: Architecture design and core foundation development.

## License

CHORUS is a commercial product. Contact chorus.services for licensing information.

## Contributing

CHORUS is developed by the chorus.services team. For contributions or feedback, please use the issue tracker on our GITEA instance.