Integration architecture

Overview

Zero's integration model has three layers:

1. Source systems — GitHub, Jira, Linear, or manual entry. These supply Work items (issues, tickets, epics) that become Work items in Zero.
2. Zero core — manages Work state, sessions, memory, and proof. Operates independently of any specific source or provider.
3. Providers — execute sessions (Claude, etc.). Zero sends a plan prompt; the provider returns execution results.

The desktop app is the operator interface for all three layers. No separate CLI is required to use Zero.

  SOURCE SYSTEMS                ZERO CORE                  PROVIDERS
  ─────────────                 ─────────                  ─────────
  GitHub issues  ──import──▶   Work item                  Claude CLI
  Jira (planned) ──import──▶   Session         ──plan──▶  (local, dev)
  Linear (plan.) ──import──▶   Proof
  Manual entry   ──create──▶   Memory files               API transport
                               Case DB         ──plan──▶  (planned)

  OPERATOR (desktop app)
  ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Imports Work  →  Reviews plan  →  Approves  →  Attaches proof

  CONSOLE (dev-only)
  ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Manages CLI credentials · Activates license · Triggers local runs
  Not exposed in the customer product surface

Source systems

Source systems are where Work originates. Zero treats them as input channels — not as systems it continuously syncs with.

• GitHub issues — Zero fetches issue metadata and writes a problem-definition.md file locally. Requires the GitHub CLI (gh) installed on the same machine. Read-only fetch — Zero does not push to GitHub except for explicit operator-triggered actions (progress comments, proof comments).
• Jira, Linear — planned. Will follow the same pattern: fetch metadata, create local Work item, no continuous sync.
• Manual entry — always available without any integration. The operator describes the Work item directly in Zero.

Transport layer

The transport layer connects Zero core to the AI provider that executes sessions.

Current builds: local CLI transport. The provider CLI (e.g., claude) must be installed on the same machine. Zero invokes the CLI with a structured prompt and reads its output. This is a developer-side setup — it is not managed by customers through the product UI.

Planned: API-based transport. Zero will call provider APIs directly — no local CLI required. This is the target architecture for customer-facing production deployments. Until then, the CLI transport is the available path for early access users.

Dev / production boundary

The boundary matters for understanding what is available today vs. what requires waiting for API transport.

Capability matrix

Current provider and source system status: