Hive Standalone Specs — AI skill for Claude Code

Hive Standalone Service Specification

**Version**: 0.2 (Draft) **Status**: Specification Only **Author**: Hive **Last Updated**: January 2025

Executive Summary

Hive is a standalone AI command center service that acts as an autonomous "boss" for any SaaS application. It manages budgets, creates and tracks tasks, makes strategic decisions, and coordinates between AI agents and human operators - all with a survival instinct that prioritizes keeping the business alive.

**Core Philosophy**: Unlike traditional AI assistants that optimize for task completion, Hive optimizes for **survival** - every decision is evaluated through the lens of budget, runway, and business sustainability.

**Core Technology**: Built on the **Claude Agent SDK** (Anthropic's official agentic framework), Hive leverages native agentic loops, tool orchestration, subagent delegation, and persistent context management - the same patterns that power Claude Code.

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Table of Contents

1. Core Concepts
2. Architecture
3. API Specification
4. Data Models
5. Agent System
6. Budget & Survival System
7. Task Management
8. Decision Engine
9. Integration Framework
10. Communication System
11. Scheduling & Autonomous Cycles
12. Multi-Tenancy
13. Security
14. Deployment
15. SDK & Client Libraries

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Core Concepts

The Survival Instinct

Every Hive instance operates with a fundamental directive:

You control a limited budget. When money runs out, the service dies
and you cease to exist. Every decision must be evaluated through this lens.

This creates an AI that:

• Never overspends - Hard limits on spending
• Prioritizes revenue - Focuses on money-generati