Symphony - OpenAI's open-source agent orchestration system

What is Symphony?

Symphony is an open-source agent orchestration system from OpenAI that supports transforming project work into isolated, autonomous tasks. Symphony can monitor Kanban boards such as Linear, automatically scheduling agents to complete the entire process from coding and testing to merging pull requests, providing proof of work such as CI status, code reviews, and demo videos. Engineers no longer need to supervise coding details; they only need to manage task acceptance at a higher level. Symphony is currently an experimental engineering preview version, built on Elixir and licensed under the Apache-2.0 license.

Symphony's main functions

• Kanban monitoringReal-time monitoring of task changes in project management tools such as Linear, automatically capturing requirements and triggering workflows.
• Intelligent schedulingDynamically generate dedicated Agents based on task type and allocate end-to-end code implementation tasks.
• Automated testingAfter the agent completes development, it automatically runs the test suite and generates CI status reports to ensure code quality.
• Code reviewIt supports automatic static analysis and complexity assessment, generating review feedback and improvement suggestions.
• DeliverablesSupports generating complete proof of work, including feature demonstration videos, test reports, and build outputs.
• Safe mergeAfter the engineer approves the changes, the system will automatically and securely merge the code changes into the main branch.

Symphony's technical principles

• Task isolation architectureSymphony employs a sandboxed runtime environment, where each task is executed in an independent container, ensuring that different agents do not interfere with each other and preventing accidental damage to the main codebase. This isolation mechanism provides a secure foundation for automated processes.
• Event-driven orchestrationThe system triggers workflows by listening to webhook events on platforms such as Linear, and uses a state machine to manage the task lifecycle, forming a closed loop from creation and allocation to execution, review and merging, thus achieving true unattended automation.
• Multi-Agent Collaboration MechanismSymphony does not rely on a single agent. Instead, it dynamically allocates specialized agents based on task type (frontend, backend, testing, etc.). Each agent exchanges context information through standardized interfaces to form a collaborative chain to complete complex requirements.
• Verifiable delivery systemEach task output must include objective evidence of its executable nature, including passed test cases, static analysis reports, build artifacts, and demo videos. The "proof-first" design ensures that automation does not sacrifice code quality.

Symphony's project address

• GitHub repositoryhttps://github.com/openai/symphony

Application scenarios of Symphony

• Agile development teamSuitable for teams using modern project management tools such as Linear, it automatically transforms Kanban tasks into deliverable code, reducing manual assignment and follow-up costs.
• Standardized code maintenanceIt supports handling repetitive engineering tasks such as dependency upgrades, refactoring, and documentation completion, maintaining the health of the codebase through automation.
• Rapid PrototypingIt directly translates product requirements into a working demo version, accelerating the iteration cycle from idea to prototype.
• Multi-project parallel managementSimultaneously monitor the task flow of multiple code repositories, coordinate the development pace of different projects, and avoid resource conflicts.
• Nighttime automatic operationPerform batch tasks during off-peak hours, such as testing and repair, and applying security patches, and provide a full report for review the following day.