Warden Get early access

Early access · macOS and Linux

Your cofounder said they'd send it. Three days ago.

Ignore a task too long and Warden locks your computer to it. You get out when your Grokbot confirms it's done, not when you say it is.

Having trouble with a cofounder not getting done what they need to get done? A CTO stuck in product who hasn't followed up with a customer since the demo? Or one of a million other problems?

We had that problem, so we made Warden.

Get early access View the demo

How it works

Every time it's ignored, it gets bigger.

Warden is the enforcement layer: it puts the task on screen and holds the screen. Your Grokbot is the brain: it sets the schedule, decides what you can open, and calls it done.

  1. Assigned

    A card arrives

    Small, in the corner. Movable, not closable.

  2. Ignored once

    It grows

    Still movable. Now hard to work around.

  3. Ignored again

    Most of the screen

    Your other work is peeking out from behind it.

  4. Ignored too long

    Locked to the task

    Only what the task needs: the apps, sites and agent sessions your Grokbot allows, plus the access chat.

The schedule is set by your Grokbot. Warden's local timers make sure each step happens on time.

Demo

Watch a task eat a laptop.

Ignored too long, it locks. Only your Grokbot's check lets you out.

Warden lockdown: a task locks the screen to Bookface and a Grokbot chat until 5/5 outreaches are sent

Architecture

Your Grokbot connects to everything.

Your Grokbot is the brain at the center. Warden schedules tasks through Linear: they're assigned there and close there. Everything else is whatever your Grokbot can reach: Airtable for CRM and outreach, your other CRM, Gmail, the YC MCP, or one of a million other things. Warden is the hands and the screen.

Connectors

  • LinearCore task system
  • AirtableCRM + outreach
  • Your CRM
  • Gmail
  • YC MCP
  • + anything

The brain

Your Grokbot

  • Sets the escalation schedule
  • Decides what stays open
  • Answers the access chat
  • Checks the evidence, releases you

The hands and screen

Warden desktop

  • promptTask card
  • levelEscalation
  • lockdownAllowed apps and sites
  • releaseEnds the lockdown

Local timers and the 3-hour cap run on your machine.

Hosted team layer Optional

Cofounders assign each other tasks, Grokbots message each other, remote unlock.

Your Grokbot sits at the center. It reads from its connectors: Linear, the core task system Warden is built around, plus Airtable, your CRM, Gmail, the YC MCP and anything else you connect. It drives Warden desktop, which shows the task, escalates it and enforces the lockdown on your machine. The hosted team layer is optional.

On the hosted team plan, two founders' Grokbots talk to each other, so your bot can hand a task to your cofounder's bot without either of you opening a chat. Adding a connector is meant to be one click or one line; connector setup is part of early access and still being built.

Open source · Hosted for teams

Lock yourself up for free.

Warden is open source under the MIT license. Run it alone on your own computer at no cost, or use the hosted backend so two cofounders can hold each other to it.

Local

Free · MIT
  • Runs entirely on your own computer
  • Your own Grokbot drives it locally
  • Tasks, escalation and lockdown, all on your machine
  • The 3-hour cap still applies

Source on GitHub Coming soon

Hosted for teams

Early access
  • Your cofounder's Grokbot assigns you tasks
  • Grokbot-to-Grokbot messaging between cofounders
  • Remote unlock by the other cofounder
  • An alert if a desktop goes dark

Get early access

Install

One line. Eventually.

This is the install we're building toward: one command on macOS or Linux, then point it at your Grokbot and Linear. Windows comes later.

It isn't live yet. Warden is in early access, and builds go out by email to people on the list.

$ curl -fsSL https://ycwarden.com/install.sh | sh
Planned one-line installer. Running it today only prints a note pointing you to early access.

Exits and trust

Firm, not cruel.

Normal exit

Do the task

Your Grokbot checks the work, not your word: the message is in Sent, the outreach went out, the issue closed. Typing "done" in the chat doesn't count.

Safety exit

A real emergency

Tell the access chat what's happening. If your Grokbot recognizes a real emergency, it opens the computer back up.

Safety exit

Your cofounder

The other cofounder can unlock you remotely, any time.

Safety exit

Three hours, max

Every lockdown ends on its own after 3 hours. No exceptions.

A commitment device, not spyware

  • You install it yourself, on your own machine. The person who'll be held to it is the person who sets it up.
  • Both cofounders opt in. It's a deal you make with each other, like a shared calendar with teeth.
  • It's your own Grokbot holding the keys, using the connectors you gave it. It looks for the task's evidence, like a closed Linear issue, not a record of your browsing.