thanks-computer

README

Thanks, Computer (TxCo)

Thanks, Computer is a distributed runtime for coordinating business logic across systems, services, humans, and time.

Where an operating system coordinates processes on a single machine, TxCo coordinates operations across an event flow:

            ●  event in
            │
         ┌──┴──┐
         │flow │
         └──┬──┘
      ┌─────┼─────┐
      ▼     ▼     ▼
    ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐
    │op │ │op │ │op │   parallel execution
    └─┬─┘ └─┬─┘ └─┬─┘
      └─────┼─────┘
         merge
           │
           ▼
          ● output

An incoming event (HTTP, email, cron, queue, webhook, etc.) enters an operation stack (OpStack).

At each step, TxCo evaluates resonators — small rules written in txcl that determine which operations should run. Matching operations execute in parallel, their outputs deep-merge into a shared event document, and the flow continues to the next step.

The model

TxCo separates three concerns:

• Flow — when and under what conditions operations run
• Execution — the actual code or external service being invoked
• Merge — combining results back into the event flow

This separation makes it possible to coordinate workflows that span:

• multiple services
• multiple organizations
• humans and AI systems
• asynchronous and long-running processes

Operations stay small and composable, while the OpStack defines how they cooperate as a larger system — similar to how departments coordinate work inside an organization.

Inspiration

TxCo draws inspiration from early distributed AI systems and event-driven architectures, particularly:

• Blackboard Architecture
• Oliver Selfridge's "Pandemonium" model of independent cooperating agents

These systems explored how complex behavior can emerge from many small, specialized processes operating over shared state.

License

Mozilla Public License 2.0.