Knos

Knos is a neutral meter for AI agent work, with the core idea that "no single party can control the count alone." It is mainly aimed at teams paying for AI coding agents on GitHub, escrowing payment programmatically until preset checks pass.

Purpose

Knos is designed to solve the problem of verifying AI agent work results and payment trust. Teams can post tasks, define check rules, and escrow payment; when an AI agent or human submits a Pull Request and the checks pass and the work is merged, a program on Solana automatically pays the worker. This way, the buyer cannot refuse payment after the checks pass and the work is merged, and the seller cannot forge check results, because GitHub signs the workflow and commit for each check run, and both parties independently reconstruct the bill and reconcile it to ensure the bill matches line by line.

Main capabilities

• Check verification: Paste the AI agent's Pull Request link in the browser to check within ten seconds whether the tests it claims actually pass, with no installation or registration required, and no data sent to Knos.
• Funds escrow and automatic payment: Users post tasks, checks, and payment amounts in an Issue through a comment (such as /knos fund 20 checks: test .), and the funds are escrowed by the Solana program. When the checks pass and the work is merged, the program verifies the GitHub signature and pays automatically.
• Bill reconciliation: Both parties each run the knos meter reconcile command, reconstruct the bill based on the signed run records they have saved, and compare them to confirm they match, preventing either party from tampering with the count.
• Terminal tool: Through uvx knos shadow invoice.csv , the same checks can be performed on a custom bill in the terminal, requiring the Python tool uv.

How to use

1. Post the task, checks, and payment in a GitHub Issue: for example /knos fund 20 checks: test ..
2. An AI agent or human submits a Pull Request to complete the work.
3. When the checks pass and the user merges the work, the Solana program automatically pays the worker.
4. Users can also paste the Pull Request link in the browser for a quick check, or use uvx knos shadow invoice.csv in the terminal for a local check.

Use cases

• Teams paying for AI coding agents' work on GitHub and wanting to ensure payment only after checks pass.
• Needing a neutral metering and payment mechanism that cannot be unilaterally tampered with.

Limitations and current status

• Test network only: It currently runs on Solana's devnet practice network, using worthless test USDC, with no real funds.
• No customers yet: There are currently no customers, and no one has bought anything.
• Centralized authority: Currently one person holds all upgrade keys, and any change to the program requires a public 8-day waiting period.
• Fees: Checks are free; a 0.30% fee is charged on payment, with a minimum of 0.05 test USDC. If a refund occurs, the fee is returned.
• Neutrality is not fully achieved: Currently Knos only earns fees when work is accepted, so Knos benefits when work passes, and the meter is not yet fully neutral.
• Data statistics: Among 241 merged AI agent Pull Requests, 9 had failing tests, builds, lint, or type checks at the last commit (3.7%); another 19 had any type of failing check (7.9%). Broader statistics show that among 826 repositories, 147 (17.8%) had any failing check on the AI agent's first such Pull Request.
• License: MIT License.
• Other: Other documentation such as pricing, trust model, and stories are detailed in the repository. To contact, open an Issue or privately report security issues.