OSS Overview
ACE supports both a hosted cloud product and a local-first OSS path.
Use this guide to decide where to start if you want to stay inside the public, self-managed side of ACE instead of the hosted dashboard flow.
Choose Your Starting Point
| Path | Use it when | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| ACE OSS package | You want the ACE engine inside your own Python workflow | Install the OSS package |
| Self-managed local runtime | You want ACE's API, CLI, and MCP runtime on your own machine or infra | Run the local runtime |
| Hosted ACE Cloud | You want the fastest managed setup, sync, and dashboard workflow | ACE Cloud Quick Start |
How ACE Is Packaged
ACE v2 follows a clear split between public OSS/runtime capabilities and ACE-operated cloud services.
| Offer | Primary value |
|---|---|
| ACE OSS | Local-first playbook engine and self-managed runtime |
| ACE Cloud Personal | Hosted convenience for one user |
| ACE Cloud Team | Hosted collaboration, shared workflows, and governance |
| ACE Enterprise | Private deployment and enterprise controls |
This docs-site path follows the product direction in the ACE v2 product spec and the accepted OSS/core-versus-cloud boundary ADR: the OSS path should remain meaningfully useful on its own, while hosted value comes from ACE-operated services.
What Counts As Public OSS Today
These capabilities belong on the public side and should remain usable without ACE-operated cloud services:
| Public capability | Current repo mapping | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Core ACE engine and domain logic | packages/ace-core/, ace_core/ | Lets you embed ACE in your own local workflows |
| Local CLI and bootstrap flows | ace_platform/cli.py | Supports local init, doctor, benchmark, import, and export workflows |
| Local API and MCP runtime | ace_platform/api/main.py, ace_platform/mcp/ | Lets you run ACE services yourself |
| Public starter content and portability assets | playbooks/, docs, tests | Keeps local usage, examples, and import/export flows portable |
If a single self-managed user can reasonably run the capability with their own infrastructure and model credentials, it belongs on the public side.
What Hosted ACE Adds
Hosted ACE is intentionally different from the OSS/local path.
| Capability | OSS package / self-managed runtime | Hosted ACE |
|---|---|---|
| Core engine | Yes | Yes |
| Local API, CLI, MCP | Yes | Optional |
| Bring your own model keys | Yes | Yes |
| Hosted auth and sessions | No | Yes |
| Billing and entitlements | No | Yes |
| Cloud sync and backups | No | Yes |
| Managed inference gateway | No | Yes |
| Team collaboration and governance | No | Yes |
The important rule is that premium value comes from ACE-operated server-side services, not from hiding local features behind license checks.
What The Repo Looks Like Today
The package split is still in progress, so current folder names are a transition state rather than the final product boundary.
| Path | Classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|
packages/ace-core/ | Public OSS | Extracted shared engine package |
ace_core/ | Public OSS (legacy mirror) | Older core tree retained during extraction |
ace_platform/ | Mixed transition area | Local runtime entrypoints and cloud-oriented services still coexist here |
web/ | Hosted/cloud-oriented app surface | Dashboard frontend for managed workflows |
For user onboarding, the important distinction is capability, not the temporary repo layout.
Where To Go Next
- If you want the public/local path, continue to the Local Quickstart.
- If you want the fastest managed experience, use the ACE Cloud Quick Start.