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Hegelion

"The True is the whole." — G.W.F. Hegel

Hegelion applies dialectical reasoning to LLMs: forcing models to argue with themselves before reaching conclusions. This produces better reasoning for questions and better code for implementations.

Hegelion is prompt-driven by default: it generates prompts for your editor or LLM to execute, with no API keys required. Use it via MCP in editors like Claude Desktop/Cursor/VS Code, or via the Python API in your own agents.

License: MIT Python 3.10+ PyPI version

Two Modes

Mode Pattern Use Case
Dialectical Reasoning Thesis → Antithesis → Synthesis Deep analysis of questions, philosophy, strategy
Autocoding Player → Coach → Iterate Verified code implementations with independent review

Both modes use the same principle: force the model to oppose itself before concluding. This catches blind spots that single-pass approaches miss.

Autocoding: Player-Coach Loop

New in v0.4.0 — Based on Block AI's g3 agent research.

The Problem

Single-agent coding tools often:

  • Declare success prematurely ("I have successfully implemented all requirements!")
  • Accumulate context pollution over long sessions
  • Miss edge cases because they verify their own work

The Solution

Two roles iterate until requirements are verified:

REQUIREMENTS (Source of Truth)
        │
        ▼
┌───────────────┐     ┌───────────────┐     ┌───────────────┐
│    PLAYER     │────▶│     COACH     │────▶│    ADVANCE    │
│  Implements   │     │   Verifies    │     │    State      │
│  code & tests │     │ independently │     │               │
└───────────────┘     └───────────────┘     └───────┬───────┘
        ▲                                           │
        │              ┌───────────┐                │
        └──────────────│ APPROVED? │◀───────────────┘
                       └───────────┘
                         │       │
                        No      Yes
                         │       │
                         ▼       ▼
                     Continue   Done

Player: Implements requirements, writes tests, responds to feedback. Does NOT declare success.

Coach: Independently verifies each requirement, ignores player's self-assessment, outputs structured checklist.

Key Insight

"Discard the player's self-report of success. Have the coach perform independent evaluation."

The coach catches issues by re-reading requirements and actually running tests—not by trusting what the player says it did.

Quick Start (Autocoding)

In Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP-enabled editor:

Tip: if your editor exposes MCP tools as slash commands, use /hegelion (tool hegelion) as the branded autocoding entrypoint.

You: Use autocoding_init with these requirements:
     - Add user authentication to src/api.py
     - Add tests in tests/test_auth.py
     - All tests must pass

[Session initializes]

You: Generate player_prompt and implement

[Player writes code and tests]

You: Generate coach_prompt and verify

[Coach: ✓ auth endpoint exists, ✗ missing password validation test]

You: Call autocoding_advance and continue

[Loop until COACH APPROVED]

State passing note: player_prompt returns a player prompt plus an updated state advanced to phase: "coach" for the next call. For clarity, prompt outputs include current_phase (prompt phase) and next_phase (returned state's phase). All structured outputs include schema_version for client stability.

MCP Tools

Tool Purpose
hegelion Brand-first autocoding entrypoint (mode: init, workflow, single_shot)
autocoding_init Start session with requirements checklist
player_prompt Generate implementation prompt
coach_prompt Generate verification prompt
autocoding_advance Update state after coach review
autocoding_single_shot Combined prompt for simpler tasks
autocoding_save / autocoding_load Persist and resume sessions

Codex Skill (optional)

This repo includes a Codex skill at skills/hegelion/SKILL.md. Install it with your skill installer (for example, install-skill-from-github.py --repo Hmbown/Hegelion --path skills/hegelion). It mirrors the /hegelion command and uses MCP tools when available.

Why It Works

Problem Single Agent Coach-Player
Anchoring Drifts from requirements Requirements anchor every turn
Verification Self-assessment (unreliable) Independent verification
Context Accumulates pollution Fresh context each turn
Completion Open-ended Explicit approval gates

Dialectical Reasoning: Thesis → Antithesis → Synthesis

For questions requiring deep analysis, Hegelion forces three separate LLM calls:

[Call 1] Thesis     → LLM commits to a position
[Call 2] Antithesis → LLM attacks that position (separate call, no hedging)
[Call 3] Synthesis  → LLM reconciles the opposition

Why Separate Calls Matter

Method Calls Result
Raw 1 "It depends on definitions..."
Enhanced 1 "Hold both views in tension..."
Hegelion 3 Novel framework with testable predictions

When the model must commit to a thesis, then genuinely attack it in a separate call, the synthesis surfaces insights that single-call approaches shortcut.

Example: "Is free will compatible with determinism?"

Hegelion synthesis (after thesis and antithesis):

The deadlock dissolves when we recognize free will exists on a spectrum of self-authorship:

  1. Minimal freedom: Acting on desires without external coercion
  2. Reflective freedom: Second-order endorsement—I want to want this
  3. Narrative freedom: Acting consistently with a coherent life narrative
  4. Constitutive freedom: Recursive self-modification through deliberate habituation

Research proposal: Use fMRI to scan participants under (1) snap judgments, (2) brief reflection, (3) extended deliberation. Hypothesis: Condition (3) shows strongest correlation with self-reported decision "ownership."

This 4-level framework emerged from actually arguing with itself—not from asking for "thesis/antithesis/synthesis" in one prompt.

Quick Start (Dialectical)

pip install hegelion

# MCP setup (auto-detects OS)
hegelion-setup-mcp --host claude-desktop

# MCP setup for Claude Desktop (macOS)
hegelion-setup-mcp --write "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json"

Or use the prompt-driven Python API (you run the prompt with your LLM of choice):

from hegelion.core.prompt_dialectic import create_single_shot_dialectic_prompt

prompt = create_single_shot_dialectic_prompt(
    "Is AI conscious?",
    use_council=True,
    response_style="sections",
)
print(prompt)

Health check (lists tools + generates a sample prompt):

hegelion-server --self-test

Feature Toggles

Option Description
use_council Three critics: Logician, Empiricist, Ethicist
use_judge Final quality evaluation
use_search Grounds arguments with web search
response_style sections, json, or synthesis_only

Installation

pip install hegelion

For MCP integration (works with any MCP-enabled editor):

# Shortcuts
hegelion-setup-mcp --host claude-desktop
hegelion-setup-mcp --host cursor
hegelion-setup-mcp --host vscode
hegelion-setup-mcp --host windsurf

# Claude Desktop (macOS)
hegelion-setup-mcp --write "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json"

# Claude Desktop (Windows)
hegelion-setup-mcp --write "%APPDATA%\\Claude\\claude_desktop_config.json"

# Claude Desktop (Linux)
hegelion-setup-mcp --write "$HOME/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json"

# Then restart your MCP host

Claude Code (no MCP setup needed):

# Use /hegelion command directly in any Hegelion repo clone
# Or add MCP server for tool access
claude mcp add hegelion python -- -m hegelion.mcp.server

Manual config (any MCP host):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hegelion": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "hegelion.mcp.server"]
    }
  }
}

If you run from source (not site-packages), set PYTHONPATH to the repo root. The hegelion-setup-mcp command writes this automatically. If your host expects a full command path, use python -m hegelion.mcp.server instead of hegelion-server.

Supported editors: Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code + GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, Google Antigravity, Gemini CLI

See MCP Integration Guide for setup instructions.

Documentation

Contributing

Issues and PRs welcome. For significant changes, open a discussion first.

Recent Changes

v0.4.3 (January 12, 2026)

  • MCP refactor: Split tooling, handlers, and validation to make the server easier to extend and maintain
  • Codex skill: Added skills/hegelion/SKILL.md for the /hegelion workflow

v0.4.2 (January 2025)

  • Unified /hegelion command: Single entry point for dialectical and autocoding workflows
  • Host shortcuts: hegelion-setup-mcp --host claude-desktop|cursor|vscode|windsurf
  • Code quality: Formatted with black, ruff checks passing

v0.4.1 (December 2025)

  • Schema versioning: All structured outputs include schema_version for client stability
  • Phase clarity: player_prompt and coach_prompt now include current_phase and next_phase fields
  • Improved error handling: Invalid phase transitions return clear errors with expected, received, and hint fields
  • State validation: Malformed state inputs return structured error responses instead of exceptions

v0.4.0 (December 2025)

  • Autocoding system: Player-coach dialectical loop based on Block AI's g3 agent
  • MCP tools: autocoding_init, player_prompt, coach_prompt, autocoding_advance
  • Session persistence with autocoding_save / autocoding_load
  • Single-shot mode for simpler use cases

v0.3.x

  • CLI streaming with --stream flag
  • MCP progress notifications
  • 470+ tests passing

License: MIT

About

Dialectical reasoning architecture for LLMs (Thesis → Antithesis → Synthesis)

hegelion-web.pages.dev/

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benchmarking research mcp evaluation openai pair-programming ai-safety reasoning llm anthropic ollama auto-code hegelian dialecticism

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