BlackTent is a local-first safety environment for diagnosing development problems without exposing secrets, source code, or private system state.
It is designed for moments when something is wrong but copying files, logs, or environment variables into an external tool would be unsafe or irresponsible.
BlackTent prioritizes clarity over automation and containment over convenience.
BlackTent is a CLI-based diagnostic tool that operates inside a secure, local boundary.
It helps developers answer questions like:
- Is my environment configured the way I think it is?
- Are required variables present without revealing their values?
- Is this issue caused by drift, mismatch, or missing state?
- What assumptions are failing right now?
BlackTent analyzes structure, presence, and coherence, not secret content.
BlackTent does not:
- Read or transmit secret values
- Upload files, logs, or environment data
- Auto-fix systems or mutate configuration
- Scan entire repositories
- Replace debugging judgment with automation
- Provide a UI or dashboard (by design)
BlackTent is intentionally conservative.
All diagnostics run on the user’s machine. Nothing is sent to external services.
BlackTent evaluates whether something exists and whether it aligns, never what it contains.
BlackTent does not modify systems automatically. It explains what it sees and why it matters.
The goal is understanding, not blind repair.
BlackTent v1 is feature-locked around:
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Boot Doctor Diagnose whether services are running, where, and why confusion exists.
-
Security Tent Environment and redaction-safe diagnostics for sensitive contexts.
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Mechanic Mode Suggests likely causes and next steps without auto-fixing.
Future versions will expand clarity, not automation.
BlackTent is a CLI tool.
This is intentional.
A CLI allows:
- auditability
- composability
- safe use in sensitive environments
- predictable behavior
A UI may exist in the future, but it is not required for BlackTent to do its job well.
BlackTent is under active development.
This repository contains the canonical, minimal implementation intended for public use.
Experimental work, prototypes, and research live elsewhere.
MIT License.
If you believe you’ve found a security issue, please see SECURITY.md.
BlackTent treats security as a first-class constraint, not a feature.