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The Clerk framework is built around a central agent architecture with everything managed by the Clerk - the single central piece of the entire system.
System Overview
Core Components
The Clerk
The Clerk is the heart of the system, defined by two fundamental elements:
- Context - The memory and state management system
- Tools - The capabilities and actions the agent can perform
Everything flows through the Clerk, which serves as the central orchestrator for all operations and decision-making.
The Context
The context is the second most important component of the system, responsible for:
- Memory Management - Maintaining all agent memory and conversation state
- Message Crafting - Building the list of messages to query the LLM
- Tool Selection - Determining which tools are available for each interaction
- Prompt Engineering - Crafting optimal prompts for the language model
- Context Engineering - Managing the overall context structure and flow
The Agentic Loop in Detail
Architecture Layers
Repository Structure
Modification Points
The framework is designed with clear separation of concerns:
- Prompts and Tools - These are the single pieces of code and mechanics that users should modify for the bot to function
- Core Framework - The rest of the system must remain purely agnostic, blindly conducting reflection and code execution
Design Philosophy
This separation ensures that:
- Business logic and customizations are isolated to prompts and tools
- The core agentic loop remains stable and reusable
- Users can focus on defining behavior without touching the execution engine
FastAPI Integration
Request Flow
FastAPI serves as the entry point that:
- Redirects to Clerk - All requests are forwarded to the Clerk for processing
- Queue Verification - Performs verification that the message queue is not empty
- Minimal Logic - Contains minimal business logic, acting primarily as a gateway
Separation of Concerns
The FastAPI layer maintains clean separation by handling only:
- Request validation and routing
- Queue management verification
- Response formatting and delivery
The actual intelligence and decision-making remains entirely within the Clerk’s domain. 