Amp's non-interactive mode, driven by a board
`amp -x` executes one prompt and exits, which is exactly the shape a card wants. PortBay supplies the prompt, the worktree and a project that is already serving at a real URL.
How do I run Sourcegraph Amp on a queue of tasks?
Amp has a non-interactive mode — `amp -x "<prompt>"` runs a single prompt and exits — and that is the mode PortBay dispatches. Assign Amp to a card, move the card to To Do, and PortBay spawns that command with the working directory set to your project and the card's brief as the prompt, passed as an argument rather than on stdin so the same invocation works whether the run is headless or hosted in a terminal window. Amp has a tool-calling loop and edits files, so the limiting factor is usually what it can reach: PortBay's answer is a project that is already serving on its own .test hostname behind a trusted certificate, with a per-project database attached and its connection variables injected, and outgoing mail captured locally. Each card takes its own git worktree, a concurrency cap decides how many runs go at once, and a card that fails three times stops re-dispatching. Amp authenticates on your own Sourcegraph account; PortBay stores no key.
One card, one amp -x run
A single non-interactive execution per card. The comment, the diff and the move to Done all land back on the board.
Your first Amp card
Five steps from a clean Mac to an Amp run you can review at a real URL. Every command runs as written.
- Install PortBay
- Add your project and press play
- Check amp resolves on your PATH
- Write a card and assign Amp
- Move the card to To Do and open the result
Install PortBay
Homebrew installs the app and the bundled portbay CLI. Prefer a direct download? Grab the DMG from GitHub Releases and drag PortBay.app into Applications.
brew tap portbay-app/portbay && brew install --cask portbayAdd your project and press play
PortBay reads the stack from the folder, fills in the runtime and port, issues the certificate, resolves the hostname and attaches a database. The run inherits all of it.
portbay add ~/code/myappCheck amp resolves on your PATH
PortBay looks for the amp binary and offers it in the picker when it finds one. Authentication stays with your Sourcegraph account, exactly as it is when you run amp yourself.
which ampWrite a card and assign Amp
One card, one execution — so write the card as one bounded task with a checkable outcome rather than a project plan. Assign Amp on the card, or set it as the board default.
.portbay/tasks/cache-product-averages.mdMove the card to To Do and open the result
The run starts in the card's own worktree and comments what it changed. Open the project URL and use the feature. Require review holds finished cards for your approval before they count as done.
https://myapp.testamp -x, run by hand
The command is one line. Everything that makes the result trustworthy is the part that is missing.
The board keeps all three: a branch per card, a URL to check against, and the brief in your repo.
cd ~/code/myappamp -x "cache the product review averages" # no worktree — it edits whatever branch you are on# no running app — it cannot check its own change# no record — the prompt is gone with the scrollback
The pieces underneath
Agent task board
A Kanban board both you and your agents work. Cards are Markdown in the repo; moving one to To Do dispatches the agent.
Explore →Agent dev environment
Stack detection, runtimes, HTTPS, databases and mail, provisioned per project — the running app your agents verify their work against.
Explore →Asked before downloading
How does PortBay launch Amp?
As `amp -x "<the card>"` with the working directory set to the project — Amp's own non-interactive mode, one prompt per run. The prompt is passed as an argument rather than on stdin, so the same command works headless or hosted in a terminal window.
Can I pin a model on an Amp card?
Not from PortBay. Amp is one of six agents with no wired model flag, so no model selector is offered and nothing is appended to the command.
Can Amp claim cards itself over MCP?
No. PortBay wires MCP both ways for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and Gemini only. Amp is dispatched to — the card moves because you move it, or because auto-dispatch fires when it lands in To Do.
Can Amp share a board with other agents?
Yes. Assign an agent per card or set a board default, and a concurrency cap decides how many run together. Every card gets its own git worktree, so an Amp run and a Claude Code run on the same repo never write the same file.
Give your projects and your agents a real local home.
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