diff --git a/src/adapters/mod.rs b/src/adapters/mod.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c219111
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/adapters/mod.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,307 @@
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::time::Duration;
+
+use async_trait::async_trait;
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+use tokio::sync::watch;
+use tokio::task::JoinHandle;
+
+use crate::api::{DeregisterRequest, HeartbeatRequest, RegisterAgentRequest};
+use crate::config::Config;
+use crate::core::models::{Receipt, Task};
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq)]
+#[serde(rename_all = "kebab-case")]
+pub enum AdapterKind {
+    ClaudeCode,
+    CodexCli,
+    OpenClaw,
+    Acp,
+    Shell,
+    Other(String),
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub struct AdapterInstanceConfig {
+    pub agent_id: String,
+    pub adapter: AdapterKind,
+    pub work_dir: PathBuf,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub model: Option<String>,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub max_concurrency: u32,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub capabilities: Vec<String>,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub env: HashMap<String, String>,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub connection: AdapterConnectionConfig,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq, Default)]
+pub struct AdapterConnectionConfig {
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub base_url: Option<String>,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub access_token: Option<String>,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub command: Option<String>,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub args: Vec<String>,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub metadata: HashMap<String, String>,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub struct AdapterHealth {
+    pub ok: bool,
+    pub detail: String,
+}
+
+impl AdapterHealth {
+    pub fn healthy(detail: impl Into<String>) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            ok: true,
+            detail: detail.into(),
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn unhealthy(detail: impl Into<String>) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            ok: false,
+            detail: detail.into(),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, thiserror::Error)]
+pub enum AdapterError {
+    #[error("adapter health check failed: {0}")]
+    HealthCheckFailed(String),
+    #[error("adapter lifecycle error: {0}")]
+    Lifecycle(String),
+    #[error("adapter execution error: {0}")]
+    Execution(String),
+    #[error("adapter join error: {0}")]
+    Join(#[from] tokio::task::JoinError),
+}
+
+#[async_trait]
+pub trait AgentAdapter: Send + Sync {
+    async fn health_check(&self) -> Result<AdapterHealth, AdapterError>;
+    async fn register(&self) -> Result<RegisterAgentRequest, AdapterError>;
+    async fn heartbeat(&self) -> Result<HeartbeatRequest, AdapterError>;
+    async fn execute(&self, task: Task) -> Result<Receipt, AdapterError>;
+    async fn submit_receipt(&self, receipt: Receipt) -> Result<(), AdapterError>;
+    async fn deregister(&self) -> Result<DeregisterRequest, AdapterError>;
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq, Default)]
+pub struct AdapterConfigFile {
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub adapters: Vec<AdapterInstanceConfig>,
+}
+
+impl AdapterConfigFile {
+    pub fn from_config(config: &Config) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            adapters: config.adapters.clone(),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+pub struct AdapterRunner<A: AgentAdapter> {
+    adapter: Arc<A>,
+    heartbeat_interval: Duration,
+    heartbeat_task: Option<JoinHandle<Result<(), AdapterError>>>,
+    shutdown_tx: Option<watch::Sender<bool>>,
+}
+
+impl<A: AgentAdapter + 'static> AdapterRunner<A> {
+    pub fn new(adapter: Arc<A>, heartbeat_interval: Duration) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            adapter,
+            heartbeat_interval,
+            heartbeat_task: None,
+            shutdown_tx: None,
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub async fn start(&mut self) -> Result<(), AdapterError> {
+        let health = self.adapter.health_check().await?;
+        if !health.ok {
+            return Err(AdapterError::HealthCheckFailed(health.detail));
+        }
+
+        self.adapter.register().await?;
+
+        let (shutdown_tx, mut shutdown_rx) = watch::channel(false);
+        let adapter = self.adapter.clone();
+        let interval_duration = self.heartbeat_interval;
+        let task = tokio::spawn(async move {
+            let mut interval = tokio::time::interval(interval_duration);
+            loop {
+                tokio::select! {
+                    _ = interval.tick() => {
+                        adapter.heartbeat().await?;
+                    }
+                    changed = shutdown_rx.changed() => {
+                        if changed.is_err() || *shutdown_rx.borrow() {
+                            break;
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            Ok(())
+        });
+
+        self.shutdown_tx = Some(shutdown_tx);
+        self.heartbeat_task = Some(task);
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    pub async fn stop(&mut self) -> Result<(), AdapterError> {
+        if let Some(tx) = self.shutdown_tx.take() {
+            let _ = tx.send(true);
+        }
+
+        if let Some(task) = self.heartbeat_task.take() {
+            task.await??;
+        }
+
+        self.adapter.deregister().await?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use chrono::Utc;
+    use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicUsize, Ordering};
+
+    use crate::core::models::{Priority, ReceiptStatus, TaskStatus};
+
+    #[derive(Default)]
+    struct FakeAdapter {
+        register_calls: AtomicUsize,
+        heartbeat_calls: AtomicUsize,
+        deregister_calls: AtomicUsize,
+    }
+
+    #[async_trait]
+    impl AgentAdapter for FakeAdapter {
+        async fn health_check(&self) -> Result<AdapterHealth, AdapterError> {
+            Ok(AdapterHealth::healthy("ok"))
+        }
+
+        async fn register(&self) -> Result<RegisterAgentRequest, AdapterError> {
+            self.register_calls.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst);
+            Ok(RegisterAgentRequest {
+                agent_id: "worker-01".into(),
+                agent_type: crate::core::models::AgentType::CodexCli,
+                hostname: "host-01".into(),
+                capabilities: vec!["code:rust".into()],
+                max_concurrency: 1,
+                metadata: HashMap::new(),
+            })
+        }
+
+        async fn heartbeat(&self) -> Result<HeartbeatRequest, AdapterError> {
+            self.heartbeat_calls.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst);
+            Ok(HeartbeatRequest {
+                agent_id: "worker-01".into(),
+            })
+        }
+
+        async fn execute(&self, task: Task) -> Result<Receipt, AdapterError> {
+            Ok(Receipt {
+                task_id: task.task_id,
+                agent_id: "worker-01".into(),
+                status: ReceiptStatus::Completed,
+                duration_seconds: 1,
+                summary: "done".into(),
+                artifacts: vec![],
+                error: None,
+            })
+        }
+
+        async fn submit_receipt(&self, _receipt: Receipt) -> Result<(), AdapterError> {
+            Ok(())
+        }
+
+        async fn deregister(&self) -> Result<DeregisterRequest, AdapterError> {
+            self.deregister_calls.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst);
+            Ok(DeregisterRequest {
+                agent_id: "worker-01".into(),
+            })
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn config_file_extracts_adapters() {
+        let mut config = Config::default();
+        config.adapters = vec![AdapterInstanceConfig {
+            agent_id: "worker-01".into(),
+            adapter: AdapterKind::CodexCli,
+            work_dir: PathBuf::from("/tmp/repo"),
+            model: Some("gpt-5".into()),
+            max_concurrency: 2,
+            capabilities: vec!["code:rust".into()],
+            env: HashMap::from([("RUST_LOG".into(), "info".into())]),
+            connection: AdapterConnectionConfig {
+                command: Some("codex".into()),
+                args: vec!["exec".into(), "--json".into()],
+                ..Default::default()
+            },
+        }];
+
+        let file = AdapterConfigFile::from_config(&config);
+        assert_eq!(file.adapters.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(file.adapters[0].agent_id, "worker-01");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn runner_registers_heartbeats_and_stops() {
+        let adapter = Arc::new(FakeAdapter::default());
+        let mut runner = AdapterRunner::new(adapter.clone(), Duration::from_millis(10));
+
+        runner.start().await.unwrap();
+        tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(35)).await;
+        runner.stop().await.unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(adapter.register_calls.load(Ordering::SeqCst), 1);
+        assert!(adapter.heartbeat_calls.load(Ordering::SeqCst) >= 1);
+        assert_eq!(adapter.deregister_calls.load(Ordering::SeqCst), 1);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn fake_execute_returns_receipt_shape() {
+        let adapter = FakeAdapter::default();
+        let receipt = adapter
+            .execute(Task {
+                task_id: "task-1".into(),
+                source: "forgejo:org/repo#1".into(),
+                task_type: "code".into(),
+                priority: Priority::Normal,
+                status: TaskStatus::Assigned,
+                assigned_agent_id: Some("worker-01".into()),
+                requirements: "ship it".into(),
+                labels: vec![],
+                created_at: Utc::now(),
+                assigned_at: Some(Utc::now()),
+                started_at: None,
+                completed_at: None,
+                retry_count: 0,
+                max_retries: 2,
+                timeout_seconds: 60,
+            })
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(receipt.task_id, "task-1");
+        assert_eq!(receipt.status, ReceiptStatus::Completed);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
index c2f3e10..c8f5663 100644
--- a/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/config.rs
@@ -1,11 +1,15 @@
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 
+use crate::adapters::AdapterInstanceConfig;
+
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct Config {
     pub server: ServerConfig,
     pub forgejo: ForgejoConfig,
     pub matrix: MatrixConfig,
     pub orchestrator: OrchestratorConfig,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub adapters: Vec<AdapterInstanceConfig>,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
@@ -63,6 +67,7 @@ impl Default for Config {
                 task_timeout_secs: 1800,
                 default_max_retries: 2,
             },
+            adapters: vec![],
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 609e245..201bc63 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
+pub mod adapters;
 pub mod api;
-pub mod core;
 pub mod config;
+pub mod core;
 pub mod integrations;
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 4a8f6b6..3948859 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+mod adapters;
 mod api;
 mod config;
 mod core;