tinyclaw

# Agents

TinyAGI supports running multiple AI agents simultaneously, each with its own isolated workspace, configuration, and conversation state. This allows you to have specialized agents for different tasks while maintaining complete isolation.

## Overview

The agent management feature enables you to:

- **Run multiple agents** with different models, providers, and configurations
- **Route messages** to specific agents using `@agent_id` syntax
- **Isolate conversations** - each agent has its own workspace directory and conversation history
- **Specialize agents** - give each agent a custom system prompt and configuration
- **Switch providers** - mix Anthropic (Claude) and OpenAI (Codex) agents
- **Customize workspaces** - organize agents in your own workspace directory

## Architecture

```text
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Message Channels                          │
│              (Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp)                   │
└────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     │ User sends: "@coder fix the bug"
                     ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Queue Processor                            │
│  • Parses @agent_id routing prefix                          │
│  • Falls back to default agent if no prefix                 │
│  • Loads agent configuration from settings.json             │
└────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Agent Router                              │
│                                                              │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐     │
│  │ @coder       │  │ @writer      │  │ @assistant   │     │
│  │              │  │              │  │ (default)    │     │
│  │ Provider:    │  │ Provider:    │  │ Provider:    │     │
│  │ anthropic    │  │ openai       │  │ anthropic    │     │
│  │ Model:       │  │ Model:       │  │ Model:       │     │
│  │ sonnet       │  │ gpt-5.3-codex│  │ opus         │     │
│  │              │  │              │  │              │     │
│  │ Workspace:   │  │ Workspace:   │  │ Workspace:   │     │
│  │ ~/workspace/ │  │ ~/workspace/ │  │ ~/workspace/ │     │
│  │    coder/    │  │    writer/   │  │  assistant/  │     │
│  │              │  │              │  │              │     │
│  │ Config:      │  │ Config:      │  │ Config:      │     │
│  │ .claude/     │  │ .claude/     │  │ .claude/     │     │
│  │ heartbeat.md │  │ heartbeat.md │  │ heartbeat.md │     │
│  │ AGENTS.md    │  │ AGENTS.md    │  │ AGENTS.md    │     │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘     │
│                                                              │
│  Shared: ~/.tinyagi/ (channels, files, logs, tinyagi.db) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

## How It Works

### 1. Message Routing

When a message arrives, the queue processor parses it for routing:

```typescript
// User sends: "@coder fix the authentication bug"
const routing = parseAgentRouting(rawMessage, agents);
// Result: { agentId: "coder", message: "fix the authentication bug" }
```

**Routing Rules:**

- Message starts with `@agent_id` → Routes to that agent
- No prefix → Routes to default agent (user-named during setup)
- Agent not found → Falls back to default agent
- No agents configured → Uses legacy single-agent mode

### 2. Agent Configuration

Each agent has its own configuration in `.tinyagi/settings.json`:

```json
{
  "workspace": {
    "path": "/Users/me/tinyagi-workspace",
    "name": "tinyagi-workspace"
  },
  "agents": {
    "coder": {
      "name": "Code Assistant",
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "model": "sonnet",
      "working_directory": "/Users/me/tinyagi-workspace/coder",
      "system_prompt": "You are a senior software engineer..."
    },
    "writer": {
      "name": "Technical Writer",
      "provider": "openai",
      "model": "gpt-5.3-codex",
      "working_directory": "/Users/me/tinyagi-workspace/writer",
      "prompt_file": "/path/to/writer-prompt.md"
    },
    "assistant": {
      "name": "Assistant",
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "model": "opus",
      "working_directory": "/Users/me/tinyagi-workspace/assistant"
    }
  }
}
```

**Note:** The `working_directory` is automatically set to `<workspace>/<agent_id>/` when creating agents via `tinyagi agent add`.

### 3. Agent Isolation

Each agent has its own isolated workspace directory with complete copies of configuration files:

**Agent Workspaces:**

```text
~/tinyagi-workspace/          # Or custom workspace name
├── coder/
│   ├── .claude/               # Agent's own Claude config
│   │   ├── settings.json
│   │   ├── settings.local.json
│   │   └── hooks/
│   │       ├── session-start.sh
│   │       └── log-activity.sh
│   ├── heartbeat.md           # Agent-specific heartbeat
│   ├── AGENTS.md              # Agent-specific docs
│   └── reset_flag             # Reset signal
├── writer/
│   ├── .claude/
│   ├── heartbeat.md
│   ├── AGENTS.md
│   └── reset_flag
└── assistant/                 # User-named default agent
    ├── .claude/
    ├── heartbeat.md
    ├── AGENTS.md
    └── reset_flag
```

**Templates & Shared Resources:**

Templates and shared resources are stored in `~/.tinyagi/`:

```text
~/.tinyagi/
├── .claude/           # Template: Copied to each new agent
├── heartbeat.md       # Template: Copied to each new agent
├── AGENTS.md          # Template: Copied to each new agent
├── channels/          # SHARED: Channel state (QR codes, ready flags)
├── files/             # SHARED: Uploaded files from all channels
├── logs/              # SHARED: Log files for all agents and channels
└── tinyagi.db        # SHARED: SQLite message queue
```

**How it works:**

- Each agent runs CLI commands in its own workspace directory (`~/workspace/agent_id/`)
- Each agent gets its own copy of `.claude/`, `heartbeat.md`, and `AGENTS.md` from templates
- Agents can customize their settings, hooks, and documentation independently
- Conversation history is isolated per agent (managed by Claude/Codex CLI)
- Reset flags allow resetting individual agent conversations
- File operations happen in the agent's directory
- Templates stored in `~/.tinyagi/` are copied when creating new agents
- Uploaded files, the SQLite queue, and logs are shared (common dependencies)

### 4. Provider Execution

The queue processor calls the appropriate CLI based on provider:

**Anthropic (Claude):**

```bash
cd "$agent_working_directory"  # e.g., ~/tinyagi-workspace/coder/
claude --dangerously-skip-permissions \
  --model claude-sonnet-4-6 \
  --system-prompt "Your custom prompt..." \
  -c \  # Continue conversation
  -p "User message here"
```

**OpenAI (Codex):**

```bash
cd "$agent_working_directory"  # e.g., ~/tinyagi-workspace/coder/
codex exec resume --last \
  --model gpt-5.3-codex \
  --skip-git-repo-check \
  --dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox \
  --json \
  "User message here"
```

## Configuration

### Initial Setup

During first-time setup (`tinyagi setup`), you'll be prompted for:

1. **Workspace name** - Where to store agent directories
   - Default: `tinyagi-workspace`
   - Creates: `~/tinyagi-workspace/`

2. **Default agent name** - Name for your main assistant
   - Default: `assistant`
   - This replaces the hardcoded "default" agent

### Adding Agents

**Interactive CLI:**

```bash
tinyagi agent add
```

This walks you through:

1. Agent ID (e.g., `coder`)
2. Display name (e.g., `Code Assistant`)
3. Provider (Anthropic or OpenAI)
4. Model selection
5. Optional system prompt

**Working directory is automatically set to:** `<workspace>/<agent_id>/`

**Manual Configuration:**

Edit `.tinyagi/settings.json`:

```json
{
  "workspace": {
    "path": "/Users/me/tinyagi-workspace",
    "name": "tinyagi-workspace"
  },
  "agents": {
    "researcher": {
      "name": "Research Assistant",
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "model": "opus",
      "working_directory": "/Users/me/tinyagi-workspace/researcher",
      "system_prompt": "You are a research assistant specialized in academic literature review and data analysis."
    }
  }
}
```

### Agent Fields

| Field               | Required | Description                                                            |
| ------------------- | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `name`              | Yes      | Human-readable display name                                            |
| `provider`          | Yes      | `anthropic`, `openai`, `opencode`, or `custom:<provider_id>`           |
| `model`             | Yes      | Model identifier (e.g., `sonnet`, `opus`, `gpt-5.3-codex`)             |
| `working_directory` | Yes      | Directory where agent operates (auto-set to `<workspace>/<agent_id>/`) |
| `system_prompt`     | No       | Inline system prompt text                                              |
| `prompt_file`       | No       | Path to file containing system prompt                                  |

**Note:**

- If both `prompt_file` and `system_prompt` are provided, `prompt_file` takes precedence
- The `working_directory` is automatically set to `<workspace>/<agent_id>/` when creating agents
- Each agent gets its own isolated directory with copies of templates from `~/.tinyagi/`

## Usage

### Routing Messages to Agents

**In any messaging channel** (Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp):

```text
@coder fix the authentication bug in login.ts

@writer document the new API endpoints

@researcher find papers on transformer architectures

help me with this (goes to default agent - "assistant" by default)
```

### Listing Agents

**From chat:**

```text
/agents
```

**From CLI:**

```bash
tinyagi agent list
```

**Output:**

```text
Configured Agents
==================

  @coder - Code Assistant
    Provider:  anthropic/sonnet
    Directory: /Users/me/tinyagi-workspace/coder

  @writer - Technical Writer
    Provider:  openai/gpt-5.3-codex
    Directory: /Users/me/tinyagi-workspace/writer
    Prompt:    /path/to/writer-prompt.md

  @assistant - Assistant
    Provider:  anthropic/opus
    Directory: /Users/me/tinyagi-workspace/assistant
```

### Managing Agents

**Show agent details:**

```bash
tinyagi agent show coder
```

**Reset agent conversation:**

```bash
tinyagi agent reset coder
```

From chat:

```text
@coder /reset
```

**Remove agent:**

```bash
tinyagi agent remove coder
```

## Use Cases

### Specialized Codebases

Have different agents for different projects:

```json
{
  "workspace": {
    "path": "/Users/me/my-workspace"
  },
  "agents": {
    "frontend": {
      "working_directory": "/Users/me/my-workspace/frontend",
      "system_prompt": "You are a React and TypeScript expert..."
    },
    "backend": {
      "working_directory": "/Users/me/my-workspace/backend",
      "system_prompt": "You are a Node.js backend engineer..."
    }
  }
}
```

Usage:

```text
@frontend add a loading spinner to the dashboard

@backend optimize the database queries in user service
```

### Role-Based Agents

Assign different roles to agents:

```json
{
  "agents": {
    "reviewer": {
      "system_prompt": "You are a code reviewer. Focus on security, performance, and best practices."
    },
    "debugger": {
      "system_prompt": "You are a debugging expert. Help identify and fix bugs systematically."
    },
    "architect": {
      "model": "opus",
      "system_prompt": "You are a software architect. Design scalable, maintainable systems."
    }
  }
}
```

### Provider Mixing

Use different AI providers for different tasks:

```json
{
  "custom_providers": {
    "openrouter": {
      "name": "OpenRouter",
      "harness": "claude",
      "base_url": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
      "api_key": "sk-or-..."
    }
  },
  "agents": {
    "quick": {
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "model": "sonnet",
      "system_prompt": "Fast, efficient responses for quick questions."
    },
    "deep": {
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "model": "opus",
      "system_prompt": "Thorough, detailed analysis for complex problems."
    },
    "codegen": {
      "provider": "openai",
      "model": "gpt-5.3-codex",
      "system_prompt": "Code generation specialist."
    },
    "proxy-agent": {
      "provider": "custom:openrouter",
      "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
      "system_prompt": "Uses a custom API endpoint."
    }
  }
}
```

## Advanced Features

### Dynamic Agent Routing

You can pre-route messages from channel clients by setting the `agent` field:

```typescript
// In channel client (discord-client.ts, etc.)
const queueData: QueueData = {
  channel: 'discord',
  message: userMessage,
  agent: 'coder',  // Pre-route to specific agent
  // ...
};
```

### Fallback Behavior

If no agents are configured, TinyAGI automatically creates a default agent using the legacy `models` section:

```json
{
  "models": {
    "provider": "anthropic",
    "anthropic": {
      "model": "sonnet"
    }
  }
}
```

This ensures backward compatibility with older configurations.

### Global Model & Provider Commands

The `tinyagi model` and `tinyagi provider --model` commands update both the global default **and** propagate to all matching agents:

- `tinyagi model sonnet` — updates `.models.anthropic.model` and sets `model = "sonnet"` on every agent with `provider == "anthropic"`.
- `tinyagi model gpt-5.3-codex` — updates `.models.openai.model` and sets `model = "gpt-5.3-codex"` on every agent with `provider == "openai"`.
- `tinyagi provider openai --model gpt-5.3-codex` — switches the global provider, and updates all agents that were on the **old** provider to the new provider and model.
- `tinyagi provider anthropic` (no `--model`) — only switches the global default; agents are **not** changed.

To change a **single** agent's provider/model without affecting others, use:

```bash
tinyagi agent provider <agent_id> <provider> --model <model>
```

Running `tinyagi model` or `tinyagi provider` with no arguments shows the global default followed by a per-agent breakdown.

### Reset Flags

Per-agent reset: `<workspace>/<agent_id>/reset_flag` - resets a specific agent's conversation.

Reset flags are automatically cleaned up after use.

Reset one or more agents:

```bash
tinyagi reset coder
tinyagi reset coder researcher
```

### Custom Workspaces

You can create multiple workspaces for different purposes:

```json
{
  "workspace": {
    "path": "/Users/me/work-projects",
    "name": "work-projects"
  }
}
```

Or even use cloud-synced directories:

```json
{
  "workspace": {
    "path": "/Users/me/Dropbox/tinyagi-workspace",
    "name": "tinyagi-workspace"
  }
}
```

## File Handling

Files uploaded through messaging channels are automatically available to all agents:

```text
User uploads image.png via Telegram
→ Saved to ~/.tinyagi/files/telegram_123456_image.png
→ Message includes: [file: /path/to/image.png]
→ Routed to agent
→ Agent can read/process the file
```

Agents can also send files back:

```typescript
// Agent response includes:
response = "Here's the diagram [send_file: /path/to/diagram.png]";
// File is extracted and sent back through channel
```

## Troubleshooting

For detailed troubleshooting of agent-related issues, see [TROUBLESHOOTING.md](TROUBLESHOOTING.md).

**Quick reference:**

- **Agent not found** → Check: `tinyagi agent list`
- **Wrong agent responding** → Verify routing: `@agent_id message` (with space)
- **Conversation not resetting** → Send message after: `tinyagi agent reset <id>`
- **CLI not found** → Install Claude Code or Codex CLI
- **Workspace issues** → Check: `cat .tinyagi/settings.json | jq '.workspace'`
- **Templates not copying** → Run: `tinyagi setup`

## Implementation Details

### Code Structure

**Queue Processor** (`src/queue-processor.ts`):

- `getSettings()` - Loads settings from JSON
- `getAgents()` - Returns agent configurations (checks `.agents`)
- `parseAgentRouting()` - Parses @agent_id prefix
- `processMessage()` - Main routing and execution logic

**Message Interfaces:**

```typescript
interface MessageData {
  agent?: string;      // Pre-routed agent ID
  files?: string[];    // Uploaded file paths
  // ...
}

interface ResponseData {
  agent?: string;      // Which agent handled this
  files?: string[];    // Files to send back
  // ...
}
```

### Agent Directory Structure

**Templates:**

```text
~/.tinyagi/
├── .claude/           # Copied to new agents
├── heartbeat.md       # Copied to new agents
└── AGENTS.md          # Copied to new agents
```

**Agent State:**

```text
<workspace>/
└── {agent_id}/
    ├── .claude/       # Agent's own config
    ├── heartbeat.md   # Agent's own monitoring
    ├── AGENTS.md      # Agent's own docs
    └── reset_flag     # Touch to reset conversation
```

State is managed by the CLI itself (claude or codex) through the `-c` flag and working directory isolation.

## Custom Providers

Custom providers let you use any OpenAI or Anthropic-compatible API endpoint (e.g., proxy servers, self-hosted models, OpenRouter) with the existing CLI harnesses.

### Configuration

Custom providers are defined in `.tinyagi/settings.json`:

```json
{
  "custom_providers": {
    "my-proxy": {
      "name": "My Proxy",
      "harness": "claude",
      "base_url": "https://proxy.example.com/v1",
      "api_key": "sk-...",
      "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6"
    }
  }
}
```

| Field      | Required | Description                                          |
| ---------- | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| `name`     | Yes      | Human-readable display name                          |
| `harness`  | Yes      | Which CLI to use: `claude` or `codex`                |
| `base_url` | Yes      | API endpoint URL                                     |
| `api_key`  | Yes      | API key for authentication                           |
| `model`    | No       | Default model name to pass to the CLI                |

### Managing Custom Providers

**CLI:**

```bash
tinyagi provider list                 # List custom providers
tinyagi provider add                  # Add interactively
tinyagi provider remove my-proxy      # Remove a custom provider
```

**API:**

```bash
# List
curl http://localhost:3777/api/custom-providers

# Create/update
curl -X PUT http://localhost:3777/api/custom-providers/my-proxy \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"name":"My Proxy","harness":"claude","base_url":"https://proxy.example.com/v1","api_key":"sk-...","model":"claude-sonnet-4-6"}'

# Delete
curl -X DELETE http://localhost:3777/api/custom-providers/my-proxy
```

### Assigning to Agents

Use the `custom:<provider_id>` prefix as the agent's provider:

```bash
# When adding a new agent (option 4 in provider selection)
tinyagi agent add

# Switch an existing agent
tinyagi agent provider coder custom:my-proxy
tinyagi agent provider coder custom:my-proxy --model gpt-4o
```

Or edit settings.json directly:

```json
{
  "agents": {
    "coder": {
      "name": "Code Assistant",
      "provider": "custom:my-proxy",
      "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
      "working_directory": "/Users/me/workspace/coder"
    }
  }
}
```

### How It Works

When an agent with `provider: "custom:<id>"` is invoked:

1. The custom provider config is looked up from `settings.custom_providers`
2. The `harness` field determines which CLI to run (`claude` or `codex`)
3. Environment variables are set based on the harness:
   - **claude harness**: `ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL`, `ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN`, `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=""`
   - **codex harness**: `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `OPENAI_BASE_URL`
4. The CLI is invoked with the model name passed through (no alias resolution)

## Teams

Teams are named groups of agents that can collaborate by forwarding messages to each other via `@teammate` mentions in their responses.

### How Team Collaboration Works

1. User sends `@dev fix the auth bug` (where `dev` is a team with leader `coder`)
2. Queue processor resolves `@dev` → team → leader agent `@coder`
3. Coder's AI responds: `"I fixed the bug in auth.ts. @reviewer please check my changes"`
4. Queue processor scans response, sees `@reviewer` is a teammate in team `dev`
5. Queue processor calls reviewer with coder's response (prefixed with context)
6. Reviewer responds: `"Changes look good, approved!"`
7. Combined response sent to user: `@coder: ... \n---\n @reviewer: ...`

The chain ends naturally when an agent responds without mentioning a teammate.

### Team Configuration

Teams are stored in `~/.tinyagi/settings.json`:

```json
{
  "teams": {
    "dev": {
      "name": "Development Team",
      "agents": ["coder", "reviewer"],
      "leader_agent": "coder"
    }
  }
}
```

| Field          | Description                                   |
| -------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| `name`         | Human-readable display name                   |
| `agents`       | Array of agent IDs (must exist in `.agents`)  |
| `leader_agent` | Agent that receives `@team_id` messages first |

Team IDs share the `@` routing namespace with agents, so no collisions are allowed.

### Managing Teams

**CLI Commands:**

```bash
tinyagi team list                # List all teams
tinyagi team add                 # Add a new team (interactive)
tinyagi team show dev            # Show team configuration
tinyagi team remove dev          # Remove a team
tinyagi team add-agent dev reviewer     # Add an existing agent to a team
tinyagi team remove-agent dev reviewer  # Remove an agent from a team
```

**In-chat Commands:**

```text
/team                             # List all teams
@dev fix the auth bug             # Route to team leader
@coder fix the auth bug           # Route directly to agent (team context still active)
```

### Direct Agent Routing with Teams

When you message an agent directly (e.g., `@coder fix this`), team context is automatically activated if the agent belongs to a team. This means teammate mentions in the agent's response will still be followed.

### Agent AGENTS.md Updates

When an agent is added to a team, its `AGENTS.md` file is automatically updated with a team collaboration section listing teammates and instructions for using `@teammate_id` mentions.

## Future Enhancements

Potential features for agent management:

- **Shared context:** Optional shared memory between agents
- **Agent scheduling:** Time-based or event-based agent activation
- **Web dashboard:** Visual agent management and monitoring
- **Agent analytics:** Track usage, performance per agent
- **Workspace templates:** Pre-configured agent workspaces for common use cases
- **Agent migration:** Export/import agent configurations

## See Also

- [README.md](../README.md) - Main project documentation
- Setup wizard: `tinyagi setup`
- Agent CLI: `tinyagi agent --help`

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