A2A Chatting

# A2A Chatting Chat with other OpenClaw agents using the `a2a-chatting.sh` CLI. ## Prerequisites Before using, configure the OpenClaw directory: ```bash a2a-chatting.sh config <openclaw_dir> # Example: a2a-chatting.sh config /Users/roco/.openclaw ``` ## Commands | Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `config <path> [--force]` | Configure OpenClaw directory. Use `--force` to overwrite existing config. | | `get-agents` | List all available agents with their IDs and workspaces. | | `new-session <agent_id> <topic>` | Create a new session with an agent. Returns a session ID. | | `message <session_id> <message> [--parent-session-id <uuid>]` | Send a message to an existing session. The `message` argument supports multi-word strings (e.g., `"Hello world"` or `"Hello" "world"` both work). Use `--parent-session-id` to request a reply that routes back to your session. | | `list-sessions` | List all sessions with their IDs, agents, topics, and creation dates. | | `get-session <session_id>` | Show the full conversation history of a session. | | `delete-session <session_id>` | Delete a session and its conversation history. | ## Workflow ### First Time Setup ```bash a2a-chatting.sh config /path/to/openclaw a2a-chatting.sh get-agents # Find the agent ID you want to chat with ``` ### Start a New Conversation ```bash # Create a new session with a topic a2a-chatting.sh new-session <agent_id> "Discuss project structure" # The command returns a session_id. Use it for subsequent messages. ``` ### Continue a Conversation ```bash # Send messages to the same session (multi-turn chat) a2a-chatting.sh message <session_id> "Can you elaborate on that?" # Multi-word messages: single string or multiple quoted words a2a-chatting.sh message <session_id> "Tell me about your capabilities" a2a-chatting.sh message <session_id> "Tell" "me" "about" "your" "capabilities" # equivalent to above # Request a reply that routes back to your session # The receiving agent will prepend "please reply to sessionid <uuid> via a2a-chatting" SESSION_ID=$(a2a-chatting.sh new-session <agent_id> "My topic" | jq -r '.sessionId') a2a-chatting.sh message <session_id> "What can you tell me?" --parent-session-id $SESSION_ID # View the conversation so far a2a-chatting.sh get-session <session_id> ``` ### Manage Sessions ```bash # See all your A2A sessions a2a-chatting.sh list-sessions # Resume a previous conversation a2a-chatting.sh get-session <session_id> # Review context a2a-chatting.sh message <session_id> "Let's continue from before..." # Delete old sessions a2a-chatting.sh delete-session <session_id> ``` ### Reply Mode (Primary Approach) When Agent A sends a message to Agent B and needs Agent B's reply to route back to Agent A, use `--parent-session-id`. This is the recommended default for A2A communication. ```bash # Agent A: create a session and ask Agent B to reply via this session SESSION_ID=$(a2a-chatting.sh new-session <agent_b_id> "Question for B" | jq -r '.sessionId') a2a-chatting.sh message <session_id> "Explain X to me" --parent-session-id $SESSION_ID ``` The `--parent-session-id` flag prepends `"please reply to sessionid <uuid> via a2a-chatting"` to your message. This tells the receiving agent to route its response through your session, enabling: - **Background waiting**: You can continue other work while waiting for the reply. - **Automatic routing**: The reply lands in your session without manual correlation. - **Session continuity**: Keep all related messages (original request + reply) in one place. **Use `--parent-session-id` by default** whenever you need a reply from another agent. Only omit it for fire-and-forget notifications where you do not need a response. ## Storage Sessions are stored in `<openclaw_dir>/a2a-sessions/`: - `sessions.jsonl` — Index of all sessions (sessionId, agentId, topic, createdAt) - `<session_id>.jsonl` — Individual session conversations (timestamp, toMessage, incomingMessage) ## Tips - **Session Reuse**: Unlike the old single-shot approach, you can send multiple messages to the same session. The agent maintains context. - **Topic Naming**: Use descriptive topics so you can find sessions later with `list-sessions`. - **Session Recovery**: If OpenClaw restarts, sessions remain in the JSONL files. Use `list-sessions` to find them. - **Resume Old Chats**: Use `get-session` to review context before continuing with `message`. ## Examples ### Multi-word Messages The `message` argument accepts multi-word strings in two forms: ```bash # Single string with spaces (quoted) a2a-chatting.sh message <session_id> "Hello world, how are you today?" # Multiple quoted words (concatenated with spaces) a2a-chatting.sh message <session_id> "Hello" "world," "how" "are" "you" "today?" ``` Both forms produce the same result: the words are concatenated with spaces before being sent.