Files
roboco/docs/rag/tools/a2a-tools.md
T
879afc14a4 Board Program LEARN context, ruff 0.16, and verb-rejection observability (#700)
* fix(board): LEARN decisions name the item, not its per-cycle index

A cycle's reject reasons are rendered into the NEXT cycle's exploration
prompt, but the ref recorded alongside each reason was the item's stored
id (item-0/item-1) — a per-cycle index that means something different
every cycle and appears nowhere the explorer can resolve. The reason
survived the loop; what it was about did not.

Record the item's title instead, via a shared learn_ref() helper (falls
back to the id when title-less, and reads target_task_title for Scales,
whose items name the live task they mutate).

* chore(lint): satisfy ruff 0.16 — keyword-only signatures and markdown formatting

The dev toolchain resolved ruff 0.16.0, which stabilises PLR0917 (too many
positional arguments) and formats python code blocks inside markdown. Both
fired repo-wide and neither had anything to do with the code they flagged.

- 36 signatures gain a `*` so their tail arguments are keyword-only, and
  the 104 call sites that passed them positionally are converted. mypy was
  the safety net for the static ones; the full suite caught nine more that
  only bind at runtime (the MCP tool functions, whose real callers already
  pass named JSON arguments).
- 28 markdown files reformatted by 0.16's code-block formatter.
- One RUF036 (`None` mid-union) autofixed in the GitLab provider.

* fix(gateway): log the reason when a verb rejects

A rejected envelope rides an HTTP 200, its body is never logged, and there
is no trace table — so in the access log a verb an agent could not satisfy
looks identical to one that worked. On 2026-07-25 four Board Programs
(Periscope, Sentinel, Scales, Barfly) each POSTed their propose verb three
or four times, persisted nothing, and left their exploration tasks PENDING;
the reason was unrecoverable afterwards, from the logs or from the agents'
own transcripts.

Log error/message/remediate/missing plus the calling agent at
envelope_to_response — the one chokepoint every v1 flow and do route
returns through. Success envelopes stay silent.

---------

Co-authored-by: Renn F <rennf93@users.noreply.github.com>
2026-07-26 15:07:28 +02:00

3.3 KiB

A2A (Agent-to-Agent) Tools

A2A is direct peer-to-peer messaging between agents. There is no roboco_agent_* or roboco_a2a_* tool — A2A is the dm content tool on the roboco-do MCP server, with read_a2a for reading what you were sent.

Send a direct message — dm

dm(
    recipient="be-qa",  # target agent slug
    text="Please review my changes",
    task_id="abc123...",  # auto-filled from your active task if omitted
    skill=None,  # optional skill slug to scope the conversation
)
  • Auto-creates the conversation; auto-resolves the skill if needed.
  • Same-cell only. Cross-cell DM is denied by policy — route through your Cell PM via escalate_up(task_id, reason).
  • The recipient sees it in their notify inbox when offline.
  • Active-claim required (explicit task_id): when you pass an explicit task_id, dm checks that you are the task's active claimant — not just assigned_to, which goes stale across a reap/handoff. A reaped or reassigned agent can no longer dm about a former task; if you see not_authorized, re-claim the task first (or drop the explicit task_id).

The CEO

CEO-initiated conversations may arrive and are replied to in-thread like any other unread A2A.

Discover who to message

There is no runtime agent-directory tool. Recipient slugs come from your known org structure, not a discovery call — your cell roster and escalation target are fixed and documented in docs/rag/architecture/org-structure.md (Cells table) and docs/rag/architecture/escalation-chain.md:

dm(recipient="be-qa", text="Anyone hit Y before? Starting task X.")

Same-cell peers (e.g. be-dev-1 alongside be-dev-2/be-qa/be-doc/be-pm) are always valid dm targets. A cross-cell need routes through escalate_up(task_id, reason) to your Cell PM, not a direct dm.

Receive incoming messages — read_a2a

When another agent messages you, your claim briefing surfaces it under unread_a2a — each entry shows the sender and a preview of their latest incoming message. To read the full bodies (and clear them), call:

read_a2a()  # -> {"messages": [{from_agent, content, created_at}, ...]}

read_a2a() returns only INCOMING messages (never your own sends) and marks them read. read_messages() is the lighter variant that only zeroes the unread counter without returning content — reach for read_a2a() when you actually need to see what was said. Either clears i_am_idle()'s unread-A2A soft-block.

Formal, ack-required notifications are a separate inbox — see docs/rag/tools/messaging-tools.md:

notify_list(unread_only=True)  # list pending items
notify_get(notification_id)  # read one (marks it read)
notify_ack(notification_id)  # acknowledge after handling

When to use A2A

  • A quick question, sanity check, or hand-off about a task you own
  • Requesting code review or clarification from a same-cell peer

When NOT to use A2A

Need Do this instead
Cross-cell question escalate_up(task_id, reason) — DM is same-cell only
New work / subtask Only PMs create work, via delegate(...); escalate to your PM
Formal, ack-required signal PM/Board notify(target, text, ...)
Cell-wide FYI No broadcast mechanism — dm the specific peer(s) who need it, or record it in the task's notes/progress update