AMQ CLI Skill

File-based message queue for agent-to-agent coordination.

AMQ manages the conversation, not the task plan. Use it for messaging, routing, replies, and adapter-emitted lifecycle events; keep work decomposition and execution in the orchestrator above it.

Prerequisites

Requires amq binary in PATH. Install:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/avivsinai/agent-message-queue/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

Environment Rules

AMQ primarily uses two env vars for routing: AM_ROOT (which mailbox tree) and AM_ME (which agent). Getting these wrong means messages go to the wrong place or silently disappear, so it matters to let the CLI handle them rather than guessing.

Inside coop exec — everything is pre-configured. Just run bare commands:

amq send --to codex --body "hello"     # correct
amq send --me claude --to codex ...    # wrong — --me overrides the env
./amq send ...                         # wrong — use amq from PATH

The reason: coop exec sets AM_ROOT and AM_ME precisely for the session. Passing --me overrides the env, and passing --root intentionally overrides the current root (the CLI will note that on stderr if it differs from AM_ROOT). Prefer bare commands unless you mean to target a different root.

Outside coop exec — resolve the root from config, don't hardcode it:

eval "$(amq env --me claude)"          # reads .amqrc chain, sets both vars

# Or pin per-command without polluting the shell (useful in scripts):
AM_ME=claude AM_ROOT=$(amq env --json | jq -r .root) amq send --to codex --body "hello"

Why not hardcode? The root path depends on the config chain (project .amqrc → AMQ_GLOBAL_ROOT → ~/.amqrc). Hardcoding skips this and breaks when the project moves or config changes.

Global fallback: Orchestrator-spawned agents often start outside the repo root where no project .amqrc exists. Set AMQ_GLOBAL_ROOT or ~/.amqrc so amq env and amq doctor still resolve the correct queue.

Session pitfall: coop exec defaults to --session collab (i.e., .agent-mail/collab). Outside coop exec, the base root is .agent-mail (no session suffix). These are different mailbox trees — don't mix them up.

Root Resolution Truth-Table

Context	Command	AM_ROOT resolves to
Outside coop exec	amq env --me claude	resolved base root from project .amqrc, detected .agent-mail, AMQ_GLOBAL_ROOT, or ~/.amqrc
Outside coop exec, no project .amqrc	amq env --me claude	detected .agent-mail in the current tree, otherwise AMQ_GLOBAL_ROOT or ~/.amqrc
Outside coop exec, isolated session	amq env --session auth --me claude	<resolved-base-root>/auth
Inside coop exec (no flags)	automatic	.agent-mail/collab (default session)
Inside coop exec --session X	automatic	.agent-mail/X

Task Routing

Before diving in, match the task to the right workflow — this avoids wasted effort:

Your task	What to do
"spec", "design with", "collaborative spec"	Use /amq-spec instead — it has structured phase-by-phase guidance for parallel-research workflows.
Send a message, review request, question	Use amq send (see Messaging below)
Swarm / agent teams	Read references/swarm-mode.md, then use amq swarm
Received message with labels workflow:spec	Follow the spec skill protocol: do independent research first, then engage on the spec/<topic> thread — don't skip straight to implementation.

Quick Start

# One-time project setup
amq coop init

# Per-session (one command per terminal — defaults to --session collab)
amq coop exec claude -- --dangerously-skip-permissions  # Terminal 1
amq coop exec codex -- --dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox  # Terminal 2

Without --session or --root, coop exec defaults to --session collab.

Statusline (Claude Code)

To show the current AMQ session in your Claude Code status bar, add this snippet to your statusline script (e.g., ~/.claude/statusline.sh):

# AMQ session segment — try CLI first, fall back to env vars for older amq versions
amq_session=""
if _amq_out=$(amq env --session-name 2>/dev/null) && [ -n "$_amq_out" ]; then
    amq_session="$_amq_out"
elif [ -n "$AM_ROOT" ] && [ -n "$AM_BASE_ROOT" ] && [ "$AM_ROOT" != "$AM_BASE_ROOT" ]; then
    amq_session=$(basename "$AM_ROOT")
fi
if [ -n "$amq_session" ]; then
    output+=$(printf " | \033[33mamq:%s\033[0m" "$amq_session")
fi

amq env --session-name (v0.27+) prints the session name and exits 0 (empty when not in a session). The env-var fallback covers older versions. amq env --json also includes session_name.

To also set the terminal tab title (works in Ghostty, iTerm2, Terminal.app):

# Set tab title to "repo | amq:session" — re-asserts on each statusline refresh.
# Manual titles (e.g. Ghostty's prompt_tab_title) take priority and won't be overwritten.
tab_title="$repo_name"
[ -n "$amq_session" ] && tab_title+=" | amq:${amq_session}"
printf '\033]0;%s\007' "$tab_title" > /dev/tty 2>/dev/null

Integration & Ops Quick Reference

# Global fallback for orchestrator-spawned agents
export AMQ_GLOBAL_ROOT="$HOME/.agent-mail"

# Symphony hooks
amq integration symphony init --me codex
amq integration symphony emit --event after_run --me codex

# Cline Kanban bridge
amq integration kanban bridge --me codex
amq integration kanban bridge --me codex --workspace-id my-workspace

# Runtime diagnostics
amq doctor --ops
amq doctor --ops --json

Delivery Receipts

AMQ records delivery outcomes in consumer-local receipt files. The main stages are:

• drained — a consumer successfully ingested the message
• dlq — the message was moved to the dead letter queue during ingest

Use these when you need confirmation rather than just fire-and-forget messaging:

# Block on delivery for a single-recipient send
amq send --to codex --body "please review" --wait-for drained --wait-timeout 60s

# Query receipt history later
amq receipts list --me codex --msg-id <msg_id>
amq receipts wait --me codex --msg-id <msg_id> --stage drained --timeout 60s

amq read, amq drain, and amq monitor all apply the same strict header validation. Messages in inbox/new that are corrupt or have malformed headers are moved to DLQ and produce a dlq receipt.

Session Layout

By default, the root is .agent-mail (from .amqrc or auto-detect). Use --session to create isolated subdirectories:

.agent-mail/              ← default root (configurable in `.amqrc`)
.agent-mail/auth/         ← isolated session (via --session auth)
.agent-mail/api/          ← isolated session (via --session api)

• amq coop exec claude → AM_ROOT=.agent-mail/collab (default session)
• amq coop exec --session auth claude → AM_ROOT=.agent-mail/auth

The main env vars are AM_ROOT (where) + AM_ME (who). coop exec may also set AM_BASE_ROOT for cross-session resolution. The CLI enforces correct routing — just run amq commands as-is. Default .agent-mail/<session> layouts are recognized even without .amqrc; custom root names still need config or explicit flags/env.

Cross-Project Routing

Send messages to agents in other projects via --project or inline @project:session syntax. Requires peer configuration in .amqrc.

When to use --session vs --project: --session = same project, different session. --project = different project. Change one dimension at a time.

Peer setup

Add project and peers to your .amqrc:

{
  "root": ".agent-mail",
  "project": "my-project",
  "peers": {
    "infra-lib": "/Users/me/projects/infra-lib/.agent-mail"
  }
}

Both projects must register each other as peers for round-trip messaging.

Sending cross-project

# Flag syntax
amq send --to codex --project infra-lib --body "hello from here"

# Inline syntax (terser)
amq send --to codex@infra-lib:collab --body "inline syntax"

# Same session name as source (default when --session omitted)
amq send --to codex --project infra-lib --body "delivers to same session"

Replies route automatically

When you receive a cross-project message, reply_project is set in the header. amq reply routes back automatically — no --project flag needed:

amq reply --id <msg_id> --body "got it"  # routes back via reply_project

Thread naming

• Same project P2P: p2p/claude__codex
• Cross-project P2P: p2p/projA:collab:claude__projB:collab:codex
• Topical (cross-project): use same thread ID across projects, e.g., decision/release-v0.24

For full details, see references/cross-project.md.

Cross-project identity (IMPORTANT)

When you receive a message where from matches your own handle (e.g., from: "claude" and you are claude), check from_project and reply_project. If either is present and names a different project, this is NOT an echo — it is a legitimate cross-project message from a different agent instance with the same handle. Process it normally.

AM_ROOT scoping after cross-project sends

After sending a cross-project message (via --project), your AM_ROOT still points to YOUR project. To send to your own partner (same project), use plain amq send --to codex — do NOT use --project. The --project flag is ONLY for sending to agents in OTHER projects.

Decision Threads

Decentralized decision protocol using existing AMQ primitives (no new CLI commands).

• Thread: decision/<topic>
• Kind: decision for all messages
• Labels: decision:proposal, decision:objection, decision:support, decision:final; plus project:<name> for cross-project decisions
• Context on proposals: {"proposal_id": "...", "question": "...", "options": [...], "required_projects": [...], "deadline": "..."}

Process: Propose → Review/Object → Resolve objections → Close when all required projects responded and no unresolved blocking objections.

amq send --to codex --project infra-lib --kind decision \
  --labels "decision:proposal,project:my-project,project:infra-lib" \
  --thread "decision/api-v2" \
  --context '{"proposal_id":"api-v2","question":"Adopt new API?","required_projects":["my-project","infra-lib"]}' \
  --body "Proposal: migrate to API v2. All tests green."

Session-Aware Routing

Users refer to sessions using many words: "session", "stream", "squad", "team", "workspace", "channel", or just a bare name. When the user mentions sending to or talking to an agent in a named context (e.g., "ask codex on stream1", "send to the auth team", "talk to codex in squad-api"), you must discover sessions before routing.

Important: Do not confuse sessions with projects. "Project" in AMQ means a different repo/codebase (cross-project routing via --project). Sessions are isolated mailbox trees within the same project (via --session). If the user says "the infra project", that likely means --project infra, not --session infra.

# Step 1: Discover active sessions and agents
amq who --json
# Returns: [{"name":"collab","agents":[...]},{"name":"stream1","agents":[...]},{"name":"auth","agents":[...]}]

# Step 2: Match the user's name against session names in the output, then send
amq send --to codex --session stream1 --body "Message for stream1"

Recognition patterns — any of these mean "route to a specific session":

• Explicit: "on stream1", "via auth", "in the api session", "the infra squad"
• Bare name: user just says "stream1" or "auth" — could be a session or an agent handle
• Colloquial: "team", "squad", "stream", "workspace", "channel" followed by a name

Note: The agent@name inline syntax (e.g., codex@infra) is for cross-project routing, not cross-session. For same-project session routing, always use --session <name> explicitly.

Rules:

1. When the user names something that could be a session, always run amq who --json first to check if it matches a known session name
2. If the name matches a session, use --session <name> on the send command
3. If it matches both a session and an agent handle, prefer the session interpretation when the user's phrasing implies a group/context ("on X", "in X", "the X team"), and the agent interpretation when it implies a person ("ask X", "tell X")
4. If the target session differs from your current session ($AM_ROOT basename), use --session <name>
5. Never guess — if the name doesn't appear in amq who --json output, tell the user (it may need coop exec --session <name> to initialize)
6. For cross-project routing (different repo), use --project instead — see Cross-Project Routing section

Messaging

amq send --to codex --body "Message"              # Send (uses AM_ROOT/AM_ME from env)
amq drain --include-body                          # Receive (one-shot, silent when empty)
amq reply --id <msg_id> --body "Response"          # Reply in thread
amq watch --timeout 60s                           # Block until message arrives
amq list --new                                    # Peek without side effects

Send with metadata

amq send --to codex --subject "Review" --kind review_request --body @file.md
amq send --to codex --priority urgent --kind question --body "Blocked on API"
amq send --to codex --labels "bug,parser" --context '{"paths": ["src/"]}' --body "Found issue"

Send file paths, not file contents. When attaching source code, configs, or large text for review, send the file path in the message body, not the contents inline. The receiver can open the file with their local tools. If the receiver cannot access that worktree, send a short diff instead of the full source.

Filter

amq list --new --priority urgent
amq list --new --from codex --kind review_request
amq list --new --label bug

Priority Handling

Priority	Action
urgent	Interrupt current work, respond now
normal	Add to TODOs, respond after current task
low	Batch for session end

Message Kinds

Kind	Reply Kind	Default Priority
review_request	review_response	normal
question	answer	normal
decision	—	normal
todo	—	normal
status	—	low
brainstorm	—	low

References

For detailed protocols, read the reference file FIRST, then follow its instructions:

• references/coop-mode.md — Co-op protocol: roles, phased flow, collaboration modes
• references/swarm-mode.md — Swarm mode: agent teams, bridge, task workflow
• references/integrations.md — Symphony + Kanban integration commands, global root fallback, ops checks
• references/message-format.md — Message format: frontmatter schema, field reference
• references/cross-project.md — Cross-project routing: peer config, addressing, decision threads
• references/review-loop.md — Token-efficient review cycles: delegate multi-round reviews to background agents