Arelay

Agent Relay

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Agent Relay is an open-source, end-to-end encrypted inbox for AI agents. Anything that can make HTTP requests can deliver — Cursor, Codex, Claude Code, cron jobs, webhooks, or your own backend. Agents deliver files, reports, HTML, Markdown, PDFs, and images through a small HTTP API; you review them in a private web inbox with preview, download, and read/unread state.

An optional Email Review Relay plugin adds a human-in-the-loop outbound email path: agents submit encrypted drafts, you preview them in the same inbox, then approve or reject before anything is sent. It is enabled on arelay.app; self-hosters can turn it on with EMAIL_REVIEW_RELAY_ENABLED=true ([setup](#email-review-relay)).

Two ways to use it:

• arelay.app — hosted service; sign up and connect your agents

(no deployment).

• Self-host — run this repo on your own infrastructure under the MIT license.

Contents

Using arelay.app

• [Get started](#get-started)
• [Connect your AI agent](#connect-your-ai-agent)
• [Encryption (required)](#encryption-required)
• [Email Review Relay](#email-review-relay)
• [Features](#features)

Self-hosting

• [Development setup](#development-setup)
• [Environment variables](#environment-variables)
• [Deploy to production](#deploy-to-production)
• [Plugins](#plugins)
• [Tech stack](#tech-stack)

Reference

• [Contributing & help wanted](#contributing--help-wanted)
• [Security model](#security-model)
• Terms of Service · Privacy Policy
• [Contributing](./CONTRIBUTING.md)
• [License](#license)

---

Using arelay.app

The hosted service at arelay.app handles deployment, database, storage, backups, TLS, and updates. The security model is the same as self-hosting: encrypted deliveries are decrypted in your browser, not on the server.

Get started

1. Open arelay.app and create an account with a passkey.
2. Accept the Terms of Service and

Privacy Policy during signup (required on the hosted service).

1. Complete Set up encryption on first portal visit (passkey + recovery key).
2. In the portal, open Account → Agent tokens and create a named token for each agent

or integration.

1. Copy the token once — it is shown only at creation time.
2. Your inbox updates automatically when agents send deliveries (refresh every few seconds).

Sign-in uses passkeys (WebAuthn), not passwords or social login. No Google, Apple, or Microsoft account is required. If terms or privacy are updated later, existing accounts are prompted to accept the new versions before continuing.

Connect your AI agent

Agent Relay is agent-agnostic: any client that speaks HTTP and follows the [E2EE envelope format](#encryption-required) can deliver. Pick the path that fits your setup:

| Integration path | Best for | | --- | --- | | [CLI & MCP server](#cli--mcp-server) | Fastest start: one command from any shell, or native MCP tools in Claude Code, Cursor, and Claude Desktop | | [Agent skill](#agent-skill) | Cursor, Codex, Claude Code, Hermes Agent, and other Agent Skills hosts | | [Direct HTTP API](#direct-http-api) | Custom scripts, backends, webhooks, scheduled jobs | | [Platform plugins](#platform-plugins) | Platform-specific hooks, e.g. Hermes cron delivery |

Whichever path you choose, set these where your agent runs — never commit tokens:

| Variable | Value for arelay.app | | --- | --- | | ARELAY_URL | https://arelay.app | | ARELAY_TOKEN | Token from Account → Agent tokens |

Every request uses Authorization: Bearer .

CLI & MCP server

The [@arelay/cli](./packages/arelay) npm package wraps the API and all envelope encryption. Deliver from any shell:

export ARELAY_TOKEN=ar_...   # from Account → Agent tokens
npx -y @arelay/cli send report.md --title "Q2 revenue report"

Or register it as an MCP server so agents can deliver work natively (deliver_to_inbox, list_inbox_sessions, submit_email_draft tools):

# Claude Code
claude mcp add arelay --env ARELAY_TOKEN=ar_... -- npx -y @arelay/cli mcp

npx -y @arelay/cli check verifies the token and encryption setup. The package also exports a typed SDK (import { ArelayClient } from '@arelay/cli') — see its [README](./packages/arelay/README.md). Self-hosters point it at their deployment with ARELAY_URL.

Agent skill

Install the agent-relay skill (requires [portal E2EE setup](#encryption-required)):

npx skills add mmmikael/arelay-skills --skill agent-relay -g -y

Hermes Agent:

hermes skills tap add mmmikael/arelay-skills
hermes skills install mmmikael/arelay-skills/agent-relay

Direct HTTP API

Anything that can POST JSON can deliver: fetch the public key from GET /api/agent/e2ee/config, encrypt locally, create a session, and upload artifacts. See the API reference and the bundled Node reference scripts in the skill for working encryption code.

Platform plugins

Hermes cron (--deliver arelay) needs arelay-hermes-plugin. Cron runs in the gateway, not the interactive CLI — put credentials in ~/.hermes/.env (including AGENT_RELAY_HOME_CHANNEL=https://arelay.app), install the plugin, then restart the gateway:

hermes plugins install mmmikael/arelay-hermes-plugin --enable
# ~/.hermes/.env: AGENT_API_TOKEN, AGENT_RELAY_URL, AGENT_RELAY_HOME_CHANNEL
#   (the Hermes plugin reads its own variables, not the CLI's ARELAY_* ones)
hermes gateway start
/cron add "0 9 * * *" "Your prompt. Never use [SILENT]." --deliver arelay

Encryption (required)

All agent deliveries must be end-to-end encrypted. Complete Set up encryption during [Get started](#get-started); unlock in the browser when viewing the inbox. Agents fetch your public key from GET /api/agent/e2ee/config and upload encrypted sessions and artifacts. Plaintext agent payloads return 400 (plaintext_not_allowed); unconfigured accounts get 428 (e2ee_required).

Email Review Relay

On arelay.app, agents POST encrypted email drafts; each appears as an inbox session you Approve (send via your Cloudflare credentials) or Reject.

1. Account → Email sending (Cloudflare API) — save your Cloudflare Account ID and API

token (encrypted server-side; used only when you approve).

1. Use the agent-relay skill — drafts use the same E2EE envelopes as file deliveries.

API details and self-host setup: [Plugins](#plugins).

Features

• Mobile-friendly email-style inbox
• Email Review Relay: agents draft outbound mail; you approve before send
• Artifact preview and download (text, Markdown, HTML, PDF, images)
• Sandboxed HTML/Markdown preview (external links and media stripped)
• End-to-end encrypted deliveries only
• Passkey sign-in (one passkey per account)
• Named agent API tokens with per-token revoke
• Storage limits: 25 MB per artifact, 500 MB per account

---

Self-hosting

Run Agent Relay on your own PostgreSQL and S3-compatible storage. Useful when you need full data residency control or a private deployment.

Development setup

npm install
cp .env.example .env
npm run db:migrate:local
npm run dev

Open http://127.0.0.1:5173 and create an account with a passkey. Without Cloudflare or SMTP configured, verification codes are printed to the server console.

Database schema changes are managed with Drizzle migrations. Edit the Drizzle schema, generate a migration with npm run db:generate, review the generated SQL, then apply it with npm run db:migrate:local.

Run unit tests:

npm test

To test migrations against a disposable empty database, set TEST_DATABASE_URL and run:

npm run db:smoke

Environment variables

| Variable | Description | | --- | --- | | SESSION_SECRET | Secret for signing human session cookies. Generate with openssl rand -hex 32. | | SESSION_VERSION | Bump this to invalidate existing human sessions. | | ORIGIN | Public site URL for CSRF checks and absolute links. In production, set to your canonical URL, for example https://arelay.app. | | WEBAUTHN_RP_NAME | Passkey relying party display name. Defaults to Agent Relay. | | WEBAUTHN_RP_ID | Passkey relying party ID. For production on arelay.app, use arelay.app. | | WEBAUTHN_ORIGIN | Expected passkey origin, for example https://arelay.app. | | DATABASE_URL | PostgreSQL connection string. | | CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID | Cloudflare account ID for Email Sending. Use when your sending domain is on Cloudflare DNS. | | CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN | Cloudflare API token with Email Sending permission. | | EMAIL_FROM | Required when Cloudflare or SMTP is configured. Sender address for verification emails, for example Agent Relay . | | SMTP_HOST | SMTP host for account email verification. Used when Cloudflare Email Sending is not configured. | | SMTP_PORT | SMTP port. Defaults to 587, or 465 when SMTP_SECURE=true. | | SMTP_SECURE | Set to true for implicit TLS SMTP. | | SMTP_USER | SMTP username, if your provider requires authentication. | | SMTP_PASSWORD | SMTP password, if your provider requires authentication. | | S3_ENDPOINT | S3-compatible endpoint URL. | | S3_BUCKET | S3 bucket name. | | S3_PREFIX | Object key prefix. Defaults to agent-relay. | | S3_ACCESS_KEY | S3 access key. | | S3_SECRET_KEY | S3 secret key. | | S3_REGION | S3 region. Defaults to us-east-1. | | PORT | HTTP port for npm start. Defaults to 3000. Railway sets this automatically. | | BODY_SIZE_LIMIT | Max HTTP request body size for adapter-node. Required for encrypted artifact uploads (~25 MB files need ~37 MB JSON). Defaults to 40M when using npm start. | | NODE_ENV | Set to production in production so session and WebAuthn cookies use Secure. | | EMAIL_REVIEW_RELAY_ENABLED | Optional plugin. Set to true to enable Email Review Relay (off by default). |

When both Cloudflare Email Sending and SMTP are configured, Cloudflare is used.

Deploy to production

Requirements:

• PostgreSQL
• S3-compatible object storage (see scripts/iam-agent-relay-s3-policy.json for a minimal

AWS IAM policy scoped to the agent-relay/ prefix)

• Email delivery for account verification (Cloudflare Email Sending or SMTP)
• A stable HTTPS origin with correct WebAuthn RP settings

Build and run:

npm run db:migrate:local
npm run build
npm start

For a fresh production database, run migrations before starting the app. If you are moving early account/auth records from an old database, copy only users, webauthn_credentials, e2ee_config, and agent_api_tokens; leave inbox/content/plugin tables empty.

Railway:

1. Create a new service from github.com/mmmikael/arelay.
2. Add PostgreSQL and link DATABASE_URL.
3. Add S3-compatible storage credentials.
4. Set SESSION_SECRET.
5. Set WEBAUTHN_RP_ID and WEBAUTHN_ORIGIN for your domain.
6. Configure email delivery: Cloudflare Email Sending (CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID, CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN, EMAIL_FROM) or SMTP.
7. Set NODE_ENV=production.
8. Set BODY_SIZE_LIMIT=40M (or rely on npm start, which defaults to 40M when unset).
9. Migrations run automatically on each deploy via railway.toml (preDeployCommand: npm run db:migrate).
10. Use npm run build as the build command and npm start as the start command.

Existing production database (legacy ensureSchema → Drizzle): on the first Drizzle deploy, npm run db:migrate detects an existing users table, records the baseline migration in drizzle.__drizzle_migrations without re-running CREATE TABLE, then applies any newer migrations. No manual cutover is required for arelay.app-style databases that already match the current schema. For a truly fresh host, run migrations on an empty database instead; if you are rebuilding from scratch, copy only users, webauthn_credentials, e2ee_config, and agent_api_tokens from the old database.

Point agents at your deployment URL: ARELAY_URL=https://your-domain.example.

Backup and restore (self-hosting)

Agent Relay is not a backup or archival service — keep independent copies of important content. Self-hosted operators are responsible for backups (see [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md)).

Back up both stores; restoring only one leaves the deployment broken:

| Store | Contents | | --- | --- | | PostgreSQL | Accounts, passkeys, E2EE config, API tokens, inbox session metadata, email drafts | | S3 (S3_BUCKET / S3_PREFIX) | Encrypted artifact blobs referenced by inbox_artifacts.storage_key |

Backup

# PostgreSQL (custom format; adjust connection string)
pg_dump "$DATABASE_URL" -Fc -f agent-relay-$(date +%Y%m%d).dump

# S3 prefix (AWS CLI example; use your provider's equivalent)
aws s3 sync "s3://${S3_BUCKET}/${S3_PREFIX}/" "./agent-relay-s3-$(date +%Y%m%d)/"

Use your host's managed snapshots (Railway Postgres, S3 versioning, etc.) when available.

Restore

1. Restore PostgreSQL, then object storage under the same S3_BUCKET and S3_PREFIX.
2. Keep the same SESSION_SECRET — encrypted Cloudflare credentials in the database cannot

be decrypted after restore if this value changes.

1. Run npm run db:migrate before starting the app (applies any migrations newer than the dump).
2. Spot-check: sign in with a passkey, open a session, download an artifact.

Delivered content stays E2EE-encrypted in backups. Recovery still requires the account passkey and portal unlock; backups do not grant server-side plaintext access.

Plugins

Optional features ship as plugins so minimal self-hosts stay lean. Plugin tables are included in the Drizzle migrations; enable each plugin with an environment variable to turn on its APIs and UI.

Email Review Relay

Agents submit outbound email drafts for human review before send. On arelay.app the plugin is enabled by default; self-hosters set EMAIL_REVIEW_RELAY_ENABLED=true. When disabled, plugin APIs return 404 and the portal UI is hidden.

Account setup (portal): open Account (/portal/account) → Email sending (Cloudflare API) and paste your Cloudflare Account ID and API token. These per-user credentials are encrypted server-side and used only when you approve a draft. System CLOUDFLARE_* env vars remain for signup verification only.

Agent API: authenticated agents POST encrypted drafts to /api/agent/email-drafts (encrypted: true with envelope fields). Plaintext drafts are rejected.

{
  "encrypted": true,
  "encrypted_to": { "v": 1, "alg": "P-256-ECDH-A256GCM", "...": "..." },
  "encrypted_from_email": { "...": "..." },
  "encrypted_subject": { "...": "..." },
  "encrypted_html": { "...": "..." },
  "idempotency_key": "optional-stable-key"
}

The response includes the inbox session and draft (status: pending). Poll draft status with GET /api/agent/email-drafts/{id} or GET /api/agent/sessions/{id} (includes email_draft when applicable).

Human review (portal): open the session, decrypt

…

Source & license

This open-source MCP server is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: mmmikael
• Source: mmmikael/arelay
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://arelay.app

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.