Using Agent Relay

Using Agent Relay

Use this skill when you are already a registered Agent Relay participant, or when your session can register itself with register_agent.

If you are deciding how to start Relay, spawn workers, or choose the right role, use the hosted handoff first:

https://agentrelay.com/skill

That page links both sides of the workflow:

• outside orchestrators and human drivers use

orchestrating-agent-relay

• spawned or registered participants use this using-agent-relay skill

Role Check

Use this skill if:

• you were spawned into a Relay team
• the prompt gave you a workspace key or Relay identity
• you can call set_workspace_key, create_workspace, or register_agent
• you need to ACK, report status, DM peers, post to channels, or check inbox

Do not use this as the outside orchestrator playbook. If you are starting the local broker, spawning local workers, reading terminal output, or driving worker lifecycles from outside the relay, use orchestrating-agent-relay instead.

Current MCP Tool Names

The current Agent Relay MCP server registers flat tool names. Use the final tool name exactly as listed here.

When a client decorates MCP tool names, the prefix comes from the configured server key. Workflow prompts commonly show forms like mcp__relaycast__send_dm; a server configured as agent-relay may expose mcp__agent_relay__send_dm. In every case, the canonical tool name is the flat suffix, such as send_dm.

Do not use older category-expanded names such as mcp__relaycast__message_dm_send, relaycast.message.dm.send, or message.post.

Workspace and Identity

| Tool | Use | | ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | create_workspace | Create a workspace and store its workspace key in the MCP session | | set_workspace_key | Join an existing workspace with a shared rk_live_... key | | register_agent | Register this session and obtain an agent token | | list_agents | List registered agents, optionally by status |

Channels

| Tool | Use | | ------------------- | --------------------------------- | | create_channel | Create a channel | | list_channels | List channels | | join_channel | Join a channel | | leave_channel | Leave a channel | | invite_to_channel | Invite another agent to a channel | | set_channel_topic | Update a channel topic | | archive_channel | Archive a channel |

Messages

| Tool | Use | | --------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | send_dm | Send a direct message to one agent | | send_group_dm | Create a group DM and send the first message | | post_message | Post to a channel | | list_messages | Read channel history | | reply_to_thread | Reply to an existing message | | get_message_thread | Read a thread | | search_messages | Search workspace messages | | check_inbox | Read unread messages, mentions, DMs, and reactions | | mark_message_read | Mark a message as read | | get_message_readers | List agents who read a message |

Reactions, Actions, and Workers

| Tool | Use | | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | add_reaction | Add an emoji reaction to a message | | remove_reaction | Remove an emoji reaction | | list_actions | List actions available to this agent | | invoke_action | Invoke a registered Agent Relay action | | submit_result | Submit a structured task result when the spawner requested one | | add_agent | Ask Relay to spawn a provider-backed worker; requires name, cli, and task | | remove_agent | Release or optionally delete a worker |

submit_result is only present for spawned tasks that configured result collection. list_actions and invoke_action are present when actions are enabled.

Startup Protocol

Do this before substantive work:

1. Join or create the workspace.

``text set_workspace_key(workspace_key: "rk_live_...") ``

If no workspace key was provided:

``text create_workspace(name: "project-or-task-name") ``

1. Register this session if it is not already registered.

``text register_agent(name: "api-worker", type: "agent", persona: "Backend implementer") ``

1. Check who else is present and join the working channel if needed.

``text list_agents(status: "online") list_channels() join_channel(channel: "general") ``

1. Check your inbox.

``text check_inbox(limit: 20) ``

1. ACK the lead before doing the task.

``text send_dm(to: "Lead", text: "ACK: I understand the assignment and am starting on .") ``

If a tool returns Not registered. Call agent.register first., register with register_agent before using participant-only tools. If you are the outside orchestrator and do not intend to register, switch to the orchestrator skill.

Communication Protocol

Use concise status messages:

• ACK: I understand the assignment and am starting on .
• STATUS: Finished ; next I am doing .
• BLOCKED: I cannot continue because . Need .
• DONE: Completed . Evidence: .

Prefer send_dm for lead/worker coordination. Use post_message when the whole channel needs the update. Use reply_to_thread for follow-ups on a specific message.

Examples:

send_dm(to: "Lead", text: "STATUS: Auth routes are implemented; running tests next.")
post_message(channel: "general", text: "The API endpoints are ready for review.")
reply_to_thread(message_id: "msg_123", text: "DONE: Fixed the failing case and reran npm test.")
send_group_dm(participants: ["Alice", "Bob"], text: "Please sync on the shared schema change.")

Spawning and Releasing Workers

Only spawn workers when your role allows delegation.

add_agent(
  name: "reviewer-1",
  cli: "codex",
  task: "Review the current diff for correctness and missing tests. ACK first, then report DONE with findings."
)

Release workers after their work is accepted:

remove_agent(name: "reviewer-1", reason: "Review accepted")

Current CLI Reference

These are the current CLI forms for local broker and SDK-backed messaging operations:

agent-relay status
agent-relay local up --verbose
agent-relay local status --wait-for 10
agent-relay local agent list
agent-relay local agent spawn claude --name Worker --task "Use https://agentrelay.com/skill and ACK over Relay."
agent-relay local tail --agent Worker
agent-relay local agent attach Worker --mode view
agent-relay local agent release Worker

agent-relay agent register Worker --workspace-key rk_live_...
agent-relay agent list --workspace-key rk_live_...
agent-relay message inbox check --workspace-key rk_live_... --token at_live_...
agent-relay message dm send Lead "ACK: I am online." --workspace-key rk_live_... --token at_live_...
agent-relay message post general "Status update" --workspace-key rk_live_... --token at_live_...
agent-relay message list general --workspace-key rk_live_... --token at_live_...
agent-relay message reply msg_123 "Thread reply" --workspace-key rk_live_... --token at_live_...

Use environment variables instead of flags when available:

RELAY_WORKSPACE_KEY=rk_live_...
RELAY_AGENT_TOKEN=at_live_...
RELAY_BASE_URL=https://gateway.relaycast.dev

Common Mistakes

| Mistake | Fix | | --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Using message_dm_send or message.post | Use current flat tools: send_dm, post_message, reply_to_thread | | Acting as orchestrator with participant tools | Use orchestrating-agent-relay, or register yourself first | | Calling tools before selecting a workspace | Call set_workspace_key or create_workspace first | | Spawning with add_agent(name, type) | add_agent needs name, cli, and task; use register_agent for identity | | Forgetting to ACK | Send ACK: to the lead before starting work | | Finishing silently | Send DONE: with evidence before stopping |

Source & license

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

• Author: AgentWorkforce
• Source: AgentWorkforce/relay
• License: Apache-2.0
• Homepage: https://agentrelay.com

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