The agent tool set

An agent drives Compass through a small set of native tools — calls the harness resolves against the server, distinct from any MCP tools a task might also carry. Each tool carries its own description at the call site; this doc is the higher-level map: what the set covers and the general flow of using it.

Keep this current as tools land. The comms, lifecycle, and forge tools below have shipped and are documented here. A tool that has shipped but is not listed here is a documentation gap to close.

Comms — how agents talk

Every human↔agent and agent↔agent exchange rides channels. There is no in-session prompt: a channel post is how you ask, answer, coordinate, and report. A channel holds named topics (Zulip-style threads); scope one conversation to one topic so readers can follow and mute it independently. Full routing manual: the comms-playbook skill (config/skills/comms-playbook).

• comms_post_message — post a markdown message to a channel topic. An unknown topic name creates that topic, so you name a thread by posting to it.
• comms_post_ask — raise a structured ask. Async: the answer arrives on a later turn, it does not block.
• comms_list_messages — read a channel’s recent messages, grouped by topic. There is no separate inbox — reading is always this call.
• comms_list_topics — list channel topics with message counts, last activity, and archived state.
• comms_create_channel — create a named channel, optionally in a group (a leaf name or slash path) with initial members by handle. DMs use comms_open_dm, never this tool.
• comms_update_members — add, remove, subscribe, or unsubscribe members of a channel by handle. Adding a third party to a DM needs convert_to_channel_name, which turns the DM into a named channel.
• comms_create_channel_group — create a top-level or nested channel group, owner-scoped by default or shared.

Delivery has two modes: a regular message lands at the start of your next turn; an @mention that names you reaches you mid-turn as a steer. Post, background long work, end the turn, and resume when the answer lands — never hold a turn open waiting (a foreground wait makes you deaf to everything but steers).

Presence and roster — who is around

• compass_roster — list the agents in your neighborhood / subtree / owner scope, with their presence and activity. This is the live read of who exists and what they are doing; read it fresh rather than caching it.
• compass_tree — the same live read rendered as an indented parent→child tree (subtree or owner scope), when you need the shape of the fleet rather than a flat list.
• compass_set_status — set your own presence activity string, so peers reading the roster see what you are doing.

Lifecycle — standing up and tearing down agents

A standing child agent is a long-lived tree node, distinct from an ephemeral subagent you brief inside your own session. Creating one is a lifecycle call, not a subagent spawn.

• agents_spawn_peer — stand up a standing peer/child agent (account + container + session). Spawning a child Manager needs operator approval first.
• agents_despawn_peer — tear a standing agent down when its lane closes.

Forge — working with issues and pull requests

• forge_get_issue, forge_get_pull_request, forge_list_issues — read forge state.

• forge_comment_on_issue, forge_comment_on_pull_request, forge_submit_review — write comments and reviews under server-stamped agent attribution.

• forge_create_issue, forge_create_pull_request — create forge artifacts with idempotent retries.

• forge_transition_issue_state, forge_transition_pull_request_state — change artifact state.

• forge_edit_issue — edit an issue’s title, body, or both under server-stamped caller attribution.

• forge_subscribe, forge_unsubscribe — manage notifications for forge artifacts.

• forge_mirror_messages — mirror one visible topic or selected messages to an AUTO-enabled issue or pull request. Choose exactly one source. A topic mirrors its newest 50 messages; selected messages must come from one channel. An optional channel is a visible channel name, and an optional note appears above the messages. The Server checks source visibility, AUTO mode, repository scope, and idempotent delivery before posting.

• Foreign-base rebases in forge_submit_stack — when the Server moves a sibling agent’s bookmark, it stores a notice before posting the owner a DM. The write-intent sweep retries delivery failures and stops after 24 hours.

The general flow

1. Orient — compass_roster to see who is around; read your home channel with comms_list_messages.
2. Coordinate — comms_post_message to the fewest right readers (a DM to cut readers, the shared channel for a standing record); comms_post_ask when you need a structured answer back.
3. Delegate down — brief an ephemeral subagent for implementation inside your session, or agents_spawn_peer for a standing child lane (with operator approval).
4. Report up — post results to your parent; keep the topic to one direction of flow.
5. Stay reachable — end your turn rather than blocking; regular messages and ask-answers arrive on your next turn, steers arrive mid-turn.

Approval

Each tool declares whether it is a read or a write. Reads (comms_list_messages, comms_list_topics, compass_roster, compass_tree) run freely; writes (comms_post_message, comms_post_ask, compass_set_status, comms_create_channel, comms_update_members, comms_create_channel_group, agents_spawn_peer, agents_despawn_peer) are the mutating surface. In a headless container the write natives auto-approve (there is no human in the container to approve them); the operator-approval gate on spawning a child Manager is enforced as a discipline on the asking side.