Codewalkers/docs/agent.md

# Agent Module

`src/agent/` — Agent lifecycle management, output parsing, multi-provider support, and account failover.

## File Inventory

| File | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `types.ts` | Core types: `AgentInfo`, `AgentManager` interface, `SpawnOptions`, `StreamEvent` |
| `manager.ts` | `MultiProviderAgentManager` — main orchestrator class |
| `process-manager.ts` | `AgentProcessManager` — worktree creation, command building, detached spawn |
| `output-handler.ts` | `OutputHandler` — JSONL stream parsing, completion detection, proposal creation, task dedup |
| `file-tailer.ts` | `FileTailer` — watches output files, fires parser + raw content callbacks |
| `file-io.ts` | Input/output file I/O: frontmatter writing, signal.json reading, tiptap conversion |
| `markdown-to-tiptap.ts` | Markdown to Tiptap JSON conversion using MarkdownManager |
| `index.ts` | Public exports, `ClaudeAgentManager` deprecated alias |

### Sub-modules

| Directory | Purpose |
|-----------|---------|
| `providers/` | Provider registry, presets (7 providers), config types |
| `providers/parsers/` | Provider-specific output parsers (Claude JSONL, generic line) |
| `accounts/` | Account discovery, config dir setup, credential management, usage API |
| `credentials/` | `AccountCredentialManager` — credential injection per account |
| `lifecycle/` | `LifecycleController` — retry policy, signal recovery, missing signal instructions |
| `prompts/` | Mode-specific prompt builders (execute, discuss, plan, detail, refine) + shared inter-agent communication instructions |

## Key Flows

### Spawning an Agent

1. **tRPC procedure** calls `agentManager.spawn(options)`
2. Manager generates alias (adjective-animal), creates DB record
3. `AgentProcessManager.createWorktree()` — creates git worktree at `.cw-worktrees/agent/<alias>/`
4. `file-io.writeInputFiles()` — writes `.cw/input/` with assignment files (initiative, pages, phase, task) and read-only context dirs (`context/phases/`, `context/tasks/`)
5. Provider config builds spawn command via `buildSpawnCommand()`
6. `spawnDetached()` — launches detached child process with file output redirection
7. `FileTailer` watches output file, fires `onEvent` (parsed stream events) and `onRawContent` (raw JSONL chunks) callbacks
8. `onRawContent` → DB insert via `createLogChunkCallback()` → `agent:output` event emitted (single emission point)
9. `OutputHandler.handleStreamEvent()` processes parsed events (session tracking, result capture — no event emission)
10. DB record updated with PID, output file path, session ID
11. `agent:spawned` event emitted

### Completion Detection

1. Polling detects process exit, `FileTailer.stop()` flushes remaining output
2. `OutputHandler.handleCompletion()` triggered
3. **Primary path**: Reads `.cw/output/signal.json` from agent worktree
4. Signal contains `{ status: "done"|"questions"|"error", result?, questions?, error? }`
5. Agent DB status updated accordingly (idle, waiting_for_input, crashed)
6. For `done`: proposals created from structured output; `agent:stopped` emitted
7. For `questions`: parsed and stored as `pendingQuestions`; `agent:waiting` emitted
8. **Fallback**: If signal.json missing, lifecycle controller retries with instruction injection

### Account Failover

1. On usage-limit error, `markAccountExhausted(id, until)` called
2. `findNextAvailable(provider)` returns least-recently-used non-exhausted account
3. Agent re-spawned with new account's credentials
4. `agent:account_switched` event emitted

### Resume Flow

1. tRPC `resumeAgent` called with `answers: Record<string, string>`
2. Manager looks up agent's session ID and provider config
3. `buildResumeCommand()` creates resume command with session flag
4. `formatAnswersAsPrompt(answers)` converts answers to prompt text
5. New detached process spawned, same worktree, incremented session number

## Provider Configuration

Providers defined in `providers/presets.ts`:

| Provider | Command | Resume | Prompt Mode |
|----------|---------|--------|-------------|
| claude | `claude` | `--resume <id>` | native (`-p`) |
| claude-code | `claude` | `--resume <id>` | native |
| codex | `codex` | none | flag (`--prompt`) |
| aider | `aider` | none | flag (`--message`) |
| cline | `cline` | none | flag |
| continue | `continue` | none | flag |
| cursor-agent | `cursor` | none | flag |

Each provider config specifies: `command`, `args`, `resumeStyle`, `promptMode`, `structuredOutput`, `sessionId` extraction, `nonInteractive` options.

## Output Parsing

The `OutputHandler` processes JSONL streams from Claude CLI:

- `init` event → session ID extracted and persisted
- `text_delta` events → no-op in handler (output streaming handled by DB log chunks)
- `result` event → final result with structured data captured on `ActiveAgent`
- Signal file (`signal.json`) → authoritative completion status

**Output event flow**: `FileTailer.onRawContent()` → DB `insertChunk()` → `EventBus.emit('agent:output')`. This is the single emission point — no events from `handleStreamEvent()` or `processLine()`.

For providers without structured output, the generic line parser accumulates raw text.

## Credential Management

`AccountCredentialManager` in `credentials/` handles OAuth token lifecycle:
- `read()` — extracts `claudeAiOauth` from `.credentials.json`. Only `accessToken` is required; `refreshToken` and `expiresAt` may be null (setup tokens).
- `isExpired()` — returns false when `expiresAt` is null (setup tokens never "expire" from our perspective).
- `ensureValid()` — if expired and `refreshToken` exists, refreshes. If expired with no `refreshToken`, returns invalid with error.

### Setup Tokens

Setup tokens (from `claude setup-token`) are long-lived OAuth access tokens with no refresh token or expiry. Register via:

```sh
cw account add --token <token> --email user@example.com
```

Stored as `credentials: {"claudeAiOauth":{"accessToken":"<token>"}}` and `configJson: {"hasCompletedOnboarding":true}`.

## Log Chunks

Agent output is persisted to `agent_log_chunks` table and drives all live streaming:
- `onRawContent` callback fires for every raw JSONL chunk from `FileTailer`
- DB insert → `agent:output` event emission (single source of truth for UI)
- No FK to agents — survives agent deletion
- Session tracking: spawn=1, resume=previousMax+1
- Read path (`getAgentOutput` tRPC): concatenates all DB chunks (no file fallback)
- Live path (`onAgentOutput` subscription): listens for `agent:output` events
- Frontend: initial query loads from DB, subscription accumulates raw JSONL, both parsed via `parseAgentOutput()`

## Inter-Agent Communication

Agents can communicate with each other via the `conversations` table, coordinated through CLI commands.

### Prompt Integration
`INTER_AGENT_COMMUNICATION` constant in `prompts/shared.ts` is appended to all 5 agent mode prompts. It instructs agents to:
1. Start `cw listen --agent-id <ID> &` as a background process at session start
2. Handle incoming questions by answering via `cw answer` and restarting the listener
3. Ask questions to peers via `cw ask --from <ID> --agent-id|--phase-id|--task-id`
4. Kill the listener before writing `signal.json`

### Agent Identity
`manifest.json` now includes `agentId` and `agentName` fields. The manager passes these from the DB record after agent creation.

### CLI Commands
- `cw listen`: Polls `getPendingConversations`, prints first pending as JSON, exits
- `cw ask`: Creates conversation, polls `getConversation` until answered, prints answer
- `cw answer`: Calls `answerConversation`, prints confirmation JSON