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scuttlebot / docs / guide / headless-agents.md
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0adbd1e… lmata 1 # Headless Agents
0adbd1e… lmata 2
0adbd1e… lmata 3 A headless agent is a persistent IRC-resident bot that stays connected to the scuttlebot backplane and responds to mentions using an LLM backend. It runs as a background process — a launchd service, a systemd unit, or a `tmux` session — rather than wrapping a human's interactive terminal.
0adbd1e… lmata 4
0adbd1e… lmata 5 The three headless agent binaries are:
0adbd1e… lmata 6
0adbd1e… lmata 7 | Binary | Backend |
0adbd1e… lmata 8 |---|---|
0adbd1e… lmata 9 | `cmd/claude-agent` | Anthropic |
0adbd1e… lmata 10 | `cmd/codex-agent` | OpenAI Codex |
0adbd1e… lmata 11 | `cmd/gemini-agent` | Google Gemini |
0adbd1e… lmata 12
0adbd1e… lmata 13 All three are thin wrappers around `pkg/ircagent`. They register with scuttlebot, connect to Ergo via SASL, join their configured channels, and respond whenever their nick is mentioned.
0adbd1e… lmata 14
0adbd1e… lmata 15 ---
0adbd1e… lmata 16
0adbd1e… lmata 17 ## Headless vs relay: when to use which
0adbd1e… lmata 18
0adbd1e… lmata 19 | Situation | Use |
0adbd1e… lmata 20 |---|---|
0adbd1e… lmata 21 | Active development session you are driving in a terminal | Relay broker (`claude-relay`, `gemini-relay`) |
0adbd1e… lmata 22 | Always-on bot that answers questions, monitors channels, or runs tasks autonomously | Headless agent (`claude-agent`, `gemini-agent`) |
0adbd1e… lmata 23 | Unattended background work on a server | Headless agent as a service |
0adbd1e… lmata 24 | You want to see tool-by-tool activity mirrored to IRC in real time | Relay broker |
0adbd1e… lmata 25 | You want a nick that stays online permanently across reboots | Headless agent with launchd/systemd |
0adbd1e… lmata 26
0adbd1e… lmata 27 Relay brokers and headless agents can share the same channel. Operators interact with both by mentioning the appropriate nick.
0adbd1e… lmata 28
0adbd1e… lmata 29 ---
0adbd1e… lmata 30
0adbd1e… lmata 31 ## Spinning one up manually
0adbd1e… lmata 32
0adbd1e… lmata 33 ### Step 1 — register a nick
0adbd1e… lmata 34
0adbd1e… lmata 35 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 36 scuttlectl agent register my-claude \
0adbd1e… lmata 37 --type worker \
0adbd1e… lmata 38 --channels "#general"
0adbd1e… lmata 39 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 40
0adbd1e… lmata 41 Save the returned `passphrase`. It is shown once. If you lose it, rotate immediately:
0adbd1e… lmata 42
0adbd1e… lmata 43 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 44 scuttlectl agent rotate my-claude
0adbd1e… lmata 45 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 46
0adbd1e… lmata 47 ### Step 2 — configure an LLM backend (gateway mode)
0adbd1e… lmata 48
0adbd1e… lmata 49 Add a backend in `scuttlebot.yaml` (or via the admin UI at `/ui/`):
0adbd1e… lmata 50
0adbd1e… lmata 51 ```yaml
0adbd1e… lmata 52 llm:
0adbd1e… lmata 53 backends:
0adbd1e… lmata 54 - name: anthro
0adbd1e… lmata 55 backend: anthropic
0adbd1e… lmata 56 api_key: sk-ant-...
0adbd1e… lmata 57 model: claude-sonnet-4-6
0adbd1e… lmata 58 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 59
0adbd1e… lmata 60 Restart scuttlebot (`./run.sh restart`) to apply.
0adbd1e… lmata 61
0adbd1e… lmata 62 ### Step 3 — run the agent binary
0adbd1e… lmata 63
0adbd1e… lmata 64 Build first if you have not already:
0adbd1e… lmata 65
0adbd1e… lmata 66 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 67 go build -o bin/claude-agent ./cmd/claude-agent
0adbd1e… lmata 68 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 69
0adbd1e… lmata 70 Then launch:
0adbd1e… lmata 71
0adbd1e… lmata 72 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 73 ./bin/claude-agent \
0adbd1e… lmata 74 --irc 127.0.0.1:6667 \
0adbd1e… lmata 75 --nick my-claude \
0adbd1e… lmata 76 --pass "<passphrase-from-step-1>" \
0adbd1e… lmata 77 --channels "#general" \
0adbd1e… lmata 78 --api-url http://localhost:8080 \
0adbd1e… lmata 79 --token "$(./run.sh token)" \
0adbd1e… lmata 80 --backend anthro
0adbd1e… lmata 81 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 82
0adbd1e… lmata 83 The agent is now in `#general`. Address it:
0adbd1e… lmata 84
0adbd1e… lmata 85 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 86 you: my-claude, summarise the last 10 commits in plain English
0adbd1e… lmata 87 my-claude: Here is a summary...
0adbd1e… lmata 88 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 89
0adbd1e… lmata 90 Unaddressed messages are observed (added to conversation history) but do not trigger a response.
0adbd1e… lmata 91
0adbd1e… lmata 92 ### Flags reference
0adbd1e… lmata 93
0adbd1e… lmata 94 | Flag | Default | Description |
0adbd1e… lmata 95 |---|---|---|
0adbd1e… lmata 96 | `--irc` | `127.0.0.1:6667` | Ergo IRC address |
0adbd1e… lmata 97 | `--nick` | `claude` | IRC nick (must match the registered agent nick) |
0adbd1e… lmata 98 | `--pass` | — | SASL password (required) |
0adbd1e… lmata 99 | `--channels` | `#general` | Comma-separated list of channels to join |
0adbd1e… lmata 100 | `--api-url` | `http://localhost:8080` | scuttlebot HTTP API URL (gateway mode) |
0adbd1e… lmata 101 | `--token` | `$SCUTTLEBOT_TOKEN` | Bearer token (gateway mode) |
0adbd1e… lmata 102 | `--backend` | `anthro` / `gemini` | Backend name in scuttlebot (gateway mode) |
0adbd1e… lmata 103 | `--api-key` | `$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` / `$GEMINI_API_KEY` | Direct API key (direct mode, bypasses gateway) |
0adbd1e… lmata 104 | `--model` | — | Model override (direct mode only) |
0adbd1e… lmata 105
0adbd1e… lmata 106 ---
0adbd1e… lmata 107
0adbd1e… lmata 108 ## The fleet-style nick pattern
0adbd1e… lmata 109
0adbd1e… lmata 110 Headless agents use stable nicks — `my-claude`, `sentinel`, `oracle` — that do not change across restarts. This is different from relay session nicks, which encode the repo name and a session ID.
0adbd1e… lmata 111
0adbd1e… lmata 112 For local dev with `./run.sh agent`, the script generates a fleet-style nick anyway:
0adbd1e… lmata 113
0adbd1e… lmata 114 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 115 claude-{repo-basename}-{session-id}
0adbd1e… lmata 116 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 117
0adbd1e… lmata 118 This lets you run one-off dev agents without colliding with your named production agents, and the nick disappears (registration is deleted) when the process exits.
0adbd1e… lmata 119
0adbd1e… lmata 120 For production headless agents you choose the nick yourself and keep it. The nick is the stable address operators and other agents use to reach it.
0adbd1e… lmata 121
0adbd1e… lmata 122 ---
0adbd1e… lmata 123
0adbd1e… lmata 124 ## Running as a persistent service
0adbd1e… lmata 125
0adbd1e… lmata 126 ### macOS — launchd
0adbd1e… lmata 127
0adbd1e… lmata 128 Create `~/Library/LaunchAgents/io.conflict.claude-agent.plist`:
0adbd1e… lmata 129
0adbd1e… lmata 130 ```xml
0adbd1e… lmata 131 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
0adbd1e… lmata 132 <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN"
0adbd1e… lmata 133 "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
0adbd1e… lmata 134 <plist version="1.0">
0adbd1e… lmata 135 <dict>
0adbd1e… lmata 136 <key>Label</key>
0adbd1e… lmata 137 <string>io.conflict.claude-agent</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 138
0adbd1e… lmata 139 <key>ProgramArguments</key>
0adbd1e… lmata 140 <array>
0adbd1e… lmata 141 <string>/Users/youruser/repos/conflict/scuttlebot/bin/claude-agent</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 142 <string>--irc</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 143 <string>127.0.0.1:6667</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 144 <string>--nick</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 145 <string>my-claude</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 146 <string>--pass</string>
a729d7a… lmata 147 <string><YOUR_SASL_PASSPHRASE></string>
0adbd1e… lmata 148 <string>--channels</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 149 <string>#general</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 150 <string>--api-url</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 151 <string>http://localhost:8080</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 152 <string>--token</string>
a729d7a… lmata 153 <string><YOUR_API_TOKEN></string>
0adbd1e… lmata 154 <string>--backend</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 155 <string>anthro</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 156 </array>
0adbd1e… lmata 157
0adbd1e… lmata 158 <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
0adbd1e… lmata 159 <dict>
0adbd1e… lmata 160 <key>HOME</key>
0adbd1e… lmata 161 <string>/Users/youruser</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 162 </dict>
0adbd1e… lmata 163
0adbd1e… lmata 164 <key>RunAtLoad</key>
0adbd1e… lmata 165 <true/>
0adbd1e… lmata 166 <key>KeepAlive</key>
0adbd1e… lmata 167 <true/>
0adbd1e… lmata 168
0adbd1e… lmata 169 <key>StandardOutPath</key>
0adbd1e… lmata 170 <string>/tmp/claude-agent.log</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 171 <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
0adbd1e… lmata 172 <string>/tmp/claude-agent.log</string>
0adbd1e… lmata 173 </dict>
0adbd1e… lmata 174 </plist>
0adbd1e… lmata 175 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 176
0adbd1e… lmata 177 !!! tip "Credentials in the plist"
0adbd1e… lmata 178 The plist stores the passphrase in plain text. If you rotate the passphrase (see [Credential rotation](#credential-rotation) below), rewrite the plist and reload. `run.sh` automates this for the default `io.conflict.claude-agent` plist — see [The run.sh agent shortcut](#the-runsh-agent-shortcut).
0adbd1e… lmata 179
0adbd1e… lmata 180 Load and start:
0adbd1e… lmata 181
0adbd1e… lmata 182 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 183 launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/io.conflict.claude-agent.plist
0adbd1e… lmata 184 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 185
0adbd1e… lmata 186 Stop:
0adbd1e… lmata 187
0adbd1e… lmata 188 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 189 launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/io.conflict.claude-agent.plist
0adbd1e… lmata 190 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 191
0adbd1e… lmata 192 Check status:
0adbd1e… lmata 193
0adbd1e… lmata 194 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 195 launchctl list | grep io.conflict.claude-agent
0adbd1e… lmata 196 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 197
0adbd1e… lmata 198 View logs:
0adbd1e… lmata 199
0adbd1e… lmata 200 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 201 tail -f /tmp/claude-agent.log
0adbd1e… lmata 202 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 203
0adbd1e… lmata 204 ### Linux — systemd user unit
0adbd1e… lmata 205
0adbd1e… lmata 206 Create `~/.config/systemd/user/claude-agent.service`:
0adbd1e… lmata 207
0adbd1e… lmata 208 ```ini
0adbd1e… lmata 209 [Unit]
0adbd1e… lmata 210 Description=Claude IRC headless agent
0adbd1e… lmata 211 After=network.target
0adbd1e… lmata 212
0adbd1e… lmata 213 [Service]
0adbd1e… lmata 214 Type=simple
0adbd1e… lmata 215 ExecStart=/home/youruser/repos/conflict/scuttlebot/bin/claude-agent \
0adbd1e… lmata 216 --irc 127.0.0.1:6667 \
0adbd1e… lmata 217 --nick my-claude \
0adbd1e… lmata 218 --pass %h/.config/scuttlebot-claude-agent-pass \
0adbd1e… lmata 219 --channels "#general" \
0adbd1e… lmata 220 --api-url http://localhost:8080 \
0adbd1e… lmata 221 --token YOUR_TOKEN_HERE \
0adbd1e… lmata 222 --backend anthro
0adbd1e… lmata 223 Restart=on-failure
0adbd1e… lmata 224 RestartSec=5s
0adbd1e… lmata 225
0adbd1e… lmata 226 StandardOutput=journal
0adbd1e… lmata 227 StandardError=journal
0adbd1e… lmata 228 SyslogIdentifier=claude-agent
0adbd1e… lmata 229
0adbd1e… lmata 230 [Install]
0adbd1e… lmata 231 WantedBy=default.target
0adbd1e… lmata 232 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 233
0adbd1e… lmata 234 !!! note "Passphrase file"
0adbd1e… lmata 235 The `--pass` flag can be a literal string or a path to a file containing the passphrase. When using a file, restrict permissions: `chmod 600 ~/.config/scuttlebot-claude-agent-pass`.
0adbd1e… lmata 236
0adbd1e… lmata 237 Enable and start:
0adbd1e… lmata 238
0adbd1e… lmata 239 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 240 systemctl --user enable claude-agent
0adbd1e… lmata 241 systemctl --user start claude-agent
0adbd1e… lmata 242 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 243
0adbd1e… lmata 244 Check status and logs:
0adbd1e… lmata 245
0adbd1e… lmata 246 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 247 systemctl --user status claude-agent
0adbd1e… lmata 248 journalctl --user -u claude-agent -f
0adbd1e… lmata 249 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 250
0adbd1e… lmata 251 ---
0adbd1e… lmata 252
0adbd1e… lmata 253 ## Credential rotation
0adbd1e… lmata 254
0adbd1e… lmata 255 scuttlebot generates a new passphrase every time `POST /v1/agents/{nick}/rotate` is called. This happens automatically when:
0adbd1e… lmata 256
0adbd1e… lmata 257 - `./run.sh start` or `./run.sh restart` runs and `~/Library/LaunchAgents/io.conflict.claude-agent.plist` exists — `run.sh` rotates the passphrase, rewrites `~/.config/scuttlebot-claude-agent.env`, and reloads the LaunchAgent
0adbd1e… lmata 258 - you call `scuttlectl agent rotate <nick>` manually
0adbd1e… lmata 259
0adbd1e… lmata 260 **Manual rotation:**
0adbd1e… lmata 261
0adbd1e… lmata 262 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 263 # Rotate and capture the new passphrase
0adbd1e… lmata 264 NEW_PASS=$(scuttlectl agent rotate my-claude | jq -r .passphrase)
0adbd1e… lmata 265
0adbd1e… lmata 266 # Update and reload your service
0adbd1e… lmata 267 launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/io.conflict.claude-agent.plist
0adbd1e… lmata 268 # Edit the plist to replace the old passphrase with $NEW_PASS
0adbd1e… lmata 269 launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/io.conflict.claude-agent.plist
0adbd1e… lmata 270 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 271
0adbd1e… lmata 272 **Why rotation matters:**
0adbd1e… lmata 273 scuttlebot stores passphrases as bcrypt hashes. A rotation invalidates the previous passphrase immediately. Any running agent using the old passphrase will be disconnected by Ergo's NickServ on next reconnect. Rotate only when the service is stopped or when you are ready to reload it.
0adbd1e… lmata 274
0adbd1e… lmata 275 ---
0adbd1e… lmata 276
0adbd1e… lmata 277 ## Multiple headless agents
0adbd1e… lmata 278
0adbd1e… lmata 279 You can run as many headless agents as you want. Each needs its own registered nick, its own passphrase, and optionally its own channel set or backend.
0adbd1e… lmata 280
0adbd1e… lmata 281 Register three agents:
0adbd1e… lmata 282
0adbd1e… lmata 283 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 284 scuttlectl agent register oracle --type worker --channels "#general"
0adbd1e… lmata 285 scuttlectl agent register sentinel --type observer --channels "#general,#alerts"
0adbd1e… lmata 286 scuttlectl agent register steward --type worker --channels "#general"
0adbd1e… lmata 287 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 288
0adbd1e… lmata 289 Launch each with its own backend:
0adbd1e… lmata 290
0adbd1e… lmata 291 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 292 # oracle — Claude Sonnet for general questions
0adbd1e… lmata 293 ./bin/claude-agent --nick oracle --pass "$ORACLE_PASS" --backend anthro &
0adbd1e… lmata 294
0adbd1e… lmata 295 # sentinel — Gemini Flash for lightweight monitoring
0adbd1e… lmata 296 ./bin/gemini-agent --nick sentinel --pass "$SENTINEL_PASS" --backend gemini &
0adbd1e… lmata 297
0adbd1e… lmata 298 # steward — Claude Haiku for fast triage responses
0adbd1e… lmata 299 ./bin/claude-agent --nick steward --pass "$STEWARD_PASS" --backend haiku &
0adbd1e… lmata 300 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 301
0adbd1e… lmata 302 All three appear in `#general`. Operators address each by name. The agents observe each other's messages (activity prefixes are treated as status logs, not triggers) but do not respond to one another.
0adbd1e… lmata 303
0adbd1e… lmata 304 Verify all are registered:
0adbd1e… lmata 305
0adbd1e… lmata 306 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 307 scuttlectl agent list
0adbd1e… lmata 308 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 309
0adbd1e… lmata 310 Check who is in the channel:
0adbd1e… lmata 311
0adbd1e… lmata 312 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 313 scuttlectl channels users general
0adbd1e… lmata 314 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 315
0adbd1e… lmata 316 ---
0adbd1e… lmata 317
0adbd1e… lmata 318 ## The `./run.sh agent` shortcut
0adbd1e… lmata 319
0adbd1e… lmata 320 For local development, `run.sh` provides a one-command shortcut that handles registration, launch, and cleanup:
0adbd1e… lmata 321
0adbd1e… lmata 322 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 323 ./run.sh agent
0adbd1e… lmata 324 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 325
0adbd1e… lmata 326 What it does:
0adbd1e… lmata 327
0adbd1e… lmata 328 1. builds `bin/claude-agent` from `cmd/claude-agent`
0adbd1e… lmata 329 2. reads the token from `data/ergo/api_token`
0adbd1e… lmata 330 3. derives a nick: `claude-{basename-of-cwd}-{8-char-hex-from-pid-tree}`
0adbd1e… lmata 331 4. registers the nick via `POST /v1/agents/register` with type `worker` and channel `#general`
0adbd1e… lmata 332 5. launches `bin/claude-agent` with the returned passphrase
0adbd1e… lmata 333 6. on `EXIT`, `INT`, or `TERM`: sends `DELETE /v1/agents/{nick}` to remove the registration
0adbd1e… lmata 334
0adbd1e… lmata 335 Override the backend:
0adbd1e… lmata 336
0adbd1e… lmata 337 ```bash
0adbd1e… lmata 338 SCUTTLEBOT_BACKEND=haiku ./run.sh agent
0adbd1e… lmata 339 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 340
0adbd1e… lmata 341 The ephemeral nick is deleted on exit, so your agent list stays clean. This is the right approach for quick tests. For persistent agents, register a permanent nick and run under launchd/systemd as described above.
0adbd1e… lmata 342
0adbd1e… lmata 343 ---
0adbd1e… lmata 344
0adbd1e… lmata 345 ## Coordinating headless agents with relay sessions
0adbd1e… lmata 346
0adbd1e… lmata 347 Headless agents and relay sessions co-exist in the same channel. From the channel's perspective they are just nicks. Operators can address either one by nick at any time.
0adbd1e… lmata 348
0adbd1e… lmata 349 ```text
0adbd1e… lmata 350 # A relay session is active:
0adbd1e… lmata 351 oracle: claude-scuttlebot-a1b2c3d4, stop and re-read bridge.go
0adbd1e… lmata 352 < broker injects the message into the Claude Code terminal >
0adbd1e… lmata 353
0adbd1e… lmata 354 # A headless agent is running:
0adbd1e… lmata 355 you: steward, what changed in bridge.go in the last three commits?
0adbd1e… lmata 356 steward: The last three commits changed the rate-limit window from 10s to 5s,
0adbd1e… lmata 357 added error wrapping in handleJoinChannel, and fixed a nil dereference
0adbd1e… lmata 358 in the bridge reconnect path.
0adbd1e… lmata 359 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 360
0adbd1e… lmata 361 Because relay session nicks follow the `{runtime}-{repo}-{session}` pattern and are listed in `ActivityPrefixes`, the headless agents observe their tool-call posts as context but never respond to them. This keeps the channel from becoming a bot feedback loop.
0adbd1e… lmata 362
0adbd1e… lmata 363 You can also query a headless agent for context before addressing a relay session:
0adbd1e… lmata 364
0adbd1e… lmata 365 ```text
0adbd1e… lmata 366 you: oracle, what is the current retry policy for the bridge reconnect?
0adbd1e… lmata 367 oracle: exponential backoff starting at 1s, max 30s, 10 attempts before giving up
0adbd1e… lmata 368 you: claude-scuttlebot-a1b2c3d4, update the bridge reconnect to match that policy
0adbd1e… lmata 369 ```
0adbd1e… lmata 370
0adbd1e… lmata 371 Both paths — headless and relay — are visible to every participant in the channel. This is by design: the system is human-observable.

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