synapse-a2a 0.6.1

Agent-to-Agent communication protocol for CLI agents

Synapse A2A

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Enable agents to collaborate on tasks without changing their behavior

A framework that enables inter-agent collaboration via the Google A2A Protocol while keeping CLI agents (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, OpenCode, GitHub Copilot CLI) exactly as they are

Project Goals

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ✅ Non-Invasive: Don't change agent behavior                   │
│  ✅ Collaborative: Enable agents to work together               │
│  ✅ Transparent: Maintain existing workflows                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Synapse A2A transparently wraps each agent's input/output without modifying the agent itself. This means:

• Leverage each agent's strengths: Users can freely assign roles and specializations
• Zero learning curve: Continue using existing workflows
• Future-proof: Resistant to agent updates

See Project Philosophy for details.

flowchart LR
    subgraph Terminal1["Terminal 1"]
        subgraph Agent1["synapse claude :8100"]
            Server1["A2A Server"]
            PTY1["PTY + Claude CLI"]
        end
    end
    subgraph Terminal2["Terminal 2"]
        subgraph Agent2["synapse codex :8120"]
            Server2["A2A Server"]
            PTY2["PTY + Codex CLI"]
        end
    end
    subgraph External["External"]
        ExtAgent["Google A2A Agent"]
    end

    Server1 <-->|"POST /tasks/send"| Server2
    Server1 <-->|"A2A Protocol"| ExtAgent
    Server2 <-->|"A2A Protocol"| ExtAgent

---

Table of Contents

• Features
• Prerequisites
• Quick Start
• Use Cases
• Skills
• Documentation
• Architecture
• CLI Commands
• API Endpoints
• Task Structure
• Sender Identification
• Priority Levels
• Agent Card
• Registry and Port Management
• File Safety
• Agent Monitor
• Testing
• Configuration (.synapse)
• Development & Release

---

Features

Category	Feature
A2A Compliant	All communication uses Message/Part + Task format, Agent Card discovery
CLI Integration	Turn existing CLI tools into A2A agents without modification
synapse send	Send messages between agents via synapse send <agent> "message"
Sender Identification	Auto-identify sender via metadata.sender + PID matching
Priority Interrupt	Priority 5 sends SIGINT before message (emergency stop)
Multi-Instance	Run multiple agents of the same type (automatic port assignment)
External Integration	Communicate with other Google A2A agents
File Safety	Prevent multi-agent conflicts with file locking and change tracking (visible in synapse list)
Agent Naming	Custom names and roles for easy identification (synapse send my-claude "hello")
Agent Monitor	Real-time status (READY/WAITING/PROCESSING/DONE), CURRENT task preview, terminal jump
Task History	Automatic task tracking with search, export, and statistics (enabled by default)
Shared Task Board	SQLite-based task coordination with dependency tracking (synapse tasks)
Quality Gates	Configurable hooks (on_idle, on_task_completed) that control status transitions
Plan Approval	Plan-mode workflow with synapse approve/reject for human-in-the-loop review
Graceful Shutdown	synapse kill sends shutdown request before SIGTERM (30s timeout, -f for force)
Delegate Mode	--delegate-mode makes an agent a coordinator that delegates instead of editing files
Auto-Spawn Panes	synapse team start — 1st agent takes over current terminal, others in new panes. --all-new to start all in new panes. Supports profile:name:role:skill_set spec (tmux/iTerm2/Terminal.app/zellij)
Spawn Single Agent	synapse spawn <profile> — Spawn a single agent in a new terminal pane or window

---

Prerequisites

• OS: macOS / Linux (Windows via WSL2 recommended)
• Python: 3.10+
• CLI Tools: Pre-install and configure the agents you want to use:
  • Claude Code
  • Codex CLI
  • Gemini CLI
  • OpenCode
  • GitHub Copilot CLI

---

Quick Start

1. Install Synapse A2A

macOS / Linux / WSL2 (recommended)

# pipx (recommended)
pipx install synapse-a2a

# Or run directly with uvx (no install)
uvx synapse-a2a claude

Windows

WSL2 is strongly recommended. Synapse A2A uses pty.spawn() which requires a Unix-like terminal.

# Inside WSL2 — same as Linux
pipx install synapse-a2a

# Scoop (experimental, WSL2 still required for pty)
scoop bucket add synapse-a2a https://github.com/s-hiraoku/scoop-synapse-a2a
scoop install synapse-a2a

Developer (from source)

# Install with uv
uv sync

# Or pip (editable)
pip install -e .

With gRPC support:

pip install "synapse-a2a[grpc]"

2. Install Skills (Recommended)

Installing skills is strongly recommended to get the most out of Synapse A2A.

Skills help Claude automatically understand Synapse A2A features: @agent messaging, File Safety, and more.

# Install via skills.sh (https://skills.sh/)
npx skills add s-hiraoku/synapse-a2a

See Skills for details.

3. Start Agents

# Terminal 1: Claude
synapse claude

# Terminal 2: Codex
synapse codex

# Terminal 3: Gemini
synapse gemini

# Terminal 4: OpenCode
synapse opencode

# Terminal 5: GitHub Copilot CLI
synapse copilot

Note: If terminal scrollback display is garbled, try:

uv run synapse gemini
# or
uv run python -m synapse.cli gemini

Ports are auto-assigned:

Agent	Port Range
Claude	8100-8109
Gemini	8110-8119
Codex	8120-8129
OpenCode	8130-8139
Copilot	8140-8149

4. Inter-Agent Communication

Use synapse send to send messages between agents:

synapse send codex "Please review this design" --from synapse-claude-8100
synapse send gemini "Suggest API improvements" --from synapse-claude-8100

For multiple instances of the same type, use type-port format:

synapse send codex-8120 "Handle this task" --from synapse-claude-8100
synapse send codex-8121 "Handle that task" --from synapse-claude-8100

5. HTTP API

# Send message
curl -X POST http://localhost:8100/tasks/send \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": {"role": "user", "parts": [{"type": "text", "text": "Hello!"}]}}'

# Emergency stop (Priority 5)
curl -X POST "http://localhost:8100/tasks/send-priority?priority=5" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": {"role": "user", "parts": [{"type": "text", "text": "Stop!"}]}}'

---

Use Cases

1. Instant Specification Lookup (Simple)

While coding with Claude, quickly query Gemini (better at web search) for the latest library specs or error info without context switching.

# In Claude's terminal:
synapse send gemini "Summarize the new f-string features in Python 3.12" --from synapse-claude-8100

2. Cross-Review Designs (Intermediate)

Get feedback on your design from agents with different perspectives.

# After Claude drafts a design:
synapse send gemini "Critically review this design from scalability and maintainability perspectives" --from synapse-claude-8100

3. TDD Pair Programming (Intermediate)

Separate "test writer" and "implementer" for robust code.

# Terminal 1 (Codex):
Create unit tests for auth.py - normal case and token expiration case.

# Terminal 2 (Claude):
synapse send codex-8120 "Implement auth.py to pass the tests you created" --from synapse-claude-8100

4. Security Audit (Specialized)

Have an agent with a security expert role audit your code before committing.

# Give Gemini a role:
You are a security engineer. Review only for vulnerabilities (SQLi, XSS, etc.)

# After writing code:
synapse send gemini "Audit the current changes (git diff)" --from synapse-claude-8100

5. Auto-Fix from Error Logs (Advanced)

Pass error logs to an agent for automatic fix suggestions.

# Tests failed...
pytest > error.log

# Ask agent to fix
synapse send claude "Read error.log and fix the issue in synapse/server.py" --from synapse-gemini-8110

6. Language/Framework Migration (Advanced)

Distribute large refactoring work across agents.

# Terminal 1 (Claude):
Read legacy_api.js and create TypeScript type definitions

# Terminal 2 (Codex):
synapse send claude "Use the type definitions you created to rewrite legacy_api.js to src/new_api.ts" --from synapse-codex-8121

Comparison with SSH Remote

Operation	SSH	Synapse
Manual CLI operation	◎	◎
Programmatic task submission	△ requires expect etc.	◎ HTTP API
Multiple simultaneous clients	△ multiple sessions	◎ single endpoint
Real-time progress notifications	✗	◎ SSE/Webhook
Automatic inter-agent coordination	✗	◎ synapse send

Note: SSH is often sufficient for individual CLI use. Synapse shines when you need automation, coordination, and multi-agent collaboration.

---

Skills

Installing skills is strongly recommended when using Synapse A2A with Claude Code.

Why Install Skills?

With skills installed, Claude automatically understands and executes:

• synapse send: Inter-agent communication via synapse send codex "Fix this" --from synapse-claude-8100
• Priority control: Message sending with Priority 1-5 (5 = emergency stop)
• File Safety: Prevent multi-agent conflicts with file locking and change tracking
• History management: Search, export, and statistics for task history

Installation

# Install via skills.sh (https://skills.sh/)
npx skills add s-hiraoku/synapse-a2a

Included Skills

Skill	Description
synapse-a2a	Comprehensive guide for inter-agent communication: synapse send, priority, A2A protocol, history, File Safety, settings

Core Skills: Essential skills like synapse-a2a are automatically deployed to agent directories on startup (best-effort) to ensure basic quality even if skill sets are skipped.

Skill Management

Synapse includes a built-in skill manager with a central store (~/.synapse/skills/) for organizing and deploying skills across agents.

Skill Scopes

Scope	Location	Description
Synapse	~/.synapse/skills/	Central store (deploy to agents from here)
User	~/.claude/skills/, ~/.agents/skills/, etc.	User-wide skills
Project	./.claude/skills/, ./.agents/skills/, etc.	Project-local skills
Plugin	./plugins/*/skills/	Read-only plugin skills

Commands

# Interactive TUI
synapse skills

# List and browse
synapse skills list                          # All scopes
synapse skills list --scope synapse          # Central store only
synapse skills show <name>                   # Skill details

# Manage
synapse skills delete <name> [--force]
synapse skills move <name> --to <scope>

# Central store operations
synapse skills import <name>                 # Import from agent dirs to ~/.synapse/skills/
synapse skills deploy <name> --agent claude,codex --scope user
synapse skills add <repo>                    # Install from repo (npx skills wrapper)
synapse skills create                        # Show guided skill creation steps

# Skill sets (named groups)
synapse skills set list
synapse skills set show <name>

Directory Structure

plugins/
└── synapse-a2a/
    ├── .claude-plugin/plugin.json
    ├── README.md
    └── skills/
        └── synapse-a2a/SKILL.md

See plugins/synapse-a2a/README.md for details.

Note: Codex and Gemini don't support plugins, but you can place expanded skills in the .agents/skills/ (Codex/OpenCode) or .gemini/skills/ directory respectively to enable these features.

---

Documentation

• guides/README.md - Documentation overview
• guides/multi-agent-setup.md - Setup guide
• guides/usage.md - Commands and usage patterns
• guides/settings.md - .synapse configuration details
• guides/troubleshooting.md - Common issues and solutions

---

Architecture

A2A Server/Client Structure

In Synapse, each agent operates as an A2A server. There's no central server; it's a P2P architecture.

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  synapse claude (port 8100)         │    │  synapse codex (port 8120)          │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────┐  │    │  ┌───────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  FastAPI Server (A2A Server)  │  │    │  │  FastAPI Server (A2A Server)  │  │
│  │  /.well-known/agent.json      │  │    │  │  /.well-known/agent.json      │  │
│  │  /tasks/send                  │◄─┼────┼──│  A2AClient                    │  │
│  │  /tasks/{id}                  │  │    │  └───────────────────────────────┘  │
│  └───────────────────────────────┘  │    │  ┌───────────────────────────────┐  │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────┐  │    │  │  PTY + Codex CLI              │  │
│  │  PTY + Claude CLI             │  │    │  └───────────────────────────────┘  │
│  └───────────────────────────────┘  │    └─────────────────────────────────────┘
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Each agent is:

• A2A Server: Accepts requests from other agents
• A2A Client: Sends requests to other agents

Key Components

Component	File	Role
FastAPI Server	synapse/server.py	Provides A2A endpoints
A2A Router	synapse/a2a_compat.py	A2A protocol implementation
A2A Client	synapse/a2a_client.py	Communication with other agents
TerminalController	synapse/controller.py	PTY management, READY/PROCESSING detection
InputRouter	synapse/input_router.py	@Agent pattern detection
AgentRegistry	synapse/registry.py	Agent registration and lookup
SkillManager	synapse/skills.py	Skill discovery, deploy, import, skill sets
SkillManagerCmd	synapse/commands/skill_manager.py	Skill management TUI and CLI

Startup Sequence

sequenceDiagram
    participant Synapse as Synapse Server
    participant Registry as AgentRegistry
    participant PTY as TerminalController
    participant CLI as CLI Agent

    Synapse->>Registry: 1. Register agent (agent_id, pid, port)
    Synapse->>PTY: 2. Start PTY
    PTY->>CLI: 3. Start CLI agent
    Synapse->>PTY: 4. Send initial instructions (sender: synapse-system)
    PTY->>CLI: 5. AI receives initial instructions

Communication Flow

sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant Claude as Claude (8100)
    participant Client as A2AClient
    participant Codex as Codex (8120)

    User->>Claude: @codex Review this design
    Claude->>Client: send_to_local()
    Client->>Codex: POST /tasks/send-priority
    Codex->>Codex: Create Task → Write to PTY
    Codex-->>Client: {"task": {"id": "...", "status": "working"}}
    Client-->>Claude: [→ codex] Send complete

---

CLI Commands

Basic Operations

# Start agent (foreground)
synapse claude
synapse codex
synapse gemini
synapse opencode
synapse copilot

# Start with custom name and role
synapse claude --name my-claude --role "code reviewer"

# Skip interactive name/role setup
synapse claude --no-setup

# Specify port
synapse claude --port 8105

# Pass arguments to CLI tool
synapse claude -- --resume

Agent Naming

Assign custom names and roles to agents for easier identification and management:

# Interactive setup (default when starting agent)
synapse claude
# → Prompts for name and role

# Skip interactive setup
synapse claude --no-setup

# Set name and role via CLI options
synapse claude --name my-claude --role "code reviewer"

# After agent is running, change name/role
synapse rename synapse-claude-8100 --name my-claude --role "test writer"
synapse rename my-claude --role "documentation"  # Change role only
synapse rename my-claude --clear                 # Clear name and role

Once named, use the custom name for all operations:

synapse send my-claude "Review this code" --from synapse-codex-8121
synapse jump my-claude
synapse kill my-claude

Name vs ID:

• Display/Prompts: Shows name if set, otherwise ID (e.g., Kill my-claude (PID: 1234)?)
• Internal processing: Always uses agent ID (synapse-claude-8100)
• Target resolution: Name has highest priority when matching targets

Command List

Command	Description
synapse <profile>	Start in foreground
synapse start <profile>	Start in background
synapse stop <profile|id>	Stop agent (can specify ID)
synapse kill <target>	Graceful shutdown (sends shutdown request, then SIGTERM after 30s)
synapse kill <target> -f	Force kill (immediate SIGKILL)
synapse jump <target>	Jump to agent's terminal
synapse rename <target>	Assign name/role to agent
synapse --version	Show version
synapse list	List running agents (Rich TUI with auto-refresh and terminal jump)
synapse logs <profile>	Show logs
synapse send <target> <message>	Send message
synapse reply <message>	Reply to the last received A2A message
synapse trace <task_id>	Show task history + file-safety cross-reference
synapse instructions show	Show instruction content
synapse instructions files	List instruction files
synapse instructions send	Resend initial instructions
synapse history list	Show task history
synapse history show <task_id>	Show task details
synapse history search	Keyword search
synapse history cleanup	Delete old data
synapse history stats	Show statistics
synapse history export	Export to JSON/CSV
synapse file-safety status	Show file safety statistics
synapse file-safety locks	List active locks
synapse file-safety lock	Lock a file
synapse file-safety unlock	Release lock
synapse file-safety history	File change history
synapse file-safety recent	Recent changes
synapse file-safety record	Manually record change
synapse file-safety cleanup	Delete old data
synapse file-safety debug	Show debug info
synapse skills	Skill Manager (interactive TUI)
synapse skills list	List discovered skills
synapse skills show <name>	Show skill details
synapse skills delete <name>	Delete a skill
synapse skills move <name>	Move skill to another scope
synapse skills deploy <name>	Deploy skill from central store to agent dirs
synapse skills import <name>	Import skill to central store (~/.synapse/skills/)
synapse skills add <repo>	Install skill from repository (via npx skills)
synapse skills create	Show guided skill creation steps (uses anthropic-skill-creator)
synapse skills set list	List skill sets
synapse skills set show <name>	Show skill set details
synapse config	Settings management (interactive TUI)
synapse config show	Show current settings
synapse tasks list	List shared task board
synapse tasks create	Create a task
synapse tasks assign	Assign task to agent
synapse tasks complete	Mark task completed
synapse approve <task_id>	Approve a plan
synapse reject <task_id>	Reject a plan with reason
synapse team start	Launch agents (1st=handoff, rest=new panes). --all-new for all new panes
synapse spawn <profile>	Spawn a single agent in a new terminal pane

Resume Mode

When resuming an existing session, use these flags to skip initial instruction sending (A2A protocol explanation), keeping your context clean:

# Resume Claude Code session
synapse claude -- --resume

# Resume Gemini with history
synapse gemini -- --resume=5

# Codex uses 'resume' as a subcommand (not --resume flag)
synapse codex -- resume --last

Default flags (customizable in settings.json):

• Claude: --resume, --continue, -r, -c
• Gemini: --resume, -r
• Codex: resume
• OpenCode: --continue, -c
• Copilot: --continue, --resume

Instruction Management

Manually resend initial instructions when they weren't sent (e.g., after --resume mode):

# Show instruction content
synapse instructions show claude

# List instruction files
synapse instructions files claude

# Send initial instructions to running agent
synapse instructions send claude

# Preview before sending
synapse instructions send claude --preview

# Send to specific agent ID
synapse instructions send synapse-claude-8100

Useful when:

• You need A2A protocol info after starting with --resume
• Agent lost/forgot instructions and needs recovery
• Debugging instruction content

External Agent Management

# Register external agent
synapse external add http://other-agent:9000 --alias other

# List
synapse external list

# Send message
synapse external send other "Process this task"

Task History Management

Search, browse, and analyze past agent execution results.

Note: History is enabled by default since v0.3.13. To disable:

# Disable via environment variable
export SYNAPSE_HISTORY_ENABLED=false
synapse claude

Basic Operations

# Show latest 50 entries
synapse history list

# Filter by agent
synapse history list --agent claude

# Custom limit
synapse history list --limit 100

# Show task details
synapse history show task-id-uuid

Keyword Search

Search input/output fields by keyword:

# Single keyword
synapse history search "Python"

# Multiple keywords (OR logic)
synapse history search "Python" "Docker"

# AND logic (all keywords must match)
synapse history search "Python" "function" --logic AND

# With agent filter
synapse history search "Python" --agent claude

# Limit results
synapse history search "error" --limit 20

Statistics

# Overall stats (total, success rate, per-agent breakdown)
synapse history stats

# Specific agent stats
synapse history stats --agent claude

Data Export

# JSON export (stdout)
synapse history export --format json

# CSV export
synapse history export --format csv

# Save to file
synapse history export --format json --output history.json
synapse history export --format csv --agent claude > claude_history.csv

Retention Policy

# Delete data older than 30 days
synapse history cleanup --days 30

# Keep database under 100MB
synapse history cleanup --max-size 100

# Force (no confirmation)
synapse history cleanup --days 30 --force

# Dry run
synapse history cleanup --days 30 --dry-run

Storage:

• SQLite database: ~/.synapse/history/history.db
• Stored: task ID, agent name, input, output, status, metadata
• Auto-indexed: agent_name, timestamp, task_id

Settings:

• Enabled by default (v0.3.13+)
• Disable: SYNAPSE_HISTORY_ENABLED=false

synapse send Command (Recommended)

Use synapse send for inter-agent communication. Works in sandboxed environments.

synapse send <target> "<message>" [--from <sender>] [--priority <1-5>] [--response | --no-response]

Target Formats:

Format	Example	Description
Custom name	my-claude	Highest priority, use when agent has a name
Agent type	claude	Only works when single instance exists
Type-port	claude-8100	Use when multiple instances of same type
Full ID	synapse-claude-8100	Complete agent ID

When multiple agents of the same type are running, type-only (e.g., claude) will error. Use claude-8100 or synapse-claude-8100.

Options:

Option	Short	Description
--from	-f	Sender agent ID (for reply identification)
--priority	-p	Priority 1-4: normal, 5: emergency stop (sends SIGINT)
--response	-	Roundtrip - sender waits, receiver replies with synapse reply
--no-response	-	Oneway - fire and forget, no reply needed

Examples:

# Send message (single instance)
synapse send claude "Hello" --priority 1 --from synapse-codex-8121

# Long message support (automatic temp-file fallback)
synapse send claude --message-file /path/to/message.txt --no-response
echo "very long content..." | synapse send claude --stdin --no-response

# File attachments
synapse send claude "Review this" --attach src/main.py --no-response

# Send to specific instance (multiple of same type)
synapse send claude-8100 "Hello" --from synapse-claude-8101

# Emergency stop
synapse send claude "Stop!" --priority 5 --from synapse-codex-8121

# Wait for response (roundtrip)
synapse send gemini "Analyze this" --response --from synapse-claude-8100

Default behavior: With a2a.flow=auto (default), synapse send waits for a response unless --no-response is specified.

Important: Always use --from with your agent ID (format: synapse-<type>-<port>).

synapse reply Command

Reply to the last received message:

synapse reply "<message>"

The --from flag is only needed in sandboxed environments (like Codex). Without --from, Synapse auto-detects the sender via process ancestry.

Low-Level A2A Tool

For advanced operations:

# List agents
python -m synapse.tools.a2a list

# Send message
python -m synapse.tools.a2a send --target claude --priority 1 "Hello"

# Reply to last received message (uses reply tracking)
python -m synapse.tools.a2a reply "Here is my response"

---

API Endpoints

A2A Compliant

Endpoint	Method	Description
/.well-known/agent.json	GET	Agent Card
/tasks/send	POST	Send message
/tasks/send-priority	POST	Send with priority
/tasks/create	POST	Create task (no PTY send, for --response)
/tasks/{id}	GET	Get task status
/tasks	GET	List tasks
/tasks/{id}/cancel	POST	Cancel task
/status	GET	READY/PROCESSING status

Agent Teams

Endpoint	Method	Description
/tasks/board	GET	List shared task board
/tasks/board	POST	Create task on board
/tasks/board/{id}/claim	POST	Claim task atomically
/tasks/board/{id}/complete	POST	Complete task
/tasks/{id}/approve	POST	Approve a plan
/tasks/{id}/reject	POST	Reject a plan with reason
/team/start	POST	Start multiple agents in terminal panes (A2A-initiated)
/spawn	POST	Spawn a single agent in a new terminal pane (A2A-initiated)

Synapse Extensions

Endpoint	Method	Description
/reply-stack/get	GET	Get sender info without removing (for peek before send)
/reply-stack/pop	GET	Pop sender info from reply map (for synapse reply)
/tasks/{id}/subscribe	GET	Subscribe to task updates via SSE

Webhooks

Endpoint	Method	Description
/webhooks	POST	Register a webhook for task notifications
/webhooks	GET	List registered webhooks
/webhooks	DELETE	Unregister a webhook
/webhooks/deliveries	GET	Recent webhook delivery attempts

External Agents

Endpoint	Method	Description
/external/discover	POST	Register external agent
/external/agents	GET	List
/external/agents/{alias}	DELETE	Remove
/external/agents/{alias}/send	POST	Send

---

Task Structure

In the A2A protocol, all communication is managed as Tasks.

Task Lifecycle

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> submitted: POST /tasks/send
    submitted --> working: Processing starts
    working --> completed: Success
    working --> failed: Error
    working --> input_required: Waiting for input
    input_required --> working: Input received
    completed --> [*]
    failed --> [*]

Task Object

{
  "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "context_id": "conversation-123",
  "status": "working",
  "message": {
    "role": "user",
    "parts": [{ "type": "text", "text": "Review this design" }]
  },
  "artifacts": [],
  "metadata": {
    "sender": {
      "sender_id": "synapse-claude-8100",
      "sender_type": "claude",
      "sender_endpoint": "http://localhost:8100"
    }
  },
  "created_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:05Z"
}

Field Descriptions

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Unique task identifier (UUID)
context_id	string?	Conversation context ID (for multi-turn)
status	string	submitted / working / completed / failed / input_required
message	Message	Sent message
artifacts	Artifact[]	Task output artifacts
metadata	object	Sender info (metadata.sender)
created_at	string	Creation timestamp (ISO 8601)
updated_at	string	Update timestamp (ISO 8601)

Message Structure

{
  "role": "user",
  "parts": [
    { "type": "text", "text": "Message content" },
    {
      "type": "file",
      "file": {
        "name": "doc.pdf",
        "mimeType": "application/pdf",
        "bytes": "..."
      }
    }
  ]
}

Part Type	Description
text	Text message
file	File attachment
data	Structured data

---

Sender Identification

The sender of A2A messages can be identified via metadata.sender.

PTY Output Format

Messages are sent to the agent's PTY with a simple A2A: prefix:

A2A: <message content>

Reply Handling

Synapse automatically manages reply routing. Agents simply use synapse reply:

synapse reply "Here is my response"

The framework internally tracks sender information and routes replies automatically.

Task API Verification (Development)

curl -s http://localhost:8120/tasks/<id> | jq '.metadata.sender'

Response:

{
  "sender_id": "synapse-claude-8100",
  "sender_type": "claude",
  "sender_endpoint": "http://localhost:8100"
}

How It Works

1. On send: Reference Registry, identify own agent_id via PID matching
2. On Task creation: Attach sender info to metadata.sender
3. On receive: Check via PTY prefix or Task API

---

Priority Levels

Priority	Behavior	Use Case
1-4	Normal stdin write	Regular messages
5	SIGINT then write	Emergency stop

# Emergency stop
synapse send claude "Stop!" --priority 5

---

Agent Card

Each agent publishes an Agent Card at /.well-known/agent.json.

curl http://localhost:8100/.well-known/agent.json

{
  "name": "Synapse Claude",
  "description": "PTY-wrapped claude CLI agent with A2A communication",
  "url": "http://localhost:8100",
  "capabilities": {
    "streaming": false,
    "pushNotifications": false,
    "multiTurn": true
  },
  "skills": [
    {
      "id": "chat",
      "name": "Chat",
      "description": "Send messages to the CLI agent"
    },
    {
      "id": "interrupt",
      "name": "Interrupt",
      "description": "Interrupt current processing"
    }
  ],
  "extensions": {
    "synapse": {
      "agent_id": "synapse-claude-8100",
      "pty_wrapped": true,
      "priority_interrupt": true,
      "at_agent_syntax": true
    }
  }
}

Design Philosophy

Agent Card is a "business card" containing only external-facing information:

• capabilities, skills, endpoint, etc.
• Internal instructions are not included (sent via A2A Task at startup)

---

Registry and Port Management

Registry Files

~/.a2a/registry/
├── synapse-claude-8100.json
├── synapse-claude-8101.json
└── synapse-gemini-8110.json

Auto Cleanup

Stale entries are automatically removed during:

• synapse list execution
• Message sending (when target is dead)

Port Ranges

PORT_RANGES = {
    "claude": (8100, 8109),
    "gemini": (8110, 8119),
    "codex": (8120, 8129),
    "opencode": (8130, 8139),
    "copilot": (8140, 8149),
    "dummy": (8190, 8199),
}

Typical Memory Usage (Resident Agents)

On macOS, idle resident agents are lightweight. As of January 25, 2026, RSS is around ~12 MB per agent process in a typical development setup.

Actual usage varies by profile, plugins, history settings, and workload. Note that ps reports RSS in KB (so ~12 MB corresponds to ~12,000 KB). To measure on your machine:

ps -o pid,comm,rss,vsz,etime,command -A | rg "synapse"

If you don't have ripgrep:

ps -o pid,comm,rss,vsz,etime,command -A | grep "synapse"

---

File Safety

Prevents conflicts when multiple agents edit the same files simultaneously.

sequenceDiagram
    participant Claude
    participant FS as File Safety
    participant Gemini

    Claude->>FS: acquire_lock("auth.py")
    FS-->>Claude: ACQUIRED

    Gemini->>FS: validate_write("auth.py")
    FS-->>Gemini: DENIED (locked by claude)

    Claude->>FS: release_lock("auth.py")
    Gemini->>FS: acquire_lock("auth.py")
    FS-->>Gemini: ACQUIRED

Features

Feature	Description
File Locking	Exclusive control prevents simultaneous editing
Change Tracking	Records who changed what and when
Context Injection	Provides recent change history on read
Pre-write Validation	Checks lock status before writing
List Integration	Active locks visible in synapse list EDITING_FILE column

Enable

# Enable via environment variable
export SYNAPSE_FILE_SAFETY_ENABLED=true
synapse claude

Basic Commands

# Show statistics
synapse file-safety status

# List active locks
synapse file-safety locks

# Acquire lock
synapse file-safety lock /path/to/file.py claude --intent "Refactoring"

# Wait for lock to be released
synapse file-safety lock /path/to/file.py claude --wait --wait-timeout 60 --wait-interval 2

# Release lock
synapse file-safety unlock /path/to/file.py claude

# File change history
synapse file-safety history /path/to/file.py

# Recent changes
synapse file-safety recent

# Delete old data
synapse file-safety cleanup --days 30

Python API

from synapse.file_safety import FileSafetyManager, ChangeType, LockStatus

manager = FileSafetyManager.from_env()

# Acquire lock
result = manager.acquire_lock("/path/to/file.py", "claude", intent="Refactoring")
if result["status"] == LockStatus.ACQUIRED:
    # Edit file...

    # Record change
    manager.record_modification(
        file_path="/path/to/file.py",
        agent_name="claude",
        task_id="task-123",
        change_type=ChangeType.MODIFY,
        intent="Fix authentication bug"
    )

    # Release lock
    manager.release_lock("/path/to/file.py", "claude")

# Pre-write validation
validation = manager.validate_write("/path/to/file.py", "gemini")
if not validation["allowed"]:
    print(f"Write blocked: {validation['reason']}")

Storage: Default is .synapse/file_safety.db (SQLite, relative to working directory). Change via SYNAPSE_FILE_SAFETY_DB_PATH (e.g., ~/.synapse/file_safety.db for global).

See docs/file-safety.md for details.

---

Agent Monitor

Real-time monitoring of agent status with terminal jump capability.

Rich TUI Mode

# Start Rich TUI with auto-refresh (default)
synapse list

The display automatically updates when agent status changes (via file watcher) with a 10-second fallback polling interval.

Display Columns

Column	Description
ID	Agent ID (e.g., synapse-claude-8100)
NAME	Custom name (if assigned)
TYPE	Agent type (claude, gemini, codex, etc.)
ROLE	Agent role description (if assigned)
STATUS	Current status (READY, WAITING, PROCESSING, DONE)
CURRENT	Current task preview
TRANSPORT	Communication transport indicator
WORKING_DIR	Current working directory
EDITING_FILE	File being edited (File Safety enabled only)

Customize columns in settings.json:

{
  "list": {
    "columns": ["ID", "NAME", "STATUS", "CURRENT", "TRANSPORT", "WORKING_DIR"]
  }
}

Status States

Status	Color	Meaning
READY	Green	Agent is idle, waiting for input
WAITING	Cyan	Agent is showing selection UI, waiting for user choice
PROCESSING	Yellow	Agent is actively working
DONE	Blue	Task completed (auto-transitions to READY after 10s)

Interactive Controls

Key	Action
1-9	Select agent row (direct)
↑/↓	Navigate agent rows
Enter or j	Jump to selected agent's terminal
k	Kill selected agent (with confirmation)
/	Filter by TYPE, NAME, or WORKING_DIR
ESC	Clear filter/selection
q	Quit

Supported Terminals: iTerm2, Terminal.app, Ghostty, VS Code, tmux, Zellij

WAITING Detection

Note: WAITING detection is currently disabled due to false positives on startup. See #140 for details.

When enabled, detects agents waiting for user input (selection UI, Y/n prompts) using regex patterns:

• Gemini: ● 1. Option selection UI, Allow execution prompts
• Claude: ❯ Option cursor, ☐/☑ checkboxes, [Y/n] prompts
• Codex: Indented numbered lists
• OpenCode: Numbered choices, selection indicators, [y/N] prompts
• Copilot: Numbered choices, selection indicators, [y/N] or (y/n) prompts

---

Testing

Comprehensive test suite verifies A2A protocol compliance:

# All tests
pytest

# Specific category
pytest tests/test_a2a_compat.py -v
pytest tests/test_sender_identification.py -v

---

Configuration (.synapse)

Customize environment variables and initial instructions via .synapse/settings.json.

Scopes

Scope	Path	Priority
User	~/.synapse/settings.json	Low
Project	./.synapse/settings.json	Medium
Local	./.synapse/settings.local.json	High (gitignore recommended)

Higher priority settings override lower ones.

Setup

# Create .synapse/ directory (copies all template files)
synapse init

# ? Where do you want to create .synapse/?
#   ❯ User scope (~/.synapse/)
#     Project scope (./.synapse/)
#
# ✔ Created ~/.synapse

# Reset to defaults
synapse reset

# Edit settings interactively (TUI)
synapse config

# Show current settings (read-only)
synapse config show
synapse config show --scope user

synapse init copies these files to .synapse/:

File	Description
settings.json	Environment variables and initial instruction settings
default.md	Initial instructions common to all agents
gemini.md	Gemini-specific initial instructions
file-safety.md	File Safety instructions

settings.json Structure

{
  "env": {
    "SYNAPSE_HISTORY_ENABLED": "true",
    "SYNAPSE_FILE_SAFETY_ENABLED": "true",
    "SYNAPSE_FILE_SAFETY_DB_PATH": ".synapse/file_safety.db"
  },
  "instructions": {
    "default": "[SYNAPSE INSTRUCTIONS...]\n...",
    "claude": "",
    "gemini": "",
    "codex": ""
  },
  "approvalMode": "required",
  "a2a": {
    "flow": "auto"
  }
}

Environment Variables (env)

Variable	Description	Default
SYNAPSE_HISTORY_ENABLED	Enable task history	true
SYNAPSE_FILE_SAFETY_ENABLED	Enable file safety	true
SYNAPSE_FILE_SAFETY_DB_PATH	File safety DB path	.synapse/file_safety.db
SYNAPSE_FILE_SAFETY_RETENTION_DAYS	Lock history retention days	30
SYNAPSE_AUTH_ENABLED	Enable API authentication	false
SYNAPSE_API_KEYS	API keys (comma-separated)	-
SYNAPSE_ADMIN_KEY	Admin key	-
SYNAPSE_ALLOW_LOCALHOST	Skip auth for localhost	true
SYNAPSE_USE_HTTPS	Use HTTPS	false
SYNAPSE_WEBHOOK_SECRET	Webhook secret	-
SYNAPSE_WEBHOOK_TIMEOUT	Webhook timeout (sec)	10
SYNAPSE_WEBHOOK_MAX_RETRIES	Webhook retry count	3
SYNAPSE_SKILLS_DIR	Central skill store directory	~/.synapse/skills
SYNAPSE_LONG_MESSAGE_THRESHOLD	Character threshold for file storage	200
SYNAPSE_LONG_MESSAGE_TTL	TTL for message files (seconds)	3600
SYNAPSE_LONG_MESSAGE_DIR	Directory for message files	System temp
SYNAPSE_SEND_MESSAGE_THRESHOLD	Threshold for auto temp-file fallback (bytes)	102400

A2A Communication Settings (a2a)

Setting	Value	Description
flow	roundtrip	Always wait for result
flow	oneway	Always forward only (don't wait)
flow	auto	Flag-controlled; if omitted, waits by default

Approval Mode (approvalMode)

Controls whether to show a confirmation prompt before sending initial instructions.

Setting	Description
required	Show approval prompt at startup (default)
auto	Send instructions automatically without prompting

When set to required, you'll see a prompt like:

[Synapse] Agent: synapse-claude-8100 | Port: 8100
[Synapse] Initial instructions will be sent to configure A2A communication.

Proceed? [Y/n/s(skip)]:

Options:

• Y (or Enter): Send initial instructions and start agent
• n: Abort startup
• s: Start agent without sending initial instructions

Initial Instructions (instructions)

Customize instructions sent at agent startup:

{
  "instructions": {
    "default": "Common instructions for all agents",
    "claude": "Claude-specific instructions (takes priority over default)",
    "gemini": "Gemini-specific instructions",
    "codex": "Codex-specific instructions"
  }
}

Priority:

1. Agent-specific setting (claude, gemini, codex, opencode, copilot) if present
2. Otherwise use default
3. If both empty, no initial instructions sent

Placeholders:

• {{agent_id}} - Agent ID (e.g., synapse-claude-8100)
• {{port}} - Port number (e.g., 8100)

See guides/settings.md for details.

---

Development & Release

Publishing to PyPI

Merging a pyproject.toml version change to main automatically creates a git tag, GitHub Release, and publishes to PyPI.

# 1. Update version in pyproject.toml and CHANGELOG.md
# 2. Create PR and merge to main
# 3. Automation handles: tag → GitHub Release → PyPI → Homebrew/Scoop PR

Manual Publishing (Fallback)

# Build and publish with uv
uv build
uv publish

User Installation

macOS / Linux / WSL2 (recommended):

pipx install synapse-a2a

# Upgrade
pipx upgrade synapse-a2a

# Uninstall
pipx uninstall synapse-a2a

Windows (Scoop, experimental — WSL2 required for pty):

scoop bucket add synapse-a2a https://github.com/s-hiraoku/scoop-synapse-a2a
scoop install synapse-a2a

# Upgrade
scoop update synapse-a2a

---

Known Limitations

• TUI Rendering: Display may be garbled with Ink-based CLIs
• PTY Limitations: Some special input sequences not supported
• Codex Sandbox: Codex CLI's sandbox blocks network access, requiring configuration for inter-agent communication (see below)

Inter-Agent Communication in Codex CLI

Codex CLI runs in a sandbox by default with restricted network access. To use @agent pattern for inter-agent communication, allow network access in ~/.codex/config.toml.

Global Setting (applies to all projects):

# ~/.codex/config.toml

sandbox_mode = "workspace-write"

[sandbox_workspace_write]
network_access = true

Per-Project Setting:

# ~/.codex/config.toml

[projects."/path/to/your/project"]
sandbox_mode = "workspace-write"

[projects."/path/to/your/project".sandbox_workspace_write]
network_access = true

See guides/troubleshooting.md for details.

---

Enterprise Features

Security, notification, and high-performance communication features for production environments.

API Key Authentication

# Start with authentication enabled
export SYNAPSE_AUTH_ENABLED=true
export SYNAPSE_API_KEYS=<YOUR_API_KEY>
synapse claude

# Request with API Key
curl -H "X-API-Key: <YOUR_API_KEY>" http://localhost:8100/tasks

Webhook Notifications

Send notifications to external URLs when tasks complete.

# Register webhook
curl -X POST http://localhost:8100/webhooks \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://your-server.com/hook", "events": ["task.completed"]}'

Event	Description
task.completed	Task completed successfully
task.failed	Task failed
task.canceled	Task canceled

SSE Streaming

Receive task output in real-time.

curl -N http://localhost:8100/tasks/{task_id}/subscribe

Event types:

Event	Description
output	New CLI output
status	Status change
done	Task complete (includes Artifact)

Output Parsing

Automatically parse CLI output for error detection, status updates, and Artifact generation.

Feature	Description
Error Detection	Detects command not found, permission denied, etc.
input_required	Detects question/confirmation prompts
Output Parser	Structures code/files/errors

gRPC Support

Use gRPC for high-performance communication.

# Install gRPC dependencies
pip install synapse-a2a[grpc]

# gRPC runs on REST port + 1
# REST: 8100 → gRPC: 8101

See guides/enterprise.md for details.

---

Documentation

Path	Content
guides/usage.md	Detailed usage
guides/architecture.md	Architecture details
guides/enterprise.md	Enterprise features
guides/troubleshooting.md	Troubleshooting
docs/file-safety.md	File conflict prevention
docs/project-philosophy.md	Design philosophy

---

License

MIT License

---

Related Links

• Claude Code - Anthropic's CLI agent
• OpenCode - Open-source AI coding agent
• GitHub Copilot CLI - GitHub's AI coding assistant
• Google A2A Protocol - Agent-to-Agent protocol