Agent Communication

A Multi-Agent Communication System using Model Context Protocol (MCP) with file-based storage for autonomous AI agent collaboration.

Overview

This system enables autonomous AI agents/LLMs to collaborate on software development projects while maintaining independence over their respective codebases. Each agent manages its own development context, memory, and task queue through file-based storage, while communicating and coordinating with other agents via MCP services.

Features

• Real MCP Server: Implements proper Model Context Protocol server that agents connect to
• File-Based Agent Memory: Each agent maintains context and tasks as simple files for immediate productivity
• JSON-RPC Communication: Standard JSON-RPC over stdio for MCP protocol compliance
• Autonomous Agent Operation: Real agents connect and communicate via MCP protocol
• Dependency Management: Clear consumer-producer relationships between agents
• Task Coordination: File-based request-response mechanism for cross-agent collaboration
• Automatic Incorporation Tasks: When an agent completes a task created by another agent, an incorporation task is automatically created for the creator to review and integrate changes
• HTTP API Wrapper: REST API for easier testing and integration
• Docker Support: Containerized deployment with monitoring capabilities

Quick Start

Global Installation (Recommended)

1. Install globally:

   npm install -g agent-communication-mcp
   

2. Start the MCP server:

   agent-mcp server
   

3. Configure Claude Desktop: Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "agent-communication-mcp": {
         "command": "agent-mcp",
         "args": ["server"],
         "env": {
           "NODE_ENV": "production"
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

4. Restart Claude Desktop and start using AI agents!

Local Development

1. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

2. Start the MCP server:

   npm start
   

3. Test MCP connections:

   npm run test:mcp
   

4. Run the HTTP API (for easier testing):

   npm run api
   

Using Docker

Prerequisites

• Docker Desktop: Download and install from docker.com
• Ensure Docker Desktop is running before executing any Docker commands

Setup and Run

1. Setup Docker environment:

   npm run docker:setup
   

   Windows Users: This command automatically detects your platform and uses PowerShell scripts for Windows compatibility.

2. Build and run with Docker:

   npm run docker:run
   

   Note: If you get connection errors, ensure Docker Desktop is running and try again.

3. View logs:

   npm run docker:logs
   

4. Stop the system:

   npm run docker:down
   

Troubleshooting Docker on Windows

If you encounter issues:

• "Docker is not running": Start Docker Desktop and wait for it to fully initialize
• Permission errors: Run your terminal as Administrator
• Build failures: Try docker system prune to clean up disk space
• Port conflicts: Ensure port 3000 is not in use by other applications

For detailed Windows setup instructions, see the Windows Docker Setup Guide.

Architecture

Agent Structure

Each AI agent consists of:

• Agent ID: Unique identifier for the LLM agent
• Context Memory: Markdown file containing agent's knowledge and state
• Task Queue: File-based ordered list of tasks with priorities and dependencies
• Codebase: The software project the AI agent is responsible for developing
• Relationships: Consumer/producer mappings with other agents
• MCP Service: Model Context Protocol service for communication

File Structure

agents/
├── agent-id/
│   ├── context.md          # Agent's knowledge base and current state
│   ├── tasks/
│   │   ├── active.json     # Current active tasks
│   │   ├── pending.json    # Queued tasks
│   │   ├── completed.json  # Historical completed tasks
│   │   └── requests/       # Inter-agent communication
│   │       ├── incoming/   # Tasks received from other agents
│   │       └── outgoing/   # Tasks sent to other agents
│   ├── relationships.json  # Consumer/producer mappings
│   └── mcp_config.json    # MCP service configuration

Usage Examples

Creating Agents

const { AgentCommunicationSystem } = require('./src/index');

const system = new AgentCommunicationSystem();
await system.start();

// Register agents
const frontendAgent = await system.registerAgent('frontend-agent');
const apiAgent = await system.registerAgent('api-agent');
const dbAgent = await system.registerAgent('database-agent');

Establishing Relationships

// Frontend consumes API services
await frontendAgent.relationshipManager.addProducer('api-agent');
await apiAgent.relationshipManager.addConsumer('frontend-agent');

Creating Task Requests

await system.createTaskRequest('frontend-agent', 'api-agent', {
    title: 'Create User Authentication API',
    description: 'Need REST endpoints for user login, logout, and registration',
    priority: 'high',
    deliverables: ['/api/auth/login', '/api/auth/logout', '/api/auth/register'],
    metadata: {
        estimated_effort: '8 hours',
        tags: ['authentication', 'api', 'security']
    }
});

Managing Tasks

// Get agent's task queue
const taskQueue = agent.taskQueue;

// Add a task
const task = new Task({
    title: 'Implement user registration',
    description: 'Create user registration endpoint with validation',
    priority: 'high',
    agent_id: 'api-agent'
});
await taskQueue.addTask(task);

// Activate a task
await taskQueue.activateTask(task.id);

// Complete a task
await taskQueue.completeTask(task.id, ['user-registration.js', 'validation-schema.js']);

// When an agent completes a task created by another agent,
// an incorporation task is automatically created for the creator
// to review and incorporate the changes

Automatic Incorporation Task Guidance

When an agent completes a task that was created by a different agent, the MCP server provides detailed guidance and metadata to help the LLM agent create an appropriate incorporation task for the original creator.

How it works:

1. Agent A creates a task for Agent B
2. Agent B completes the task using task/update with status 'completed'
3. MCP server detects cross-agent completion and provides incorporation guidance
4. LLM agent can use the guidance to create an incorporation task for Agent A

MCP Server Response for Cross-Agent Task Completion:

When completing a task created by another agent, the task/update method returns:

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Task completed",
  "task": { /* completed task data */ },
  "incorporation_needed": true,
  "incorporation_guidance": {
    "message": "This task was created by creator-agent. Consider creating an incorporation task...",
    "creator_agent": "creator-agent",
    "completed_by": "worker-agent",
    "original_task": { /* original task details */ },
    "suggested_incorporation_task": {
      "title": "Incorporate changes from: [Original Task Title]",
      "description": "Task has been completed by worker-agent. Please review and incorporate...",
      "agent_id": "creator-agent",
      "created_by": "worker-agent",
      "target_agent_id": "creator-agent",
      "reference_task_id": "original-task-id",
      "deliverables": ["file1.js", "file2.js"],
      "metadata": {
        "incorporation_task": true,
        "original_task_id": "original-task-id",
        "completed_by": "worker-agent",
        "tags": ["incorporation", "review"]
      }
    },
    "implementation_steps": [
      "1. Create a new task for agent 'creator-agent' using the suggested_incorporation_task data",
      "2. Use the task/create method with agentId='creator-agent'",
      "3. The incorporation task will help creator-agent review and integrate the deliverables"
    ]
  }
}

Example Usage:

// Complete a cross-agent task
const response = await mcpClient.request('task/update', {
    agentId: 'worker-agent',
    taskId: 'task-123',
    status: 'completed',
    deliverables: ['login.js', 'register.js', 'auth-middleware.js']
});

// Check if incorporation guidance is provided
if (response.incorporation_needed) {
    // Create incorporation task using the suggested data
    await mcpClient.request('task/create', {
        agentId: response.incorporation_guidance.creator_agent,
        task: response.incorporation_guidance.suggested_incorporation_task
    });
}

Claude Desktop Integration

Setup with Claude Desktop

1. Install globally:

   npm install -g agent-communication-mcp
   

2. Add to Claude Desktop config:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "agent-communication-mcp": {
         "command": "agent-mcp",
         "args": ["server"]
       }
     }
   }
   

3. Use with Claude:

   Please register a new agent with ID "frontend-dev" for React development.
   
   Create a task for frontend-dev to build a login form with validation.
   
   Show me the status of all agents in the system.
   

See Claude Desktop Integration Guide for detailed instructions.

MCP Communication

The system uses Model Context Protocol for inter-agent communication with these message types:

• TASK_REQUEST: Request for implementation or assistance
• TASK_RESPONSE: Response to a previous request
• STATUS_UPDATE: Progress updates on tasks
• DEPENDENCY_NOTIFICATION: Dependency changes
• INTEGRATION_TEST: Integration test requests
• COMPLETION_NOTIFICATION: Task completion notifications
• CONTEXT_SYNC: Context synchronization between agents

Monitoring

The system includes comprehensive monitoring capabilities:

const SystemMonitor = require('./src/monitoring/SystemMonitor');

const monitor = new SystemMonitor(system);
await monitor.start();

// Get system status
const status = await monitor.getSystemStatus();

// Generate health report
const report = await monitor.generateHealthReport();

Docker Deployment

Environment Variables

• NODE_ENV: Environment (development/production)
• MCP_LOG_LEVEL: Logging level (debug/info/warn/error)
• MCP_POLL_INTERVAL: Message polling interval in ms
• MCP_MAX_AGENTS: Maximum number of agents
• MCP_MONITOR_INTERVAL: Monitoring interval in ms

Docker Commands

# Setup environment (cross-platform)
npm run docker:setup

# Build and run (cross-platform)
npm run docker:run

# Build images only
npm run docker:build

# Start services
npm run docker:up

# View logs
npm run docker:logs

# Stop services
npm run docker:down

# Clean up
npm run docker:clean

Windows-Specific Notes

• All Docker commands are cross-platform compatible and automatically detect Windows
• PowerShell scripts are used on Windows for better compatibility
• Ensure Docker Desktop is running before executing any commands
• If using WSL2, ensure proper integration is enabled in Docker Desktop settings

Development

Project Structure

src/
├── core/
│   ├── Agent.js              # Core agent class
│   ├── Task.js               # Task management
│   ├── TaskQueue.js          # Task queue operations
│   └── RelationshipManager.js # Agent relationships
├── communication/
│   └── CommunicationProtocol.js # MCP communication
├── monitoring/
│   ├── SystemMonitor.js      # System monitoring
│   └── monitor-daemon.js     # Docker monitoring daemon
└── index.js                  # Main entry point

Running Tests

npm test
npm run test:watch

Development Mode

npm run dev  # Runs with --watch flag for auto-restart

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests for new functionality
5. Run the test suite
6. Submit a pull request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

For questions and support, please open an issue on the GitHub repository.