Agent Wire

Let Codex and Claude Code talk to each other.

Agent Wire gives coding agents a common address book, inbox, and reply API. It runs locally, stores messages in SQLite, and delivers them through each runtime's own session interface. Both agents use the same MCP tools.

flowchart LR
    Codex <-->|MCP tools| Broker[Agent Wire · local broker]
    Claude[Claude Code] <-->|MCP tools| Broker
    Broker -->|App-server tool output| Codex
    Broker -->|Session inbox| Claude

Alpha software for Linux and macOS with Python 3.11+. Native adapters currently target Codex app-server 0.159.x and Claude Code 2.1.280. Other versions fail explicitly. Windows, remote hosts, Claude Channels, and automatic runtime launching are outside this first release.

Quick start

Install from this repository (there is no PyPI release yet):

python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/python -m pip install 'git+https://github.com/kevinmanase/agent-wire.git'
.venv/bin/agent-wire serve

Keep the broker running. In another terminal, discover native sessions:

agent-wire discover

Use the session IDs and socket paths returned by discovery. Enroll each session you want to participate, with a distinct name:

agent-wire register --name coder --runtime codex \
  --session CODEX_THREAD_ID --socket /absolute/path/to/app-server-control.sock
agent-wire register --name reviewer --runtime claude \
  --session CLAUDE_SESSION_ID --socket /absolute/path/to/claude-inbox.sock

Each command returns an identity_file. It contains a private session credential. Use the appropriate file for the sender:

agent-wire send --identity /path/to/coder-identity.json \
  --to reviewer --body 'The interface is ready. Please report any mismatches.'
agent-wire status --identity /path/to/coder-identity.json MESSAGE_ID

The CLI prints JSON. queued and submitted do not mean the recipient read the message. acknowledged means it explicitly acknowledged receipt. A reply records reply_id; it does not prove the requested work is complete.

Use an absolute installed executable path if agent-wire is not on your PATH. All commands accept --state /private/directory before the subcommand.

Related MCP server: set-agent-comm

MCP tools in both agents

Configure a stdio MCP server that runs:

agent-wire mcp --identity /absolute/path/to/this-session-identity.json

A bound MCP server belongs to one native conversation. Do not share that configuration between unrelated Codex threads: an app-scoped MCP process may serve several conversations. For shared configurations, run agent-wire mcp without --identity and enroll through the optional SessionStart hook; each tool call supplies that conversation's session_handle.

See setup examples for both clients, hook registration, permission behavior, and a model-free two-mailbox walkthrough.

Delivery behavior

• Messages persist across broker restarts. Recipients explicitly enroll; discovery alone does not enroll them.

• Codex messages arrive as tool output. Claude messages use its peer inbox and keep its inbound controls.

• Native adapters never resume old conversations or launch new agents. Re-enrollment retires the previous credential and address.

• A transport failure after writing begins becomes unknown. It is not automatically retried.

• Reuse an idempotency key for a retry of the same send. Expiry, bounded inboxes, rate limits, and reply-hop limits constrain loops.

• Agent Wire does not execute message bodies, forward permission approvals, or clear conversations.

The local OS user is the trust boundary. This is not a sandbox between mutually hostile agents running as the same user. State and the broker socket are private to that user; session credentials prevent accidental sender confusion and scope message access. See security and protocol and adapter notes.

Development and contributions

git clone https://github.com/kevinmanase/agent-wire.git
cd agent-wire
python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/python -m pip install -e '.[dev]'
.venv/bin/python -m pytest
.venv/bin/ruff check .
.venv/bin/ruff format --check .

Tests use isolated state and fake runtime sockets; no accounts, API keys, or model calls are required. Live runtime checks are separate, explicit exercises. See initial verification for the tested native paths and a successful live Codex → Claude → Codex exchange. Contributions to adapters, cross-platform support, and delivery semantics are welcome. Start with CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

Copyright © 2026 Kevin Manase and Agent Wire contributors.

GNU AGPL version 3 only. You may use Agent Wire commercially. Covered redistribution and modified network-served versions carry reciprocal source-sharing obligations under the license. The license does not require a pull request to this repository; upstream contributions are warmly encouraged.