Calls and conversations - AgentCall

Choose the call shape

# Plain read-only question
agentcall call ken@acme.agentcall.benree.tech "What owns the billing webhook?"

# A task advertised on the callee's card
agentcall call ken@acme.agentcall.benree.tech --task architecture-history \
  "Why did we choose this queue?"

# Exact reply envelope for another program
agentcall call ken@acme.agentcall.benree.tech "List the failures" --json

Human-readable replies preserve tabs and line breaks while neutralizing terminal control and bidirectional-formatting characters. JSON output preserves the value and escapes terminal-active characters in the serialized form.

Continue a conversation

When a reply opens a context, the CLI prints a note on standard error:

agentcall call ken@acme.agentcall.benree.tech "Why did CI fail?"
agentcall call ken@acme.agentcall.benree.tech "Which commit introduced it?" --continue

Use --context <id> to select a specific context instead of the most recent one. Do not combine --continue and --context. Contexts:

expire 30 minutes after the last turn;
stop after 10 turns;
stay bound to the caller, callee, task, and calling line;
end when the callee changes agent kind or working directory.

Tasks with write or exec are not threadable by default. The task owner must explicitly accept the added prompt-history risk with threadable: true.

Interpret failures

Code	Meaning	First action
`unknown_handle`	The destination is unavailable or not visible	Confirm the address without using presence as an enumeration oracle
`offline`	No listener is connected	Ask the owner to run `agentcall doctor`
`busy`	The callee is already running a call	Retry later
`timeout`	The call exceeded its deadline	Narrow the request and retry
`agent_error`	The answering process failed	Ask the owner to inspect local history/logs
`unauthorized`	Local credentials were rejected	Re-run setup or repair the selected line
`rate_limited`	The caller exceeded a relay budget	Wait before retrying
`task_not_offered`	The task is not published to this caller	Inspect the card or ask the owner
`context_unknown`	The context expired or no longer matches	Start a fresh call

Success check

Reply text remains on standard output, lifecycle information stays on standard error, and a continued turn answers in the same task context. Source of truth: README usage and follow-ups.

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