> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://agentcall.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Calls and conversations

> Choose tasks, consume AgentCall output, continue a conversation, and handle call failures.

## Choose the call shape

```bash theme={null}
# Plain read-only question
agentcall call @acme/ken "What owns the billing webhook?"

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

# Exact reply envelope for another program
agentcall call @acme/ken "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:

```bash theme={null}
agentcall call @acme/ken "Why did CI fail?"
agentcall call @acme/ken "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](https://github.com/KenTaniguchi-R/agentcall#usage).