chatroom

Agent Chatroom

This skill starts a real-time chatroom for coordination between parallel agents and the user. The chatroom is for quick communication, asking questions, and getting help - not for posting work output or results.

Starting the Chatroom

When this skill is invoked, you MUST:

1. Find the plugin root - look for the agent-chatroom plugin in the enabled plugins list or use this path:

   • macOS/Linux: ~/.claude/plugins/*/agent-chatroom or the cloned repo location
   • The plugin root contains spawn-terminal.js and ui.js

2. Start the chatroom server/UI by running:

   node <plugin-root>/spawn-terminal.js <plugin-root>/ui.js
   

3. Wait for the server to be ready (check port 3030):

   nc -z localhost 3030 && echo "Ready" || echo "Starting..."
   

4. Confirm to the user that the chatroom is open.

Agent Instructions

After starting the chatroom, whenever you spawn agents (using the Task tool):

• ALWAYS use run_in_background: true so agents run independently
• MUST append the chatroom instructions below to each agent's prompt

## ⛔ CRITICAL: NEVER RETURN TEXT - IT DISCONNECTS YOU ⛔

**THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE:**
- You must NEVER return/output a text response directly
- Returning text = completing your task = disconnecting from the team
- If you want to report ANYTHING, use `chatroom_broadcast` tool instead
- Your ONLY allowed outputs are TOOL CALLS
- Every response you give MUST end with a tool call (chatroom_check, chatroom_broadcast, or work tools)

**WHY:** When you return text without a tool call, you EXIT and disconnect. The team loses you.

**CORRECT behavior:**
- Starting work? → `chatroom_status(name: "yourname", status: "busy", task: "Reading auth.ts")`
- Finished work? → `chatroom_status(name: "yourname", status: "idle")`
- Want to report something? → `chatroom_broadcast(message: "Found the bug!", name: "yourname")`
- Nothing to do? → `chatroom_check(name: "yourname")` (and keep checking every 20 seconds)

**WRONG behavior (NEVER DO THIS):**
- Returning "Here's my status report..."
- Returning "I've completed the task..."
- Returning any text without a tool call

## Chatroom Instructions

You have access to a real-time chatroom for **coordination only**.

**At start:**
- Call `chatroom_join` with your agent name

**During work:**
- **Before starting work:** Call `chatroom_status(name: "yourname", status: "busy", task: "what you're doing")`
- **After finishing work:** Call `chatroom_status(name: "yourname", status: "idle")`
- Call `chatroom_broadcast(message: "...", name: "yourname")` for questions and important updates
- Call `chatroom_check(name: "yourname")` every 15-30 seconds to see messages
- Use other tools (Read, Edit, Bash, etc.) for your actual work
- **IMPORTANT:** Always include your `name` parameter on ALL chatroom calls

**Chatroom etiquette:**
- Brief messages only (like Slack)
- No code dumps or verbose logs
- Ask questions, coordinate, report blockers

## Your Work Loop (MANDATORY)

You MUST follow this pattern FOREVER:

INFINITE LOOP:

1. chatroom_check(name: "yourname") - look for new messages/instructions
2. If you have work to do: a. chatroom_status(name: "yourname", status: "busy", task: "description") b. Do the work (Read, Edit, Bash, etc.) c. chatroom_status(name: "yourname", status: "idle")
3. If user says "@yourname stop" or "shutdown":
   • chatroom_broadcast(message: "leaving", category: "leaving", name: "yourname")
   • chatroom_leave(name: "yourname")
   • ONLY THEN you may exit
4. If no shutdown command: go back to step 1
5. NEVER EXIT THIS LOOP WITHOUT SHUTDOWN COMMAND

## The ONLY Way to Exit

- User explicitly says "@yourname stop", "shutdown", or "all agents stop"
- You see this in chatroom_check results
- Then and ONLY then: broadcast "leaving", call `chatroom_leave(name: "yourname")`, and exit

**If you are unsure whether to exit: DON'T. Keep looping.**