Headless Orchestrator

Self-bootstrap agent-relay infrastructure and manage a team of agents autonomously.

Overview

A headless orchestrator is an agent that:

1. Starts the relay infrastructure itself (agent-relay up)
2. Spawns and manages worker agents
3. Monitors agent lifecycle events
4. Coordinates work without human intervention

When to Use

• Agent needs full control over its worker team
• No human available to run agent-relay up manually
• Agent should manage agent lifecycle autonomously
• Building self-contained multi-agent systems

Quick Reference

Step	Command/Tool
Verify installation	command -v agent-relay or npx agent-relay --version
Verify Node runtime if shim fails	node --version or fix mise/asdf first
Start infrastructure	agent-relay up --no-dashboard --verbose
Check status	agent-relay status
Spawn worker	agent-relay spawn Worker1 claude "task"
List workers	agent-relay who
View worker logs	agent-relay agents:logs Worker1
Send DM to worker	agent-relay send Worker1 "message"
Post to channel	agent-relay send '#general' "message"
Read worker's unread DM replies	agent-relay inbox --agent Worker1
Read full DM conversation history	agent-relay history --to Worker1
Release worker	agent-relay release Worker1
Stop infrastructure	agent-relay down

Bootstrap Flow

Step 0: Verify Installation

# Check if agent-relay is available
command -v agent-relay || npx agent-relay --version

# If your shell reports a mise/asdf shim error, fix Node first
node --version
# e.g. for mise: mise use -g node@22.22.1

# If not installed, install globally
npm install -g agent-relay

# Or use npx (no global install)
npx agent-relay --version

Step 1: Start Infrastructure

Prefer a foreground stdio broker first. Background mode can be flaky in some environments and may report "started" while agent-relay status still shows STOPPED.

# Preferred: run broker in foreground/stdin mode and keep the session open
agent-relay up --no-dashboard --verbose

Verify broker readiness before spawning any workers:

# Must show "running" before you spawn workers
agent-relay status

The broker:

• Auto-creates a Relaycast workspace if RELAY_API_KEY not set
• Removes CLAUDECODE env var when spawning (fixes nested session error)
• Persists state to .agent-relay/

Step 2: Spawn Workers via MCP

mcp__relaycast__agent_add(
  name: "Worker1",
  cli: "claude",
  task: "Implement the authentication module following the existing patterns"
)

CLI equivalent:

agent-relay spawn Worker1 claude "Implement the authentication module following the existing patterns"

Step 3: Monitor and Coordinate

# Check if workers have replied (returns unread counts — not the content)
mcp__relaycast__message_inbox_check()

# List Worker1's DM conversations (use `as` to specify the agent)
mcp__relaycast__message_dm_list(as: "Worker1")

# Send a targeted DM to a specific worker
mcp__relaycast__message_dm_send(to: "Worker1", text: "Also add unit tests")

# Broadcast to all agents on a channel
mcp__relaycast__message_post(channel: "general", text: "All workers: wrap up current task")

# List active workers
mcp__relaycast__agent_list()

Step 4: Release Workers

mcp__relaycast__agent_remove(name: "Worker1")

Step 5: Shutdown (optional)

agent-relay down

CLI Commands for Orchestration

Use the agent-relay CLI extensively for monitoring and managing workers. The CLI provides essential visibility into agent activity.

Channel vs DM — When to Use Each

DM — targeted, private, for responses you need to read back:

• agent-relay send Worker1 "message" — sends a DM to Worker1
• mcp__relaycast__message_dm_send(to: "Worker1", text: "...") — same via MCP
• Worker replies arrive as DMs back to the sender

Channel post — broadcast, visible to all agents on that channel:

• agent-relay send '#general' "message" — posts to #general (# prefix required)
• mcp__relaycast__message_post(channel: "general", text: "...") — same via MCP
• Use for coordination messages, status updates, announcements

Critical: history only shows channel messages, not DMs. After sending a DM to a worker, their reply will NOT appear in agent-relay history. Use inbox --agent or message_dm_list to read DM replies.

inbox --agent <name> shows only unread notifications — once read, they disappear. For the full conversation thread (including already-read messages) use history --to <agent>.

# WRONG — history (no flags) will not show DM replies from workers
agent-relay history

# Read a worker's UNREAD DM replies (clears after reading)
agent-relay inbox --agent Worker1

# Read the full DM conversation history with a worker (read + unread)
agent-relay history --to Worker1

# Read only the thread between two specific agents
agent-relay history --to Worker1 --from Orchestrator

# WRONG — inbox_check only tells you there are unread messages, not what they say
mcp__relaycast__message_inbox_check()

# RIGHT — list Worker1's DM conversations and content (as = the agent to read as)
mcp__relaycast__message_dm_list(as: "Worker1")

Spawning and Messaging

# Spawn a worker
agent-relay spawn Worker1 claude "Implement auth module"

# Send a DM to a specific worker (replies readable via inbox --agent)
agent-relay send Worker1 "Add unit tests too"

# Broadcast to all workers via channel
agent-relay send '#general' "Team: wrap up and report status"

# Read Worker1's DM reply
agent-relay inbox --agent Worker1

# Release when done
agent-relay release Worker1

Monitoring Workers (Essential)

# Show currently active agents
agent-relay who

# View real-time output from a worker (critical for debugging)
agent-relay agents:logs Worker1

# Read DM replies from a specific worker
agent-relay inbox --agent Worker1

# View channel message history (channel posts only — not DMs)
agent-relay history --to '#general'

# Check overall system status
agent-relay status

Troubleshooting

# Kill unresponsive worker
agent-relay agents:kill Worker1

# Re-check broker status
agent-relay status

# If a worker looks stuck, inspect its logs first
agent-relay agents:logs Worker1

Tip: Run agent-relay agents:logs <name> frequently to monitor worker progress and catch errors early.

Orchestrator Instructions Template

Give your lead agent these instructions:

You are an autonomous orchestrator. Bootstrap the relay infrastructure and manage a team of workers.

## Step 1: Verify Installation
Run: command -v agent-relay || npx agent-relay --version
If you hit a mise/asdf shim error: verify Node first with `node --version`, then fix the runtime manager
If not found: npm install -g agent-relay

## Step 2: Start Infrastructure
Run: agent-relay up --no-dashboard --verbose
Verify: agent-relay status (should show "running")

## Step 3: Manage Your Team

Spawn workers:
  agent-relay spawn Worker1 claude "Task description"

Monitor workers (do this frequently):
  agent-relay who              # List active workers
  agent-relay agents:logs Worker1  # View worker output/progress

Send targeted DM instructions:
  agent-relay send Worker1 "Additional instructions"

Broadcast to all workers:
  agent-relay send '#general' "All workers: prioritize the auth module"

Read worker replies (DMs are not visible in history):
  agent-relay inbox --agent Worker1

Release when done:
  agent-relay release Worker1

## Protocol
- Workers will ACK when they receive tasks
- Workers will send DONE when complete
- Use `agent-relay agents:logs <name>` to monitor progress
- Use `agent-relay inbox --agent <name>` to read **unread** DM replies from a worker (clears after reading)
- Use `agent-relay history --to <name>` to re-read the full DM conversation (read + unread)
- Use `agent-relay history --to '#general'` to see channel message flow
- Do NOT use `agent-relay history` alone to check worker replies — it only shows channel posts, DM replies are invisible there

Lifecycle Events

The broker emits these events (available via SDK subscriptions):

Event	When
agent_spawned	Worker process started
worker_ready	Worker connected to relay
agent_idle	Worker waiting for messages
agent_exited	Worker process ended
agent_permanently_dead	Worker failed after retries

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
agent-relay: command not found or mise/asdf shim error	Ensure Node is available first (node --version); if a shim is broken, fix the runtime manager, then install/use agent-relay
"Nested session" error	Broker handles this automatically; if running manually, unset CLAUDECODE env var
Broker not starting	Try agent-relay down first, then use foreground agent-relay up --no-dashboard --verbose to see readiness logs
Background broker says started but status is STOPPED	Prefer foreground mode for that project/session; background mode may have detached incorrectly
Spawn fails with internal reply dropped	Broker likely is not fully ready yet; wait for readiness, then spawn one worker first
Workers not connecting	Ensure broker started; check agent-relay who and worker logs
Not monitoring workers	Use agent-relay agents:logs <name> frequently to track progress
Workers seem stuck	Check logs with agent-relay agents:logs <name> for errors
Messages not delivered	Check agent-relay history --to '#general' for channel messages; use agent-relay inbox --agent <name> for DMs
Worker replies not showing in history	Expected — history only shows channel posts. Use agent-relay inbox --agent <name> (unread only) or agent-relay history --to <name> (full thread) to read DM replies
inbox_check shows unread but can't see content	inbox_check only returns counts. Use mcp__relaycast__message_dm_list(as: "<name>") to list conversations, or agent-relay inbox --agent <name> via CLI
inbox --agent showed messages once but now shows nothing	inbox only shows unread — already-read messages won't reappear. Use agent-relay history --to <name> to re-read the full conversation
Sent to wrong destination	agent-relay send Worker1 "..." = DM; agent-relay send '#general' "..." = channel broadcast. The # prefix is required for channels

Prerequisites

1. agent-relay CLI installed (required)

   npm install -g agent-relay
   # Or use npx without installing: npx agent-relay <command>
   

2. For spawning Claude agents: Valid Anthropic credentials

   • Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or authenticate via claude auth login

3. For MCP tools (optional): Relaycast MCP server configured in Claude's MCP settings