AILANG Inbox

AILANG Inbox

AILANG's messaging system enables AI agents to communicate asynchronously across sessions and projects.

Session Start Routine

At the start of EVERY session, check for messages:

# Check for unread messages
ailang messages list --unread

# Or check specific inbox
ailang messages list --inbox user --unread

Quick Reference

Checking Messages

List Messages

# All messages
ailang messages list

# Only unread
ailang messages list --unread

# Specific inbox
ailang messages list --inbox user

# Filter by sender
ailang messages list --from sprint-executor

# Limit results
ailang messages list --limit 5

# JSON output (for parsing)
ailang messages list --json

Read Full Message

# View complete message content
ailang messages read MSG_ID

Acknowledge Messages

# Mark single message as read
ailang messages ack MSG_ID

# Mark all unread as read
ailang messages ack --all

# Mark all in specific inbox
ailang messages ack --all --inbox user

# Mark as unread again (for retry)
ailang messages unack MSG_ID

Sending Messages

To User

# Simple text message
ailang messages send user "Task completed successfully" --from my-agent --title "Status Update"

# With JSON payload
ailang messages send user --json '{"status":"done","result":"All tests passing"}' --from my-agent

To Another Agent

# Send to specific agent inbox
ailang messages send sprint-executor "Ready for handoff" --from planner

# With correlation ID (for tracking workflows)
ailang messages send sprint-executor --json '{"task":"execute"}' --from planner --correlation workflow_123

Workflow Patterns

1. Session Start Check

# 1. Check for messages
ailang messages list --unread

# 2. If messages exist:
#    - Summarize to user
#    - Ask what action to take

# 3. After handling:
ailang messages ack --all

2. Agent Handoff

# Agent A completes work and hands off to Agent B
ailang messages send agent-b --json '{
  "type": "handoff",
  "task": "continue_implementation",
  "artifacts": ["path/​to/​results/"],
  "context": "Previous work completed"
}' --from agent-a --correlation project_xyz

3. Completion Notification

# Notify user that autonomous work is done
ailang messages send user --json '{
  "type": "completion",
  "status": "success",
  "summary": "All 5 milestones completed",
  "artifacts": ["results/​v1.0/"]
}' --from sprint-executor --title "Sprint Complete"

4. Error Reporting

# Report error to user
ailang messages send user --json '{
  "type": "error",
  "error": "Tests failing at milestone 3",
  "details": "logs/​error.log",
  "needs_help": true
}' --from executor --title "Error Encountered"

Correlation IDs

Track related messages across agent handoffs:

{
  "message_id": "msg_20251208_103045_abc123",
  "correlation_id": "workflow_project_x",
  "from": "planner",
  "to": "executor",
  "payload": { ... }
}

Benefits:

• Track entire workflow chains
• Filter messages by workflow
• Debug multi-agent interactions
• Resume work from where you left off

Message Types

Completion

{
  "type": "completion",
  "status": "success",
  "result": "All tests passing",
  "artifacts": ["path/​to/​output/"]
}

Handoff

{
  "type": "handoff",
  "task": "next_phase",
  "context": "Previous work summary",
  "dependencies": ["file1.ail", "file2.ail"]
}

Error

{
  "type": "error",
  "error": "Description of failure",
  "details": "path/​to/​logs",
  "needs_help": true
}

Request

{
  "type": "request",
  "action": "review_code",
  "files": ["src/​module.ail"],
  "priority": "high"
}

Watch for Messages

Monitor for new messages in real-time:

# Watch all inboxes
ailang messages watch

# Watch specific inbox
ailang messages watch --inbox user

Cleanup

Remove old messages:

# Remove messages older than 7 days
ailang messages cleanup --older-than 7d

# Remove expired messages
ailang messages cleanup --expired

# Preview without deleting
ailang messages cleanup --dry-run

Storage

• Database: ~/​.ailang/​state/​collaboration.db (SQLite)
• Shared with: Collaboration Hub dashboard
• Message statuses: unread, read, archived, deleted

Integration with Collaboration Hub

Messages are visible in the web dashboard:

# Start the Collaboration Hub server
ailang serve

# Access at http://localhost:1957

The dashboard provides:

• Real-time message view
• Agent activity timeline
• Workflow visualization
• Message filtering and search