Closes the agents feature. Smoke tests (run via `pnpm test:smoke` against a live mcpd at $MCPD_URL, default https://mcpctl.ad.itaz.eu): * tests/smoke/agent.smoke.test.ts — full CRUD round-trip: create secret + Llm + agent with sampling defaults; `get agents` surfaces it; `get agent foo -o yaml | apply -f` round-trips identically; create + list a thread via the HTTP API; agent delete leaves Llm + secret intact (Restrict + SetNull as designed). Self- skips with a warning when /healthz is unreachable. * tests/smoke/agent-chat.smoke.test.ts — gated on MCPCTL_SMOKE_LLM_URL + MCPCTL_SMOKE_LLM_KEY. Provisions secret + Llm + agent against a real upstream, runs `mcpctl chat -m … --no- stream` (asserts a reply lands), then runs the streaming default (asserts text on stdout + `(thread: …)` on stderr). The fast path for verifying the in-cluster qwen3-thinking deployment: MCPCTL_SMOKE_LLM_URL=http://litellm.nvidia-nim.svc.cluster.local:4000/v1 \ MCPCTL_SMOKE_LLM_MODEL=qwen3-thinking \ MCPCTL_SMOKE_LLM_KEY=$(pulumi config get --stack homelab \ secrets:litellmMcpctlGatewayToken) \ pnpm test:smoke Docs: * README.md — new "Agents" section under Resources with the qwen3-thinking quickstart and links to docs/agents.md and docs/chat.md. Adds llm + agent rows to the resources table. * docs/agents.md (new) — full reference: data model, chat-parameter table, HTTP API, RBAC mapping, tool-use loop semantics, yaml round-trip shorthand, the kubernetes-deployment wiring recipe, and a troubleshooting section (namespace collision, llm-in-use, pending-row recovery, Anthropic-tool limitation). * docs/chat.md (new) — user-facing `mcpctl chat` walkthrough: modes, per-call flags, slash-commands, threads, and a troubleshooting section. * CLAUDE.md — adds a "Resource types" cheatsheet with one-line pointers to each, including the new `agent` row that links to the docs. All suites still green: mcpd 759/759, mcplocal 715/715, cli 430/430. Smoke tests typecheck and self-skip when no live mcpd is reachable. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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mcpctl chat
Open an interactive chat session with an Agent, or send a single message
in one shot. See agents.md for what an Agent is and how to
create one.
Modes
mcpctl chat <agent> # interactive REPL, new thread
mcpctl chat <agent> --thread <id> # interactive REPL, resume thread
mcpctl chat <agent> -m "hi" # one-shot, prints reply, no REPL
mcpctl chat <agent> -m "hi" --no-stream # one-shot, single JSON response (no SSE)
Streaming is on by default. Text deltas land on stdout as they arrive; tool calls and tool results print to stderr in dim brackets so the chat output stays clean.
Per-call flags
All optional. They override the agent's defaultParams for this session
only — use the in-REPL /save slash-command to persist the current set
back to the agent.
--system <text> # replace agent.systemPrompt for this session
--system-file <path> # read --system text from a file
--system-append <text> # append to the agent system block (after project Prompts)
--temperature <n> # 0..2
--top-p <n> # 0..1
--top-k <n> # integer; Anthropic-only, OpenAI ignores
--max-tokens <n> # cap on assistant tokens
--seed <n> # reproducibility (provider-dependent)
--stop <text> # stop sequence (repeatable, up to 4)
--allow-tool <name> # repeat to allowlist project MCP tools
--extra <key=value> # provider-specific knob (repeatable)
--no-stream # disable SSE; single JSON response
--extra is the LiteLLM-style escape hatch: pass anything the underlying
adapter understands. Numeric values are auto-parsed (--extra repetition_penalty=1.1); strings stay strings.
In-REPL slash-commands
/set KEY VALUE adjust an override for the rest of the session
(temperature, top-p, top-k, max-tokens, seed, stop,
or any provider-specific knob — unknown keys go
into `extra`)
/system <text> set systemAppend for this turn onward (empty = clear)
/tools list MCP servers the agent can call as tools
/clear start a fresh thread (same agent)
/save PATCH agent.defaultParams = current overrides
(systemOverride / systemAppend are NOT persisted)
/quit, /exit leave the REPL (Ctrl-D works too)
Threads
Threads persist server-side. To resume:
mcpctl get threads --agent reviewer
mcpctl chat reviewer --thread <id>
A mcpctl get thread <id> reads the message log:
mcpctl get thread c0abc… -o yaml
Examples
Quick gut-check on a deploy:
$ mcpctl chat reviewer -m "is fulldeploy.sh safe to run on the current branch?"
Yes — I checked: tests are green on commit 727e7d6 and there's no
in-flight migration. The k8s context is worker0-k8s0 (production); confirm
that's intended before running.
(thread: cm9k…)
Resuming with overrides:
$ mcpctl chat deployer --thread cm9k… --temperature 0.0 --max-tokens 256
> walk me through what changed since the last deploy
…
Pinning sampling defaults to the agent:
$ mcpctl chat deployer --temperature 0.0 --max-tokens 8000
> /save
(saved current overrides as agent.defaultParams)
> /quit
Troubleshooting
-
No agents appear in
tools/list— check the agent has a project attach (mcpctl describe agent <name>). The mcplocal plugin only exposes agents on their attached project's session. -
Tool calls fail with
Project not found— the agent has no project attach. Either attach it (mcpctl edit agent <name>and set the project field), or expect text-only chat. -
Anthropic agents can't call tools — known limitation; the Anthropic adapter doesn't translate OpenAI tool format yet. Use LiteLLM or a direct OpenAI-compatible provider for tool-using agents until the translator ships.
-
mcpctl chat <agent>returns 404 — the agent name doesn't resolve.mcpctl get agentsto confirm spelling. -
REPL feels stuck — agent tool calls can take minutes (e.g. running a Grafana query). Watch stderr for
[tool_call: …]/[tool_result: …]brackets; those tell you the loop is alive.