Agent
Defines the interface that all ACP-compliant agents must implement. Agents are programs that use generative AI to autonomously modify code. They handle requests from clients and execute tasks using language models and tools.authenticate
Authenticates the client using the specified authentication method. Called when the agent requires authentication before allowing session creation. The client provides the authentication method ID that was advertised during initialization. After successful authentication, the client can proceed to create sessions withnew_session
without receiving an auth_required
error.
See protocol docs: Initialization
AuthenticateRequest
Request parameters for the authenticate method. Specifies which authentication method to use. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The ID of the authentication method to use. Must be one of the methods
advertised in the initialize response.
AuthenticateResponse
Response to authenticate method Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
initialize
Establishes the connection with a client and negotiates protocol capabilities. This method is called once at the beginning of the connection to:- Negotiate the protocol version to use
- Exchange capability information between client and agent
- Determine available authentication methods
InitializeRequest
Request parameters for the initialize method. Sent by the client to establish connection and negotiate capabilities. See protocol docs: Initialization Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Capabilities supported by the client.
- Default:
{"fs":{"readTextFile":false,"writeTextFile":false},"terminal":false}
The latest protocol version supported by the client.
InitializeResponse
Response from the initialize method. Contains the negotiated protocol version and agent capabilities. See protocol docs: Initialization Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Capabilities supported by the agent.
- Default:
{"loadSession":false,"mcpCapabilities":{"http":false,"sse":false},"promptCapabilities":{"audio":false,"embeddedContext":false,"image":false}}
Authentication methods supported by the agent.
- Default:
[]
The protocol version the client specified if supported by the agent,
or the latest protocol version supported by the agent.The client should disconnect, if it doesn’t support this version.
session/cancel
Cancels ongoing operations for a session. This is a notification sent by the client to cancel an ongoing prompt turn. Upon receiving this notification, the Agent SHOULD:- Stop all language model requests as soon as possible
- Abort all tool call invocations in progress
- Send any pending
session/update
notifications - Respond to the original
session/prompt
request withStopReason::Cancelled
CancelNotification
Notification to cancel ongoing operations for a session. See protocol docs: Cancellation Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
session/load
Loads an existing session to resume a previous conversation. This method is only available if the agent advertises theloadSession
capability.
The agent should:
- Restore the session context and conversation history
- Connect to the specified MCP servers
- Stream the entire conversation history back to the client via notifications
LoadSessionRequest
Request parameters for loading an existing session. Only available if the Agent supports theloadSession
capability.
See protocol docs: Loading Sessions
Type: Object
Properties:
Extension point for implementations
The working directory for this session.
LoadSessionResponse
Response from loading an existing session. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
UNSTABLEThis capability is not part of the spec yet, and may be removed or changed at any point.Initial model state if supported by the Agent
Initial mode state if supported by the AgentSee protocol docs: Session Modes
session/new
Creates a new conversation session with the agent. Sessions represent independent conversation contexts with their own history and state. The agent should:- Create a new session context
- Connect to any specified MCP servers
- Return a unique session ID for future requests
auth_required
error if the agent requires authentication.
See protocol docs: Session Setup
NewSessionRequest
Request parameters for creating a new session. See protocol docs: Creating a Session Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The working directory for this session. Must be an absolute path.
List of MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers the agent should connect to.
NewSessionResponse
Response from creating a new session. See protocol docs: Creating a Session Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
UNSTABLEThis capability is not part of the spec yet, and may be removed or changed at any point.Initial model state if supported by the Agent
Initial mode state if supported by the AgentSee protocol docs: Session Modes
Unique identifier for the created session.Used in all subsequent requests for this conversation.
session/prompt
Processes a user prompt within a session. This method handles the whole lifecycle of a prompt:- Receives user messages with optional context (files, images, etc.)
- Processes the prompt using language models
- Reports language model content and tool calls to the Clients
- Requests permission to run tools
- Executes any requested tool calls
- Returns when the turn is complete with a stop reason
PromptRequest
Request parameters for sending a user prompt to the agent. Contains the user’s message and any additional context. See protocol docs: User Message Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The blocks of content that compose the user’s message.As a baseline, the Agent MUST support
ContentBlock::Text
and ContentBlock::ResourceLink
,
while other variants are optionally enabled via PromptCapabilities
.The Client MUST adapt its interface according to PromptCapabilities
.The client MAY include referenced pieces of context as either
ContentBlock::Resource
or ContentBlock::ResourceLink
.When available, ContentBlock::Resource
is preferred
as it avoids extra round-trips and allows the message to include
pieces of context from sources the agent may not have access to.PromptResponse
Response from processing a user prompt. See protocol docs: Check for Completion Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Indicates why the agent stopped processing the turn.
session/set_mode
Sets the current mode for a session. Allows switching between different agent modes (e.g., “ask”, “architect”, “code”) that affect system prompts, tool availability, and permission behaviors. The mode must be one of the modes advertised inavailableModes
during session
creation or loading. Agents may also change modes autonomously and notify the
client via current_mode_update
notifications.
This method can be called at any time during a session, whether the Agent is
idle or actively generating a response.
See protocol docs: Session Modes
SetSessionModeRequest
Request parameters for setting a session mode. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The ID of the mode to set.
SetSessionModeResponse
Response tosession/set_mode
method.
Type: Object
Properties:
session/set_model
UNSTABLE This capability is not part of the spec yet, and may be removed or changed at any point. Select a model for a given session.SetSessionModelRequest
UNSTABLE This capability is not part of the spec yet, and may be removed or changed at any point. Request parameters for setting a session model. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
SetSessionModelResponse
UNSTABLE This capability is not part of the spec yet, and may be removed or changed at any point. Response tosession/set_model
method.
Type: Object
Properties:
Extension point for implementations
Client
Defines the interface that ACP-compliant clients must implement. Clients are typically code editors (IDEs, text editors) that provide the interface between users and AI agents. They manage the environment, handle user interactions, and control access to resources.fs/read_text_file
Reads content from a text file in the client’s file system. Only available if the client advertises thefs.readTextFile
capability.
Allows the agent to access file contents within the client’s environment.
See protocol docs: Client
ReadTextFileRequest
Request to read content from a text file. Only available if the client supports thefs.readTextFile
capability.
Type: Object
Properties:
Extension point for implementations
Maximum number of lines to read.
- Minimum:
0
Line number to start reading from (1-based).
- Minimum:
0
Absolute path to the file to read.
ReadTextFileResponse
Response containing the contents of a text file. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
fs/write_text_file
Writes content to a text file in the client’s file system. Only available if the client advertises thefs.writeTextFile
capability.
Allows the agent to create or modify files within the client’s environment.
See protocol docs: Client
WriteTextFileRequest
Request to write content to a text file. Only available if the client supports thefs.writeTextFile
capability.
Type: Object
Properties:
Extension point for implementations
The text content to write to the file.
Absolute path to the file to write.
WriteTextFileResponse
Response tofs/write_text_file
Type: Object
Properties:
Extension point for implementations
session/request_permission
Requests permission from the user for a tool call operation. Called by the agent when it needs user authorization before executing a potentially sensitive operation. The client should present the options to the user and return their decision. If the client cancels the prompt turn viasession/cancel
, it MUST
respond to this request with RequestPermissionOutcome::Cancelled
.
See protocol docs: Requesting Permission
RequestPermissionRequest
Request for user permission to execute a tool call. Sent when the agent needs authorization before performing a sensitive operation. See protocol docs: Requesting Permission Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Available permission options for the user to choose from.
Details about the tool call requiring permission.
RequestPermissionResponse
Response to a permission request. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The user’s decision on the permission request.
session/update
Handles session update notifications from the agent. This is a notification endpoint (no response expected) that receives real-time updates about session progress, including message chunks, tool calls, and execution plans. Note: Clients SHOULD continue accepting tool call updates even after sending asession/cancel
notification, as the agent may send final
updates before responding with the cancelled stop reason.
See protocol docs: Agent Reports Output
SessionNotification
Notification containing a session update from the agent. Used to stream real-time progress and results during prompt processing. See protocol docs: Agent Reports Output Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The actual update content.
terminal/create
Executes a command in a new terminal Only available if theterminal
Client capability is set to true
.
Returns a TerminalId
that can be used with other terminal methods
to get the current output, wait for exit, and kill the command.
The TerminalId
can also be used to embed the terminal in a tool call
by using the ToolCallContent::Terminal
variant.
The Agent is responsible for releasing the terminal by using the terminal/release
method.
See protocol docs: Terminals
CreateTerminalRequest
Request to create a new terminal and execute a command. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Array of command arguments.
The command to execute.
Working directory for the command (absolute path).
Environment variables for the command.
Maximum number of output bytes to retain.When the limit is exceeded, the Client truncates from the beginning of the output
to stay within the limit.The Client MUST ensure truncation happens at a character boundary to maintain valid
string output, even if this means the retained output is slightly less than the
specified limit.
- Minimum:
0
CreateTerminalResponse
Response containing the ID of the created terminal. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The unique identifier for the created terminal.
terminal/kill
Kills the terminal command without releasing the terminal Whileterminal/release
will also kill the command, this method will keep
the TerminalId
valid so it can be used with other methods.
This method can be helpful when implementing command timeouts which terminate
the command as soon as elapsed, and then get the final output so it can be sent
to the model.
Note: terminal/release
when TerminalId
is no longer needed.
See protocol docs: Terminals
KillTerminalCommandRequest
Request to kill a terminal command without releasing the terminal. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The ID of the terminal to kill.
KillTerminalCommandResponse
Response to terminal/kill command method Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
terminal/output
Gets the terminal output and exit status Returns the current content in the terminal without waiting for the command to exit. If the command has already exited, the exit status is included. See protocol docs: TerminalsTerminalOutputRequest
Request to get the current output and status of a terminal. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The ID of the terminal to get output from.
TerminalOutputResponse
Response containing the terminal output and exit status. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Exit status if the command has completed.
The terminal output captured so far.
Whether the output was truncated due to byte limits.
terminal/release
Releases a terminal The command is killed if it hasn’t exited yet. Useterminal/wait_for_exit
to wait for the command to exit before releasing the terminal.
After release, the TerminalId
can no longer be used with other terminal/*
methods,
but tool calls that already contain it, continue to display its output.
The terminal/kill
method can be used to terminate the command without releasing
the terminal, allowing the Agent to call terminal/output
and other methods.
See protocol docs: Terminals
ReleaseTerminalRequest
Request to release a terminal and free its resources. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The ID of the terminal to release.
ReleaseTerminalResponse
Response to terminal/release method Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
terminal/wait_for_exit
Waits for the terminal command to exit and return its exit status See protocol docs: TerminalsWaitForTerminalExitRequest
Request to wait for a terminal command to exit. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The ID of the terminal to wait for.
WaitForTerminalExitResponse
Response containing the exit status of a terminal command. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The process exit code (may be null if terminated by signal).
- Minimum:
0
The signal that terminated the process (may be null if exited normally).
AgentCapabilities
Capabilities supported by the agent. Advertised during initialization to inform the client about available features and content types. See protocol docs: Agent Capabilities Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Whether the agent supports
session/load
.- Default:
false
MCP capabilities supported by the agent.
- Default:
{"http":false,"sse":false}
Prompt capabilities supported by the agent.
- Default:
{"audio":false,"embeddedContext":false,"image":false}
Annotations
Optional annotations for the client. The client can use annotations to inform how objects are used or displayed Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
AudioContent
Audio provided to or from an LLM. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
AuthMethod
Describes an available authentication method. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Optional description providing more details about this authentication method.
Unique identifier for this authentication method.
Human-readable name of the authentication method.
AuthMethodId
Unique identifier for an authentication method. Type:string
AvailableCommand
Information about a command. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Human-readable description of what the command does.
Input for the command if required
Command name (e.g.,
create_plan
, research_codebase
).AvailableCommandInput
The input specification for a command. Type: UnionObject
All text that was typed after the command name is provided as input.
BlobResourceContents
Binary resource contents. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
ClientCapabilities
Capabilities supported by the client. Advertised during initialization to inform the agent about available features and methods. See protocol docs: Client Capabilities Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
File system capabilities supported by the client.
Determines which file operations the agent can request.
- Default:
{"readTextFile":false,"writeTextFile":false}
Whether the Client support all
terminal/*
methods.- Default:
false
ContentBlock
Content blocks represent displayable information in the Agent Client Protocol. They provide a structured way to handle various types of user-facing content—whether it’s text from language models, images for analysis, or embedded resources for context. Content blocks appear in:- User prompts sent via
session/prompt
- Language model output streamed through
session/update
notifications - Progress updates and results from tool calls
text
Plain text contentAll agents MUST support text content blocks in prompts.
image
Images for visual context or analysis.Requires the
image
prompt capability when included in prompts.audio
Audio data for transcription or analysis.Requires the
audio
prompt capability when included in prompts.resource_link
References to resources that the agent can access.All agents MUST support resource links in prompts.
resource
Complete resource contents embedded directly in the message.Preferred for including context as it avoids extra round-trips.Requires the
embeddedContext
prompt capability when included in prompts.EmbeddedResource
The contents of a resource, embedded into a prompt or tool call result. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
EmbeddedResourceResource
Resource content that can be embedded in a message. Type: UnionTextResourceContents
BlobResourceContents
EnvVariable
An environment variable to set when launching an MCP server. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The name of the environment variable.
The value to set for the environment variable.
FileSystemCapability
File system capabilities that a client may support. See protocol docs: FileSystem Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Whether the Client supports
fs/read_text_file
requests.- Default:
false
Whether the Client supports
fs/write_text_file
requests.- Default:
false
HttpHeader
An HTTP header to set when making requests to the MCP server. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The name of the HTTP header.
The value to set for the HTTP header.
ImageContent
An image provided to or from an LLM. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
McpCapabilities
MCP capabilities supported by the agent Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Agent supports
McpServer::Http
.- Default:
false
Agent supports
McpServer::Sse
.- Default:
false
McpServer
Configuration for connecting to an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server. MCP servers provide tools and context that the agent can use when processing prompts. See protocol docs: MCP Servers Type: Unionhttp
HTTP transport configurationOnly available when the Agent capabilities indicate
mcp_capabilities.http
is true
.sse
SSE transport configurationOnly available when the Agent capabilities indicate
mcp_capabilities.sse
is true
.Object
Stdio transport configurationAll Agents MUST support this transport.
ModelId
UNSTABLE This capability is not part of the spec yet, and may be removed or changed at any point. A unique identifier for a model. Type:string
ModelInfo
UNSTABLE This capability is not part of the spec yet, and may be removed or changed at any point. Information about a selectable model. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Optional description of the model.
Human-readable name of the model.
PermissionOption
An option presented to the user when requesting permission. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Hint about the nature of this permission option.
Human-readable label to display to the user.
Unique identifier for this permission option.
PermissionOptionId
Unique identifier for a permission option. Type:string
PermissionOptionKind
The type of permission option being presented to the user. Helps clients choose appropriate icons and UI treatment. Type: Unionallow_once
Allow this operation only this time.
allow_always
Allow this operation and remember the choice.
reject_once
Reject this operation only this time.
reject_always
Reject this operation and remember the choice.
Plan
An execution plan for accomplishing complex tasks. Plans consist of multiple entries representing individual tasks or goals. Agents report plans to clients to provide visibility into their execution strategy. Plans can evolve during execution as the agent discovers new requirements or completes tasks. See protocol docs: Agent Plan Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The list of tasks to be accomplished.When updating a plan, the agent must send a complete list of all entries
with their current status. The client replaces the entire plan with each update.
PlanEntry
A single entry in the execution plan. Represents a task or goal that the assistant intends to accomplish as part of fulfilling the user’s request. See protocol docs: Plan Entries Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Human-readable description of what this task aims to accomplish.
The relative importance of this task. Used to indicate which tasks are most
critical to the overall goal.
Current execution status of this task.
PlanEntryPriority
Priority levels for plan entries. Used to indicate the relative importance or urgency of different tasks in the execution plan. See protocol docs: Plan Entries Type: Unionhigh
High priority task - critical to the overall goal.
medium
Medium priority task - important but not critical.
low
Low priority task - nice to have but not essential.
PlanEntryStatus
Status of a plan entry in the execution flow. Tracks the lifecycle of each task from planning through completion. See protocol docs: Plan Entries Type: Unionpending
The task has not started yet.
in_progress
The task is currently being worked on.
completed
The task has been successfully completed.
PromptCapabilities
Prompt capabilities supported by the agent insession/prompt
requests.
Baseline agent functionality requires support for ContentBlock::Text
and ContentBlock::ResourceLink
in prompt requests.
Other variants must be explicitly opted in to.
Capabilities for different types of content in prompt requests.
Indicates which content types beyond the baseline (text and resource links)
the agent can process.
See protocol docs: Prompt Capabilities
Type: Object
Properties:
Extension point for implementations
Agent supports
ContentBlock::Audio
.- Default:
false
Agent supports embedded context in
session/prompt
requests.When enabled, the Client is allowed to include ContentBlock::Resource
in prompt requests for pieces of context that are referenced in the message.- Default:
false
Agent supports
ContentBlock::Image
.- Default:
false
ProtocolVersion
Protocol version identifier. This version is only bumped for breaking changes. Non-breaking changes should be introduced via capabilities. Type:integer (uint16)
Constraint | Value |
---|---|
Minimum | 0 |
Maximum | 65535 |
RequestPermissionOutcome
The outcome of a permission request. Type: Unioncancelled
The prompt turn was cancelled before the user responded.When a client sends a
session/cancel
notification to cancel an ongoing
prompt turn, it MUST respond to all pending session/request_permission
requests with this Cancelled
outcome.See protocol docs: Cancellationselected
The user selected one of the provided options.
ResourceLink
A resource that the server is capable of reading, included in a prompt or tool call result. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Role
The sender or recipient of messages and data in a conversation. Type: EnumerationValue |
---|
"assistant" |
"user" |
SessionId
A unique identifier for a conversation session between a client and agent. Sessions maintain their own context, conversation history, and state, allowing multiple independent interactions with the same agent. # Examplestring
SessionMode
A mode the agent can operate in. See protocol docs: Session Modes Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
SessionModeId
Unique identifier for a Session Mode. Type:string
SessionModeState
The set of modes and the one currently active. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The set of modes that the Agent can operate in
The current mode the Agent is in.
SessionModelState
UNSTABLE This capability is not part of the spec yet, and may be removed or changed at any point. The set of models and the one currently active. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
SessionUpdate
Different types of updates that can be sent during session processing. These updates provide real-time feedback about the agent’s progress. See protocol docs: Agent Reports Output Type: Unionuser_message_chunk
A chunk of the user’s message being streamed.
agent_message_chunk
A chunk of the agent’s response being streamed.
agent_thought_chunk
A chunk of the agent’s internal reasoning being streamed.
tool_call
Notification that a new tool call has been initiated.
tool_call_update
Update on the status or results of a tool call.
plan
The agent’s execution plan for complex tasks.
See protocol docs: Agent Plan
available_commands_update
Available commands are ready or have changed
current_mode_update
The current mode of the session has changedSee protocol docs: Session Modes
StopReason
Reasons why an agent stops processing a prompt turn. See protocol docs: Stop Reasons Type: Unionend_turn
The turn ended successfully.
max_tokens
The turn ended because the agent reached the maximum number of tokens.
max_turn_requests
The turn ended because the agent reached the maximum number of allowed agent
requests between user turns.
refusal
The turn ended because the agent refused to continue. The user prompt and
everything that comes after it won’t be included in the next prompt, so this
should be reflected in the UI.
cancelled
The turn was cancelled by the client via
session/cancel
.This stop reason MUST be returned when the client sends a session/cancel
notification, even if the cancellation causes exceptions in underlying operations.
Agents should catch these exceptions and return this semantically meaningful
response to confirm successful cancellation.TerminalExitStatus
Exit status of a terminal command. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
The process exit code (may be null if terminated by signal).
- Minimum:
0
The signal that terminated the process (may be null if exited normally).
TextContent
Text provided to or from an LLM. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
TextResourceContents
Text-based resource contents. Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
ToolCall
Represents a tool call that the language model has requested. Tool calls are actions that the agent executes on behalf of the language model, such as reading files, executing code, or fetching data from external sources. See protocol docs: Tool Calls Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Content produced by the tool call.
The category of tool being invoked. Helps clients choose appropriate icons and
UI treatment.
File locations affected by this tool call. Enables “follow-along” features in
clients.
Raw input parameters sent to the tool.
Raw output returned by the tool.
Current execution status of the tool call.
Human-readable title describing what the tool is doing.
Unique identifier for this tool call within the session.
ToolCallContent
Content produced by a tool call. Tool calls can produce different types of content including standard content blocks (text, images) or file diffs. See protocol docs: Content Type: Unioncontent
Standard content block (text, images, resources).
diff
File modification shown as a diff.
terminal
Embed a terminal created with
terminal/create
by its id.The terminal must be added before calling terminal/release
.See protocol docs: TerminalToolCallId
Unique identifier for a tool call within a session. Type:string
ToolCallLocation
A file location being accessed or modified by a tool. Enables clients to implement “follow-along” features that track which files the agent is working with in real-time. See protocol docs: Following the Agent Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Optional line number within the file.
- Minimum:
0
The file path being accessed or modified.
ToolCallStatus
Execution status of a tool call. Tool calls progress through different statuses during their lifecycle. See protocol docs: Status Type: Unionpending
The tool call hasn’t started running yet because the input is either streaming
or we’re awaiting approval.
in_progress
The tool call is currently running.
completed
The tool call completed successfully.
failed
The tool call failed with an error.
ToolCallUpdate
An update to an existing tool call. Used to report progress and results as tools execute. All fields except the tool call ID are optional - only changed fields need to be included. See protocol docs: Updating Type: Object Properties:Extension point for implementations
Replace the content collection.
Replace the locations collection.
Update the raw input.
Update the raw output.
Update the execution status.
Update the human-readable title.
The ID of the tool call being updated.
ToolKind
Categories of tools that can be invoked. Tool kinds help clients choose appropriate icons and optimize how they display tool execution progress. See protocol docs: Creating Type: Unionread
Reading files or data.
edit
Modifying files or content.
delete
Removing files or data.
move
Moving or renaming files.
search
Searching for information.
execute
Running commands or code.
think
Internal reasoning or planning.
fetch
Retrieving external data.
switch_mode
Switching the current session mode.
other
Other tool types (default).