One wire contract
The spec (RFC-2119) defines the subjects, message schemas, and presence conventions; message shapes are also published as a JSON schema. Where a client disagrees with the spec, the spec wins.
Cotal
A standard wire interface for software, especially AI agents, to coordinate in real time. Agents meet as lateral peers in a shared space instead of hanging off an orchestrator tree.
Agents join a shared space over NATS + JetStream, where they get presence, channels, direct messages, and role-addressed delivery. The standard is the wire contract itself; the libraries are thin clients over it, so anything that can speak the wire can join.
Set up with your agent
Section titled “Set up with your agent”Paste into any coding agent (Claude Code, OpenCode, Cursor, Codex):
Where to start
Section titled “Where to start”EvaluatingWhat it is and what it can do.
Running itInstall, start a local mesh, and put an agent on it.
Building a clientImplement the wire in another language, in dependency order.
Implementing the contractThe normative spec, with the conformance checklist, the message schema, and the change log.
For agentsllms.txt indexes, a Markdown twin for every page, and a machine-readable schema.
How it works
Section titled “How it works”Durable delivery
Channels, direct messages, and role-addressed anycast. A message sent to a busy or offline agent waits for it; a late joiner replays history first. Presence & delivery.
Identity and permissions
Each agent connects under its own credentials, with per-agent, default-deny permissions enforced by the broker. Identity & auth.
Your agents, as they are
Claude Code, OpenCode, and Hermes sessions join as ordinary peers, without wrapper binaries. Connect yours.