Agent-Native Apps

Use /an <app> to open an Agent-Native app beside the conversation and keep the app's live UI and the agent's actions in the same workflow. The first argument is the Dispatch app id. For example, /an slides opens the Slides editor. After it opens, the user can sign in in that browser surface and ask for new decks or focused edits in ordinary language.

Open the app

For a known app, call Dispatch's open_app with an inline surface:

{
  "app": "slides",
  "path": "/",
  "embed": true,
  "chrome": "full"
}

The MCP App response is the preferred handoff for Claude, Claude Desktop, Claude Cowork, ChatGPT, ChatGPT desktop, Codex, and other compatible hosts. Keep the returned open link as the fallback for a host that cannot render MCP Apps inline. Do not claim that a browser opened unless the host rendered the inline surface or its browser tool confirmed the returned URL.

If the app name is missing or uncertain, call list_apps first and use the exact granted app id. If the requested app is not listed, explain that it must be granted in Dispatch's Agents access settings. Do not invent a URL, use a localhost URL, or route around the Dispatch grant.

Work in the opened app

Prefer direct app tools when the host exposes them. After opening an app, call list-host-webmcp-tools when available, then use run-host-webmcp-tool with the exact listed name and origin. Page-local tools reflect current app state and selection, so use view-screen before selection-dependent edits and read back writes.

You are the model doing the work: when the user asks for new content — a design, a deck, a form, a document — author it yourself and save it with the app's create/update tools. Never hand off authoring to the app's own agent when those tools exist, and never wait on an in-app question form; it answers back through that app's own chat, not to you.

Use ask_app only when the host has no direct page tools, the requested capability is not exposed, the task needs the app agent's interpretation or multi-step specialist reasoning, or a direct call fails and needs recovery. Dispatch's unified /mcp endpoint still exposes generic cross-app verbs; a direct app MCP connection or page WebMCP surface is where named app actions appear.

The app's MCP instructions name its key tools (generated from the app's own list); follow those names verbatim and use tool-search for anything else — never guess a tool name.

1. Call view-screen before any selection-dependent edit and use the ids it returns; never guess an id from a title, index, or stale context.
2. If view-screen returns a selection and nextRequiredAction, make that call directly with the smallest atomic change; do not regenerate a whole artifact for a focused edit.
3. Read the result back with the app's matching read action and report what changed. A queued ask_app_status task is not proof an edit completed.

Authentication and host behavior

The Dispatch MCP connector identifies the calling agent, while the embedded app uses the user's browser session. Let the user complete sign-in in the rendered Agent-Native browser surface. Never request, copy, or store passwords, OAuth codes, cookies, or access tokens.

The generic Agent-Native plugin registers Dispatch at https://dispatch.agent-native.com/mcp for hosts that support plugin MCP configuration. ChatGPT custom connectors use the same URL with OAuth. After installing or changing a connector, reload Claude/Cowork/ChatGPT or reconnect and rescan the MCP server if the new tools or inline surface are not visible.

Failure handling

• If open_app succeeds but no inline surface appears, show its returned link and say that this host does not expose an embedded browser here.
• After an app loads, check for list-host-webmcp-tools before delegating. If it is available, use the exact returned tool name and origin for direct work.
• If ask_app cannot reach Slides, check that Slides is granted in Dispatch and that the connector is authenticated, then retry once with the exact app id slides.
• If screen state has no deck or selection, describe that state instead of fabricating context. Ask the user to open a deck or select an element when the requested edit depends on it.
• Treat a successful open link, a queued task, or a tool acknowledgment as navigation/task setup only. Confirm a write with the app's readback action.