Managing Observal Agents

Execution contract

1. Execute commands with a 60 second timeout.
2. Use machine output by default: add --output json whenever supported. Parse list results from items and pagination fields.
3. Use --help before acting when a path or flag is uncertain.
4. Keep workflows noninteractive. Supply required fields, --no-prompt, and confirmation flags.
5. Use UUIDs or qualified_name values returned by JSON. Never automate with row numbers.
6. Prefer native agent init, agent add, and agent build over hand-written scaffolding or custom validation.
7. Verify every publish, release, pull, ownership, and lifecycle mutation.
8. Never print MCP environment values, headers, tokens, or other secrets.
9. Mutations are sent once. After an uncertain transport failure, read Agent state before retrying.

Choose the workflow

User intent	Workflow
Find or inspect an Agent	Discover and inspect
Install an existing Agent into a harness	Pull and verify
Create a simple Agent in one call	Direct create
Customize an approved Agent without changing its source	Fork and edit
Author an Agent with components or files	Init, add, build, publish
Change the current listing without a new reviewed version	Update in place
Publish a reviewed patch, minor, or major version	Release
Create many Agents from a prepared file	Bulk create
Archive, restore, transfer, or manage co-authors	Lifecycle and collaboration

Read Agent workflows completely before executing the selected workflow.

State rules

• create without complete flags starts a wizard. Agents must provide all required inputs or use a file.
• fork copies only an approved source release into a new independent draft. An inaccessible source is shown as Source unavailable, never as a saved source reference.
• publish --update changes the current Agent in place. A fork scaffold uses agent_id to target its draft, not a similarly named approved Agent.
• release --bump creates a reviewed version. Do not use update when the user asked for a release.
• Public teamspace publication may remain private with a pending visibility or listing review. Report the actual returned status.
• Pull success requires checking files, warnings, and setup_commands. Partial setup is not success.
• A 409 is a decision point, not a generic retry signal. Read current state before choosing update or release.

Completion

Report the canonical Agent identity, resulting status and version, files changed for local operations, warnings, and the smallest next action. Verify with agent show, agent versions, or scan when the mutation response is not sufficient.