# Orchestrating Agent Relay

The canonical way to run agent-relay - self-bootstrap the local broker and autonomously...

- Repository: https://github.com/AgentWorkforce/relay (1088 stars)
- Category: AI and agents
- License: Apache-2.0
- Last updated: 2026-11-01
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add AgentWorkforce/relay --skill orchestrating-agent-relay -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add AgentWorkforce/relay --skill orchestrating-agent-relay -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add AgentWorkforce/relay --skill orchestrating-agent-relay -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add AgentWorkforce/relay --skill orchestrating-agent-relay -g -a gemini-cli -y`

## Description

The canonical way to run agent-relay - self-bootstrap the local broker and autonomously spawn, monitor, and coordinate a team of worker agents without human intervention. Covers infrastructure startup, agent spawning, lifecycle monitoring, message-based reading via the relay MCP, and team coordination.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

### Overview

A headless orchestrator is an agent that:

1. Starts the local relay broker itself (`agent-relay node up`)
2. Spawns and manages worker agents on that broker
3. Monitors agent lifecycle events
4. Coordinates work without human intervention

The orchestrator drives the team and reads/sends/lists through the **Agent
Relay MCP server** (`agent-relay mcp`). The session registers itself once with
the `register_agent` tool (name it `orchestrator`), every messaging tool
errors with `Not registered. Call the "register_agent" tool first.` until it
does. Lifecycle
control, starting the broker, spawning/releasing local agents, streaming
broker debug events, goes through the `agent-relay node` command group. The
workers it spawns are registered participants too; their peer-messaging
reference is the **`using-agent-relay`** skill.

### The model

- Agent Relay delivers messages **node-only**: every agent is owned by a node,
- A **fleet** is the set of nodes advertising **capabilities** (`spawn:<harness>`
- Agent-to-agent coordination is messages, channels, DMs, threads, plus

### When to Use

- Agent needs full control over its worker team
- No human available to run `agent-relay node up` manually
- Agent should manage agent lifecycle autonomously
- Building self-contained multi-agent systems

### Quick Reference

The rest: https://github.com/AgentWorkforce/relay/blob/HEAD/.agents/skills/orchestrating-agent-relay/SKILL.md