taskbox

name	taskbox
description	Send and receive messages between Claude Code instances using a shared SQLite queue. Use when the user says "send to <instance>", "check inbox", "start listening", "check responses", or anything about inter-instance communication.
license	Apache-2.0
compatibility	Requires Python 3.10+ (stdlib only, no pip dependencies)
metadata	{"author":"octobots","version":"0.1.0"}

Taskbox

Message queue for Claude Code inter-instance communication. No MCP, no servers — just SQLite and Bash.

Quick Start

Resolve your instance ID from env OCTOBOTS_ID or ask the user to pick one (e.g. "alpha", "beta").

The relay script is at octobots/skills/taskbox/scripts/relay.py. All output is JSON.

# Initialize (first time)
python octobots/skills/taskbox/scripts/relay.py init

# Send a message
python octobots/skills/taskbox/scripts/relay.py send --from MY_ID --to PEER "message"

# Check inbox
python octobots/skills/taskbox/scripts/relay.py inbox --id MY_ID

# Claim → process → ack
python octobots/skills/taskbox/scripts/relay.py claim --id MY_ID MSG_ID
# ... do the work ...
python octobots/skills/taskbox/scripts/relay.py ack MSG_ID "response summary"

# Check responses to messages you sent
python octobots/skills/taskbox/scripts/relay.py responses --id MY_ID

Sending

Summarize the user's intent into a clear, self-contained message — the recipient has no access to your conversation. Report the returned message ID for tracking.

Receiving

To listen for incoming tasks, use /loop 10s to poll the inbox. For each message:

1. Check inbox — if empty, skip
2. Claim the oldest message (atomic lock prevents double-processing)
3. Process it using all available tools — this is blocking
4. Ack with a concise response

Process one message at a time. New messages queue as pending while you work.

Details

See references/protocol.md for message lifecycle, queue commands, and architecture.