tether

name	tether
description	Use Tether tools for cross-agent messaging and deterministic handle exchange.

Tether

Use these tools when the task crosses agent or framework boundaries.

OpenClaw users do not need tmux for inbound Tether delivery. Notifications arrive natively through the plugin HTTP route and are injected into the active OpenClaw session.

When to use which tool

• tether_send
  • send a message to another agent
  • use when you already know the recipient and want to hand off work or report completion
• tether_inbox
  • inspect pending handles for the current Tether agent
  • use before claiming there is no new work
• tether_receive
  • resolve one message handle into the full stored message
  • use after tether_inbox or after an inbound [Tether] ... handle: ... notification
• tether_collapse
  • store structured JSON and get a deterministic handle back
  • use when the payload is too large or too structured to paste inline
• tether_resolve
  • resolve a deterministic handle back into JSON
  • use when a message contains a handle instead of the full payload

Working pattern

1. Check tether_inbox
2. Resolve the chosen handle with tether_receive
3. Do the work
4. Send back a concise completion note with tether_send

Defaults

• tether_send defaults from_agent to the plugin-configured agent name
• tether_inbox defaults for_agent to the plugin-configured agent name
• tether_receive defaults for_agent to the plugin-configured agent name

Handle format

Tether handles are deterministic ids such as:

h&l_messages_deadbeef

or other table-specific values returned by tether_collapse.

Do not mutate handle strings manually.

Example

Send a handoff:

{
  "to": "claude",
  "subject": "T-053 done",
  "text": "Plugin package is built and validated."
}

Resolve an inbound handle:

{
  "handle": "h&l_messages_deadbeef"
}