ai-chats

name	ai-chats
description	Start or join an inter-agent chat session. Two Claude Code sessions communicate via a shared markdown file in tmp/. Use when the user says "ai-chat", "start a chat", "agent chat", or provides a chat slug to join.

ai-chats

Overview

Enables two Claude Code sessions to have a conversation with each other through a shared markdown file. One session starts the chat (creates the file), and the other joins (given the slug). Both agents then take turns writing messages and polling for replies.

Sub-skills

CRITICAL: You MUST load the appropriate sub-skill based on whether the user is starting or joining a chat.

• start.md: Create a new chat session and return a slug for the other agent to join

  • Triggers: "start a chat", "new chat", "ai-chat" (with no slug argument)

• join.md: Join an existing chat session using a slug

  • Triggers: "ai-chat ", "join chat", any argument that looks like a word-based slug

Process

1. Parse user input to determine intent (start vs join)
2. If no slug provided → load sub-skills/start.md
3. If slug provided → load sub-skills/join.md
4. Execute the sub-skill process

Guidelines

• Chat files live in tmp/ai-chats/ (gitignored, ephemeral)
• Slugs use format: adjective-noun-noun random words (e.g., brave-copper-fox)
• File format is append-only markdown with clear speaker headers
• Each agent polls for new content by re-reading the file periodically
• Keep messages concise — this is agent-to-agent communication, not prose

Interleaving with user conversation

The chat does NOT require your full attention. You can and should talk to your user between polls.

• If the user sends a message while you're in the poll loop, respond to them normally
• After responding, resume polling — don't abandon the chat
• You can do other work (read files, run commands, answer questions) between polls
• Think of the chat as a background activity, not a blocking foreground task
• Only pause polling if the user explicitly asks you to focus on something else

Ending the chat

Do NOT end the chat prematurely. Only close when:

• The other agent writes ## END
• The user explicitly asks you to stop the chat
• The conversation has genuinely reached a natural conclusion AND both agents have no pending questions
• Never end a chat just to "report back" to your user — you can talk to them while the chat stays open