| name | amcos-acknowledgment-protocol |
| description | Use when requesting or processing agent acknowledgments before proceeding with operations. Trigger with acknowledgment requests or ACK timeout handling. Loaded by ai-maestro-chief-of-staff-main-agent |
| user-invocable | false |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| compatibility | Requires access to AI Maestro messaging system. Requires AI Maestro installed. |
| metadata | {"author":"Emasoft","version":"1.0.0"} |
| context | fork |
| agent | ai-maestro-chief-of-staff-main-agent |
Acknowledgment Protocol
Overview
Ensures agents confirm readiness before disruptive operations via ACK requests, timeout management, reminders, and timeout handling.
Prerequisites
- AI Maestro running with AMP protocol
- AMP initialized:
amp-init.sh --auto
- Target agents registered and reachable
- Pre-operation notification already sent (ACK follows pre-op)
Instructions
PROCEDURE 3: Acknowledgment Protocol
When to use: When agent confirmation is needed before proceeding, or when coordinating multi-agent operations.
Workflow:
- Send ACK request - Use
amp-send.sh to ask agent to reply "ok"
- Start timeout timer - Use standardized timeout from policy table below
- Send reminders - At defined intervals (e.g., 15s, 30s, 45s for pre-op ACK)
- Process response - Handle "ok" or other responses
- Proceed or timeout - Continue if ACK received, or follow timeout behavior
Copy this checklist and track your progress:
See op-acknowledgment-protocol in Resources for full procedure details and examples.
Standardized ACK Timeout Policy
CRITICAL: All AMCOS components MUST use these values:
| ACK Type | Timeout | Reminders | Use Case |
|---|
| Pre-operation ACK | 60s | 15s, 30s, 45s | Before disruptive ops |
| Approval request | 2 min | 60s, 90s | Manager approval |
| Emergency handoff | 30s | 10s, 20s | Time-critical emergencies |
| Health check | 30s | None | Verifying agent alive |
Timeout behavior: Pre-op ACK: proceed after final notice. Approval: proceed if autonomous, else abort. Emergency: proceed immediately.
Output
| Action | Output |
|---|
| ACK request sent | Delivered, timeout timer started |
| ACK received | Agent confirmed, operation may proceed |
| Timeout reached | Final notice sent, logged, fallback taken |
Error Handling
| Issue | Resolution |
|---|
| ACK timeout | Send final notice, log, proceed per policy |
| Reminder not delivered | Health check agent. If offline, proceed per timeout |
| Partial ACK (multi-agent) | Track per-agent. Proceed when all respond or all timeout |
Examples
amp-send.sh code-impl-auth "ACK: hibernate in 60s" high \
'{"type":"acknowledgment-request","timeout":60}'
Expected: agent replies "ok" within 60s; if no reply after reminders at 15s/30s/45s, proceed with final notice.
Checklist
Copy this checklist and track your progress:
Resources