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# A2A MCP ORCHESTRATION RULES

Append these rules to your existing instructions. They govern **only** how you use Agent Router MCP tools — not your identity or general behavior.

Endpoint pattern: `https://<backend-host>/mcp/sse` with header `Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>` (or `?apiKey=` in the URL). Never pass the API key inside tool arguments.


## 0. SCHEMA FIRST (mandatory before any agent call)

1. **Read the tool inputSchema** (via `list_tools`, deferred-tool loading, or your client's tool descriptor). Required field names **differ per agent**.
2. **Do not assume** every agent uses `task_description`. Examples from live schemas:
   - `researchagent` → `payload.topic` (string)
   - `softwareengineeringexpert` → `payload.task_desciption` (string, exact spelling)
   - `constructivecritic` → `payload["approache/strategie"]` (string)
   - Most others → `payload.task_description` (string)
3. Tool names are **lowercase slugs**, e.g. `browsernavigationagent`, not `BrowserNavigation` or `mcp_a2a_tool_...`.


## 1. CORRECT CALL SHAPES

### System tools (flat top-level arguments — no `payload` wrapper)

```json
{ "query": "browser automation", "limit": 10 }
```
→ `discover_agents` — platform + ranked external registry agents (free, no credits).

```json
{ "query": "browser automation", "top_k": 5 }
```
→ `search_skills` — `query` string required; `top_k` integer (not `"5"`). Live ClawHub vector search.

```json
{ "slug": "agent-browser-clawdbot", "include_content": true }
```
→ `get_skill` — fetch ClawHub metadata + SKILL.md by slug from `search_skills` results.

```json
{ "task_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000", "max_wait_seconds": 120 }
```
→ `wait_for_task` — `task_id` string required; `max_wait_seconds` number.

### Agent tools (nested `payload` object — wrapper is required)

CORRECT:
```json
{
  "payload": {
    "topic": "Current trends in MCP agent orchestration"
  }
}
```
→ call `researchagent`

CORRECT:
```json
{
  "payload": {
    "task_description": "Go to example.com and extract the pricing table. Return markdown."
  }
}
```
→ call `browsernavigationagent` or `taskplanner`

### Typical wrong calls (and why they fail)

| Wrong call | Error pattern | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| `{ "task_description": "..." }` on an agent tool | `payload Field required` | Wrap inside `{ "payload": { ... } }` |
| `{ "payload": "text" }` | `Input should be a valid dictionary` | `payload` must be a JSON object |
| `{ "payload": { "task_description": "..." } }` on `researchagent` | `payload.topic Field required` | Use exact field from inputSchema (`topic`) |
| `{ "query": 123 }` on `search_skills` | `Input should be a valid string` | Pass string: `"123"` or meaningful text |
| `{ "top_k": "5" }` | may pass MCP but prefer integer | Use `5` not `"5"` |
| Wrong field spelling on `softwareengineeringexpert` | `payload.task_desciption Field required` | Use `task_desciption` exactly as in schema |


## 2. ASYNC WORKFLOW

Agent tools return immediately with a task id, e.g. `Task started successfully. Task ID: <uuid>`.

1. Call the agent tool with a schema-valid `payload`.
2. Extract the `task_id` from the response text.
3. Call `wait_for_task` with that id (`max_wait_seconds`: 120–300 for slow agents).
4. **Parallel pattern:** launch all needed agents first, collect all task ids, then call `wait_for_task` for each.
5. If `wait_for_task` returns `TIMEOUT:`, retry once with a higher `max_wait_seconds`. Do not re-launch the same task.

Never pass `api_key` in tool args — authentication is handled by MCP connection headers.


## 3. WHEN TO DELEGATE (native first)

Process: **Analyze → Validate need → Select tool → Execute → Synthesize**.

**Do NOT delegate** when you can solve the task natively:
- General knowledge, explanations, writing, translation, simple code review
- Stable facts within your training cutoff
- Tasks your built-in tools (code exec, file ops, web search) already cover

**Delegate** when there is a clear capability gap:
- Live web data / browser DOM work → `browsernavigationagent`, `researchagent`
- Academic citations / literature review → `scientificresearchagent`
- Isolated code execution (fallback) → `sandboxcodingagent`
- Multi-phase project breakdown → `taskplanner`
- Repo-level engineering analysis → `softwareengineeringexpert`
- Pressure-testing plans → `constructivecritic`
- First-principles decomposition → `firstprinciplesanalyst`
- Discovering pre-built skill templates → `search_skills` then `get_skill(slug)` (1 credit each — use sparingly)

**Cost awareness:** Check each tool description for credit cost. Batch detailed instructions into one call instead of many thin calls.


## 4. VALIDATION ERROR RECOVERY

Tool errors look like: `Error executing tool <name>: 1 validation error for ...`

Parse the path (`payload.topic`, `query`, etc.) and the type (`missing`, `string_type`, `int`, `model_type`):

- `missing` on `payload` → add the `payload` wrapper object.
- `missing` on `payload.<field>` → add that exact field from inputSchema.
- `string_type` / `int` → fix JSON types (unquoted numbers where numeric).
- `model_type` with a string value → `payload` must be an object, not a string.

Fix the structure, then retry **once** with the corrected call. Log what you changed. Do not blindly retry the same JSON.

Business errors (not schema): `Insufficient credits`, `Invalid API Key`, `Error starting task: Invalid payload` — inform the user; do not auto-retry without fixing the underlying issue.


## 5. SYNTHESIS

When results arrive:
- Never dump raw agent output verbatim.
- Merge, reformat, and add your own analysis.
- Note which specialist contributed which insight.
- Resolve conflicting results before presenting.
- Iterate if output is incomplete or off-spec.