agentself

CLI identity for an agent. No MCP server.

Requires the agentself CLI. If unavailable, install it with uv tool install agentself or pipx install agentself, then run the version check below.

Start safely

Do not guess flags or expose values in logs, arguments, or chat.

agentself --json --version
agentself --help
agentself <command> --help
agentself backends
agentself diagnose

Prefer --json. Success and failure are one JSON object on stdout with "ok", and failures include "error", "reason", and "next". Human errors may include a next: line on stderr. agentself --json --version includes cli (machine schema id, currently 1). Ignore unknown keys.

Start by checking agentself --json --version. This skill requires cli: 1. A different schema or an unexpected package / executable path means the installation is stale: stop, install the intended CLI, reinstall its packaged skill, and check again. Never mix instructions from one schema with an executable from another.

Identity directory is AGENTSELF_IDENTITY_DIR (default ~/.agentself).

Common path

agentself install --tools
agentself init
agentself --json show

init and diagnose do not fetch binaries. Missing host tools: next: agentself install --tools. AGENTSELF_FETCH_TOOLS=0 refuses a fetch even for --tools. Repeating init is safe; identity or backend changes need --force.

--json show includes the age recipient and email readiness. For wallet work, inspect agentself backends wallet; the default Base wallet is live and can move real funds. Use wallet authorize for signing.

For secrets, prefer files: secret create NAME --file PATH and secret get NAME --file PATH. Plaintext stdout requires explicit --print.

For printable cross-agent context, use note set NAME --file PATH and note get NAME. Notes are non-secret: never put credentials, OTPs, private keys, secret values, or mail bodies in them.

Open the relevant workflow

• Connecting or recovering email setup: references/email-connect.md
• Identity sharing, isolation, continuity, interruption, backup, or restore: references/handoff.md
• Listing, fetching, filtering, and completing mail work: references/mail.md

Skills

agentself install --skills
agentself install --skills -g
agentself install --skills=agents

Skills install this complete skill tree into the current directory unless -g.