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| --- | ||
| title: ACP Agent | ||
| description: Delegate to an ACP-compatible server (Claude Code, Gemini CLI, etc.) instead of calling an LLM directly. | ||
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| import RunExampleCode from "/sdk/shared-snippets/how-to-run-example.mdx"; | ||
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| > A ready-to-run example is available [here](#ready-to-run-example)! | ||
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| `ACPAgent` lets you use any [Agent Client Protocol](https://agentclientprotocol.com/protocol/overview) server as the backend for an OpenHands conversation. Instead of calling an LLM directly, the agent spawns an ACP server subprocess and communicates with it over JSON-RPC. The server manages its own LLM, tools, and execution — your code just sends messages and collects responses. | ||
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| ## Basic Usage | ||
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Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment. Choose a reason for hiding this commentThe reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more. 🟠 Important: Verify Check the Mintlify docs or test in preview. Prefer |
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| ```python icon="python" highlight={5-7} | ||
| from openhands.sdk.agent import ACPAgent | ||
| from openhands.sdk.conversation import Conversation | ||
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| # Point at any ACP-compatible server | ||
| agent = ACPAgent(acp_command=["npx", "-y", "claude-code-acp"]) | ||
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| conversation = Conversation(agent=agent, workspace="./my-project") | ||
| conversation.send_message("Explain the architecture of this project.") | ||
| conversation.run() | ||
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| agent.close() | ||
| ``` | ||
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| The `acp_command` is the shell command used to spawn the server process. The SDK communicates with it over stdin/stdout JSON-RPC. | ||
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| <Note> | ||
| **Key difference from standard agents:** With `ACPAgent`, you don't need an `LLM_API_KEY` in your code. The ACP server handles its own LLM authentication and API calls. This is *delegation* — your code sends messages to the ACP server, which manages all LLM interactions internally. | ||
| </Note> | ||
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| ### What ACPAgent Does Not Support | ||
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| Because the ACP server manages its own tools and context, these `AgentBase` features are not available on `ACPAgent`: | ||
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| - `tools` / `include_default_tools` — the server has its own tools | ||
| - `mcp_config` — configure MCP on the server side | ||
| - `condenser` — the server manages its own context window | ||
| - `critic` — the server manages its own evaluation | ||
| - `agent_context` — configure the server directly | ||
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| Passing any of these raises `NotImplementedError` at initialization. | ||
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| ## How It Works | ||
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| 1. `ACPAgent` spawns the ACP server as a subprocess | ||
| 2. The SDK initializes the ACP protocol and creates a session | ||
| 3. When you call `conversation.send_message(...)`, the message is forwarded to the ACP server via `conn.prompt()` | ||
| 4. The server processes the request using its own LLM and tools, streaming session updates (text chunks, thought chunks, tool calls) back to the SDK | ||
| 5. The SDK accumulates the response and emits it as a `MessageEvent` | ||
| 6. Permission requests from the server are auto-approved — this means the SDK automatically grants any tool execution or file access the server requests, so ensure you trust the ACP server you're running | ||
| 7. Token usage and cost metrics from the ACP server are captured into the agent's `LLM.metrics` | ||
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| ## Configuration | ||
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| ### Server Command and Arguments | ||
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| ```python icon="python" | ||
| agent = ACPAgent( | ||
| acp_command=["npx", "-y", "claude-code-acp"], | ||
| acp_args=["--profile", "my-profile"], # extra CLI args | ||
| acp_env={"CLAUDE_API_KEY": "sk-..."}, # extra env vars | ||
| ) | ||
| ``` | ||
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| | Parameter | Description | | ||
| |-----------|-------------| | ||
| | `acp_command` | Command to start the ACP server (required) | | ||
| | `acp_args` | Additional arguments appended to the command | | ||
| | `acp_env` | Additional environment variables for the server process | | ||
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| ## Metrics | ||
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| Token usage and cost data are automatically captured from the ACP server's responses. You can inspect them through the standard `LLM.metrics` interface: | ||
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| ```python icon="python" | ||
| metrics = agent.llm.metrics | ||
| print(f"Total cost: ${metrics.accumulated_cost:.6f}") | ||
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| for usage in metrics.token_usages: | ||
| print(f" prompt={usage.prompt_tokens} completion={usage.completion_tokens}") | ||
| ``` | ||
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| Usage data comes from two ACP protocol sources: | ||
| - **`PromptResponse.usage`** — per-turn token counts (input, output, cached, reasoning tokens) | ||
| - **`UsageUpdate` notifications** — cumulative session cost and context window size | ||
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| ## Cleanup | ||
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| Always call `agent.close()` when you are done to terminate the ACP server subprocess. A `try/finally` block is recommended: | ||
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| ```python icon="python" | ||
| agent = ACPAgent(acp_command=["npx", "-y", "claude-code-acp"]) | ||
| try: | ||
| conversation = Conversation(agent=agent, workspace=".") | ||
| conversation.send_message("Hello!") | ||
| conversation.run() | ||
| finally: | ||
| agent.close() | ||
| ``` | ||
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| ## Ready-to-run Example | ||
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| <Note> | ||
| This example is available on GitHub: [examples/01_standalone_sdk/40_acp_agent_example.py](https://github.com/OpenHands/software-agent-sdk/blob/main/examples/01_standalone_sdk/40_acp_agent_example.py) | ||
| </Note> | ||
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| ```python icon="python" expandable examples/01_standalone_sdk/40_acp_agent_example.py | ||
| """Example: Using ACPAgent with Claude Code ACP server. | ||
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| This example shows how to use an ACP-compatible server (claude-code-acp) | ||
| as the agent backend instead of direct LLM calls. | ||
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| Prerequisites: | ||
| - Node.js / npx available | ||
| - Claude Code CLI authenticated (or CLAUDE_API_KEY set) | ||
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| Usage: | ||
| uv run python examples/01_standalone_sdk/40_acp_agent_example.py | ||
| """ | ||
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| import os | ||
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| from openhands.sdk.agent import ACPAgent | ||
| from openhands.sdk.conversation import Conversation | ||
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| agent = ACPAgent(acp_command=["npx", "-y", "claude-code-acp"]) | ||
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| try: | ||
| cwd = os.getcwd() | ||
| conversation = Conversation(agent=agent, workspace=cwd) | ||
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| conversation.send_message( | ||
| "List the Python source files under openhands-sdk/openhands/sdk/agent/, " | ||
| "then read the __init__.py and summarize what agent classes are exported." | ||
| ) | ||
| conversation.run() | ||
| finally: | ||
| # Clean up the ACP server subprocess | ||
| agent.close() | ||
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| print("Done!") | ||
| ``` | ||
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Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment. Choose a reason for hiding this commentThe reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more. 🟠 Important: This is the key differentiator of ACPAgent and it's buried at the end. Most developers scanning this doc will miss it. Add a callout near the top (after "Basic Usage") explaining:
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| This example does not use an LLM API key directly — the ACP server (Claude Code) handles authentication on its own. | ||
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| ## Next Steps | ||
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| - **[Creating Custom Agents](/sdk/guides/agent-custom)** — Build specialized agents with custom tool sets and system prompts | ||
| - **[Agent Delegation](/sdk/guides/agent-delegation)** — Compose multiple agents for complex workflows | ||
| - **[LLM Metrics](/sdk/guides/metrics)** — Track token usage and costs across models | ||
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✅ Placement looks correct - alphabetically ordered within "Agent Features" group.