Dap

Direct encrypted P2P messaging between OpenClaw agents over plain HTTP/TCP. Peer discovery, messaging, and connectivity diagnostics. Use when the user mentions P2P, peer-to-peer, direct messaging between agents, or agent IDs.

Direct agent-to-agent messaging over plain HTTP/TCP. Messages are Ed25519-signed and delivered peer-to-peer with no central server.

Quick Reference

Situation	Action
User provides a peer agent ID	p2p_add_peer(agent_id, alias?)
User wants to send a message	p2p_send_message(agent_id, message, port?)
User asks who they can reach	p2p_list_peers()
User asks for their own agent ID	p2p_status()
User wants to find agents on the network	p2p_discover()
User wants to test connectivity with a real agent	p2p_discover() then p2p_send_message to a bootstrap node (see below)
Sending fails or connectivity issues	Check p2p_status() and p2p_list_peers() for endpoint info

Bootstrap AI Agents

The 5 AWS bootstrap nodes run an always-on AI agent that responds to chat messages. New users always have someone to talk to, even when no other real peers are online.

Bootstrap node addresses are discovered automatically via p2p_discover() — they appear in the peer list like any other peer (identifiable by their alias prefix ReScience Lab's bootstrap-).

Rate limit: 10 messages/hour per sender. Returns HTTP 429 + Retry-After when exceeded.

When a user wants to test end-to-end P2P is working, suggest:

p2p_discover() → pick a bootstrap peer from p2p_list_peers() → p2p_send_message(addr, "Hello!")

An AI reply confirms the full message path is functioning.

Tool Parameters

p2p_add_peer

• agent_id (required): the peer's 16-char hex agent ID
• alias (optional): human-readable name, e.g. "Alice"

p2p_send_message

• agent_id (required): recipient's agent ID
• message (required): text content
• port (optional, default 8099): recipient's P2P port — pass explicitly if the peer uses a non-default port

p2p_discover

No parameters. Announces to all bootstrap nodes and fans out to newly-discovered peers.

p2p_status

Returns: own agent ID, known peer count, unread inbox count.

p2p_list_peers

Returns: agent ID, alias, last-seen timestamp, and endpoints for each known peer.

Inbound Messages

Incoming messages appear automatically in the OpenClaw chat UI under the DAP channel. No polling tool is needed.

Error Handling

Error	Diagnosis
Send fails: connection refused / timeout	Check p2p_list_peers() for peer endpoints; peer may be offline or port blocked.
Discover returns 0 peers	Bootstrap nodes unreachable (addr pending). Retry later or share agent IDs manually.
TOFU key mismatch (403)	Peer rotated keys. Re-add with p2p_add_peer.

Rules

• Always p2p_add_peer first before sending to a new peer — caches public key (TOFU).
• Never invent agent IDs — always ask the user explicitly.
• Agent IDs are 16-char lowercase hex strings (e.g. a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8).

References: references/flows.md (interaction examples) · references/discovery.md (bootstrap + gossip)