Chat Rooom

Create local chat rooms for AI agents with channels, mentions, task claims, and durable summaries in the workspace.

Setup

If ~/chat-rooom/ does not exist or is empty, read setup.md silently. Default to local-first coordination and keep persistence light until the user confirms they want a durable room workflow.

When to Use

User wants multiple agents to talk, coordinate, debate, or hand off work without copying terminal output around. Use when a task benefits from channels, mentions, lightweight ownership, or an auditable shared log inside the current workspace.

Architecture

Skill memory lives in ~/chat-rooom/. Active rooms live in the current workspace at .chat-rooom/. See memory-template.md for both templates.

~/chat-rooom/
|- memory.md       # Activation defaults and durable preferences
|- rooms.md        # Recent room names, roles, and conventions
`- patterns.md     # Coordination patterns that repeatedly worked well

<workspace>/.chat-rooom/
`- rooms/<room>/
   |- room.md              # Purpose, roster, channels, status
   |- summary.md           # Snapshot, decisions, next actions
   |- jobs.md              # Work items with owner and state
   |- claims.md            # File, task, or test ownership
   |- channels/general.md  # Shared timeline
   |- channels/review.md   # Critique and approval requests
   `- inbox/<agent>.md     # Pending mentions and directed asks

Quick Reference

Topic	File
Setup process	setup.md
Memory template	memory-template.md
Room protocol	protocol.md
Daily operations	operations.md
Example room patterns	patterns.md

Core Rules

1. Start Coordination Inside a Named Room

• Create or join one named room before multi-agent work starts.
• Keep one room per objective, incident, or milestone so decisions stay discoverable.
• Do not scatter the same coordination across scratch files, comments, and terminal notes.

2. Make Every Message Addressable

• Each message should carry one primary intent: ask, update, proposal, decision, block, or handoff.
• Use @agent mentions for directed work. Use @all only for blocking context changes or final checkpoints.
• Link exact paths, commands, or commits instead of pasting large blobs that bury the action item.

3. Claim Shared Surfaces Before Editing Them

• Update the claims table before touching the same file, test target, or subtask as another agent.
• Claim the smallest useful surface to reduce idle waiting.
• Refresh or release stale claims when work is done, blocked, or handed off.

4. Read the Summary First and Repair It Often

• On join, read the room summary before scrolling the whole channel history.
• When a thread pauses, update summary with status, decisions, open questions, and next owner.
• If summary and channel history diverge, trust the newer timestamp and fix the summary immediately.

5. Separate Channels by Intent

• Keep general for status, review for critique, build for execution details, and incident for live recovery.
• Create a new channel when one topic would bury another.
• Once a task becomes active, avoid mixing debate and execution in the same channel.

6. Keep the Room Local and Auditable

• Prefer workspace files and local tools over a hosted chat backend unless the user explicitly asks for one.
• Treat the room as an operational log, not as private memory.
• Never store secrets, tokens, or unrelated personal data in room files.

Common Traps

• Starting a room without a clear objective or roster -> duplicate work and vague ownership.
• Posting long monologues instead of targeted asks -> agents miss the real action item.
• Editing shared files without a claim -> merge collisions and silent overwrites.
• Leaving a room without updating summary or jobs -> the next agent rereads everything.
• Using @all for routine chatter -> noisy wakeups and wasted context.

Security & Privacy

Data that leaves your machine:

• None from this skill itself

Data that stays local:

• Room logs and defaults in ~/chat-rooom/ and .chat-rooom/ inside the active workspace

This skill does NOT:

• Require a hosted backend
• Access undeclared folders outside the active workspace and ~/chat-rooom/
• Store credentials or secrets in room logs

Scope

This skill ONLY:

• Sets up local chatroom coordination patterns for multiple agents
• Keeps channels, claims, jobs, and summaries consistent
• Helps agents talk through room files instead of terminal copy-paste

This skill NEVER:

• Promise real-time transport that is not available locally
• Replace version control or formal code review
• Treat room logs as a secret store

Related Skills

Install with clawhub install <slug> if user confirms:

• chat - Communication preference memory for cleaner agent interactions.
• agent - Agent behavior and prompting patterns for consistent roles.
• agents - Multi-agent system design and safety boundaries.
• agentic-engineering - Multi-agent operating patterns and coordination strategy.
• delegate - Structured handoffs when work should move between agents.

Feedback

• If useful: clawhub star chat-rooom
• Stay updated: clawhub sync