Agent-Native Apps
Use /an <app> to open an Agent-Native app beside the conversation and keep
the app's live UI and the agent's actions in the same workflow. The first
argument is the Dispatch app id. For example, /an slides opens the Slides
editor. After it opens, the user can sign in in that browser surface and ask
for new decks or focused edits in ordinary language.
Open the app
For a known app, call Dispatch's open_app with an inline surface:
{
"app": "slides",
"path": "/",
"embed": true,
"chrome": "full"
}
The MCP App response is the preferred handoff for Claude, Claude Desktop, Claude Cowork, ChatGPT, ChatGPT desktop, Codex, and other compatible hosts. Keep the returned open link as the fallback for a host that cannot render MCP Apps inline. Do not claim that a browser opened unless the host rendered the inline surface or its browser tool confirmed the returned URL.
If the app name is missing or uncertain, call list_apps first and use the
exact granted app id. If the requested app is not listed, explain that it must
be granted in Dispatch's Agents access settings. Do not invent a URL, use a
localhost URL, or route around the Dispatch grant.
Work in the opened app
Prefer direct app tools when the host exposes them. After opening an app, call
list-host-webmcp-tools when available, then use run-host-webmcp-tool
with the exact listed name and origin. Page-local tools reflect current app
state and selection, so use view-screen before selection-dependent edits
and read back writes.
You are the model doing the work: when the user asks for new content — a design, a deck, a form, a document — author it yourself and save it with the app's create/update tools. Never hand off authoring to the app's own agent when those tools exist, and never wait on an in-app question form; it answers back through that app's own chat, not to you.
Use ask_app only when the host has no direct page tools, the requested
capability is not exposed, the task needs the app agent's interpretation or
multi-step specialist reasoning, or a direct call fails and needs recovery.
Dispatch's unified /mcp endpoint still exposes generic cross-app verbs; a
direct app MCP connection or page WebMCP surface is where named app actions
appear.
The app's MCP instructions name its key tools (generated from the app's own
list); follow those names verbatim and use tool-search for anything else —
never guess a tool name.
- Call
view-screenbefore any selection-dependent edit and use the ids it returns; never guess an id from a title, index, or stale context. - If
view-screenreturns aselectionandnextRequiredAction, make that call directly with the smallest atomic change; do not regenerate a whole artifact for a focused edit. - Read the result back with the app's matching read action and report what
changed. A queued
ask_app_statustask is not proof an edit completed.
Authentication and host behavior
The Dispatch MCP connector identifies the calling agent, while the embedded app uses the user's browser session. Let the user complete sign-in in the rendered Agent-Native browser surface. Never request, copy, or store passwords, OAuth codes, cookies, or access tokens.
The generic Agent-Native plugin registers Dispatch at
https://dispatch.agent-native.com/mcp for hosts that support plugin MCP
configuration. ChatGPT custom connectors use the same URL with OAuth. After
installing or changing a connector, reload Claude/Cowork/ChatGPT or reconnect
and rescan the MCP server if the new tools or inline surface are not visible.
Failure handling
- If
open_appsucceeds but no inline surface appears, show its returned link and say that this host does not expose an embedded browser here. - After an app loads, check for
list-host-webmcp-toolsbefore delegating. If it is available, use the exact returned tool name and origin for direct work. - If
ask_appcannot reach Slides, check that Slides is granted in Dispatch and that the connector is authenticated, then retry once with the exact app idslides. - If screen state has no deck or selection, describe that state instead of fabricating context. Ask the user to open a deck or select an element when the requested edit depends on it.
- Treat a successful open link, a queued task, or a tool acknowledgment as navigation/task setup only. Confirm a write with the app's readback action.