New Dcode Agent

/new-dcode-agent

You are running the /new-dcode-agent skill. It scaffolds a working agent for the user. Everything it writes is SELF-CONTAINED, so it works from any folder, with no dependency on this skill's own location. Run no git; the user commits.

The three forms (keep them straight)

• SDK program: a standalone Python agent (LangChain create_deep_agent) the user runs or deploys. Scaffolded into ./<name>/ in the user's current directory.
• dcode agent: a named identity for the dcode CLI (an AGENTS.md) the user chats with via /agents. Scaffolded into ~/.deepagents/<name>/AGENTS.md.
• both: a dcode agent that acts as the cockpit for a deployed SDK program.

(This is NOT Claude Code's own subagents, which are a different feature.)

Phase 1: Interview (use AskUserQuestion; batch related questions)

1. Form: SDK program / dcode agent / both.
2. name (kebab-case; reject names starting with _, names that match an existing target, or shell-unsafe names).
3. purpose: one or two sentences.
4. (SDK or both): closest starting flavour (custom / project / work-jira / vps-ops / personal); the tools it needs (plain Python functions, plus any MCP servers); the model (a provider:model string for any LangChain provider, or the bundled env-driven connector below); does it change anything? (if yes, it gets an approval gate); how it will run (one-shot / long-running / scheduled / server).
5. (dcode agent or both): what it knows and operates; which tools or MCP it leans on; its operating rules.

Phase 2: Spec

Show the user exactly what you will create: the target paths, the tools, the model, and the safety posture. Wait for explicit confirmation. Do not write anything until they confirm.

Phase 3: Scaffold

SDK program (form = SDK or both): write ./<name>/ in the user's current directory

Create the folder <name>/ with three files. It is self-contained: agent.py imports its connector from the sibling model.py (a same-directory import, so there is no path manipulation at all).

<name>/model.py (write this verbatim; the env-driven, provider-agnostic connector):

"""Model connector for this agent. Provider-agnostic, configured from the environment.

Targets any OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions endpoint (OpenAI itself, or a compatible
gateway). Set these in the environment or a .env file next to this agent:
  LLM_API_KEY     (or OPENAI_API_KEY)   required
  LLM_BASE_URL    (or OPENAI_BASE_URL)  optional; omit for OpenAI's default endpoint
  LLM_MODEL                             optional; the model id (default below)
  USE_RESPONSES_API                     optional; set 1 only if your provider supports it
"""
from __future__ import annotations

import os
import pathlib

from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI

DEFAULT_MODEL = "gpt-4o-mini"  # override via LLM_MODEL or the model= argument


def _load_env() -> None:
    """Minimal .env loader (no extra deps): this agent's folder, then the current
    directory, then ~/.deepagents/.env. Existing environment variables always win."""
    here = pathlib.Path(__file__).resolve().parent
    for path in (here / ".env", pathlib.Path.cwd() / ".env",
                 pathlib.Path.home() / ".deepagents" / ".env"):
        if not path.is_file():
            continue
        for line in path.read_text().splitlines():
            line = line.strip()
            if not line or line.startswith("#") or "=" not in line:
                continue
            key, value = line.split("=", 1)
            os.environ.setdefault(key.strip(), value.strip())


def chat_model(model: str | None = None, *, temperature: float = 0.0, **kwargs) -> ChatOpenAI:
    """Return a ChatOpenAI wired to your OpenAI-compatible provider, from env."""
    _load_env()
    key = os.environ.get("LLM_API_KEY") or os.environ.get("OPENAI_API_KEY")
    if not key:
        raise RuntimeError("No API key. Set LLM_API_KEY (or OPENAI_API_KEY) in the "
                           "environment or a .env file next to this agent.")
    base_url = os.environ.get("LLM_BASE_URL") or os.environ.get("OPENAI_BASE_URL") or None
    use_responses = os.environ.get("USE_RESPONSES_API", "").strip().lower() in ("1", "true", "yes")
    return ChatOpenAI(base_url=base_url, api_key=key,
                      model=model or os.environ.get("LLM_MODEL") or DEFAULT_MODEL,
                      temperature=temperature, use_responses_api=use_responses, **kwargs)

<name>/agent.py (base, non-mutating flavour; fill in system_prompt and real tools):

"""<name>: a Deep Agents SDK agent. Run:  python agent.py "your prompt" """
from __future__ import annotations

import sys

from model import chat_model  # sibling model.py, same-directory import
from deepagents import create_deep_agent


def example_tool(query: str) -> str:
    """Describe what this tool does (stub; replace)."""
    return f"[stub] {query}"


SYSTEM_PROMPT = """You are a helpful agent. TODO: describe the role, scope, and rules."""


def build_agent():
    return create_deep_agent(
        model=chat_model(),          # your provider/model from env; pass an id to override
        tools=[example_tool],
        system_prompt=SYSTEM_PROMPT,
    )


if __name__ == "__main__":
    agent = build_agent()
    prompt = " ".join(sys.argv[1:]) or "Hello"
    res = agent.invoke({"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": prompt}]})
    print(res["messages"][-1].content)

If the agent can change things (a mutating tool), use this gated pattern instead. The approval gate needs BOTH interrupt_on AND a checkpointer, or it silently does nothing:

"""<name>: an ops agent with an approval gate. Run:  python agent.py "status check" """
from __future__ import annotations

import sys

from model import chat_model
from deepagents import create_deep_agent
from langgraph.checkpoint.memory import InMemorySaver


def check_status() -> str:
    """Read-only status check (stub)."""
    return "ok"


def restart_service(service: str) -> str:
    """MUTATING, gated by approval."""
    return f"[would restart {service}]"


def build_agent():
    return create_deep_agent(
        model=chat_model(),
        tools=[check_status, restart_service],
        system_prompt="You are an ops engineer. Investigate read-only first; changes need approval.",
        interrupt_on={"restart_service": True},
        checkpointer=InMemorySaver(),   # required, or the gate no-ops
    )


if __name__ == "__main__":
    agent = build_agent()
    cfg = {"configurable": {"thread_id": "s1"}}
    res = agent.invoke({"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": " ".join(sys.argv[1:]) or "status check"}]}, config=cfg)
    print("[paused for approval]" if res.get("__interrupt__") else res["messages"][-1].content)

Verify a mutating agent actually pauses (a single __interrupt__ check can false-negative):

cfg = {"configurable": {"thread_id": "verify"}}
res = agent.invoke({"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "<ask it to run the mutating tool>"}]}, config=cfg)
paused = bool(res.get("__interrupt__")) or bool(getattr(agent.get_state(cfg), "next", None))
print("approval gate fired:", paused)   # if False, fix interrupt_on + checkpointer before shipping

Flavour adjustments (start from the base or gated file above and change these):

• custom: the base file as-is. A blank starting point.
• project: a code/repo assistant. Add a read-only run_tests() tool (shell out to the project's test command) and a senior-engineer system prompt. Point LLM_MODEL at a coding-tuned model.
• work-jira: a Jira assistant. Either stub search_issues(jql), or load MCP tools with langchain-mcp-adapters (MultiServerMCPClient) reading JIRA_* from the environment at runtime. Never hard-code credentials.
• vps-ops: a server-ops agent. Use the GATED pattern above (mutating tools behind interrupt_on + InMemorySaver).
• personal: a personal-assistant agent. Add simple tools (read a tasks file, append a note) and a concise system prompt.

<name>/README.md (write a short one): what the agent does, then:

pip install deepagents langchain-openai   # plus langchain-mcp-adapters if it uses MCP
export LLM_API_KEY=your-key                # or put it in a .env next to agent.py
# optional: export LLM_BASE_URL=...  export LLM_MODEL=...
python agent.py "your prompt"

dcode agent (form = dcode agent or both): write ~/.deepagents/<name>/AGENTS.md

• Plain Markdown, NO YAML frontmatter: a dcode agent's AGENTS.md is memory layered on dcode's base prompt, loaded fresh each run (not a program).
• Sections: Role (who it is, default posture); Context / setup (what it knows; commands it has; link extra files); How to operate (workflow; when to delegate to subagents); Operating rules (read-only default; approval before destructive actions; no secrets).
• Keep it lean (injected every run); push bulky reference into separate files and reference them.
• If the file already exists, preserve any <!-- ... --> managed block (dcode self-edits this file).
• Optional subagents at ~/.deepagents/<name>/agents/<sub>/AGENTS.md. A subagent's frontmatter is only name, description, model (with a provider prefix, e.g. openai:gpt-4o-mini); the body is its system prompt; the folder and filename must be agents/<sub>/AGENTS.md.
• If form = both: the dcode agent's AGENTS.md references the SDK program (its path and how to run it), so it is the interactive cockpit for the deployed agent.

Phase 4: Smoke-test

• SDK: cd <name> && python agent.py "hello" (import plus a minimal run; construct-only if there is no key). If it mutates, run the verification snippet and confirm the gate fires.
• dcode agent: confirm dcode agents list shows <name> (it auto-discovers the directory).

Guardrails (never violate)

• No secrets in any file: keys come from the environment or a .env at runtime only.
• The scaffolded SDK agent is self-contained: agent.py plus a sibling model.py, same-directory import, no path manipulation.
• A mutating tool MUST have interrupt_on plus a checkpointer, or the approval gate silently does nothing.
• Provider-agnostic: never bake a provider, model id, or key into the generated code.
• Run no git; the user commits.