# Dm > DM - Skill: `outfitter-dev/dm` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add outfitter-dev/dm` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/outfitter-dev/dm/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: outfitter-dev (https://skillmd.com/u/outfitter-dev) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/outfitter-dev/dm --- # DM Use `$dm` for a short, synchronous conversation with another dispatch-managed lane. The long form is "dispatch message": the workflow is backed by `dispatch send`, not by a separate `dispatch message` CLI op in v0. Use a goal/delegation workflow instead when the target lane should own background work, source-control follow-through, monitoring, heartbeats, or a long-running task. ## Preconditions Use dispatch first: ```bash uv run dispatch doctor --no-app-server uv run dispatch list uv run dispatch daemon status ``` If the environment is new, run `uv run dispatch doctor` once before messaging. Fix PATH, Codex auth, stale daemon files, registry, or plugin asset warnings before assuming a DM failure is about the target lane. For an owned Hermes lane, `dispatch daemon status --json` must show the binding ready with `send` support. Durable Hermes messages require both `prompt_submit_if_idle_v1` and `prompt_turn_correlation_v1`; stock Hermes `939e45c`/`0.21.2` lacks the correlation capability, so Dispatch refuses the send. The supported runtime uses a local unpublished patch. Send plain text with an idempotency key, and inspect the returned local receipt: ```bash uv run dispatch send '' \ --idempotency-key dm: --json uv run dispatch delivery get --json ``` An exact key and request replay the same local receipt. A changed request returns `delivery_conflict`; an unknown outcome stays held and must not be resent. Hermes DMs do not support images, steer, queue, interject, context injection, or native history recovery in this slice. The target should be an owned dispatch lane selected by dispatch ref when possible. Attached lanes are turn-write locked by default. Dispatch permits DM/send verbs only when local config explicitly enables `[policy] allow_attached_writes = true`; check the lane's `writable`, `capabilities`, and `write_locked_reason` fields before sending. If the user wants to message an existing desktop Codex thread, attach/sync it only for observation unless they explicitly enable attached writes after reading ADR-0005 and ADR-0018. ## Handles And URIs Use bare `@Name` handles for conversational identity. When the thread id is known, make the first human-facing mention a Markdown Codex URI. Compose a link whose label is the handle and whose destination is the Codex URI: ```markdown label: @Target destination: codex://threads/ ``` Use the dispatch ref or full thread id for `dispatch send`. Use the URI link in the message body so the recipient and the human can open the thread directly. ## Message Shape Send one small request with `dispatch send --intro` so Dispatch appends the standard visible attribution footer and includes the reply hint: ```text Contract: read-only, brief answer, reply in this lane unless asked otherwise. dispatch (dm): [@Sender](codex://threads/) `` ↳ reply `dispatch send "..."` ``` Then deliver it: ```bash uv run dispatch send '' --intro ``` When a bounded question needs visual evidence, attach it to the same send instead of creating a separate workflow: ```bash uv run dispatch send 'Does this match the expected state?' --image ./screen.png --intro ``` Repeat `--image` or `--image-url` as needed for Codex lanes; local images must be PNG, JPEG, GIF, or WebP and at most 20 MiB, while remote images must use HTTPS and resolve publicly. Use `--image-detail auto|low|high|original` only when detail matters. Images work for normal Codex DM sends, steering, queueing, and interjection, but not silent context injection. A queued DM stores references and validation metadata, never image bytes, and revalidates files and remote content before delivery. Keep DMs conversational and bounded. Prefer one ask. Include only the context needed for the target lane to answer without reading the sender's full transcript. Add Codex thread links inside the freeform message when the recipient or human needs a direct desktop link. If the current Codex thread is not managed by dispatch, omit `--intro` and include the sender link manually. Do not use `$dm` to smuggle in broad implementation work. ## Harvesting `dispatch send` starts the target turn. Use `dispatch get` and `dispatch daemon log` to confirm thread state and accepted actions: ```bash uv run dispatch get uv run dispatch daemon log --limit 10 ``` Important v0 limitation: `dispatch get` is thread metadata unless the CLI surface requests transcript output. For Hermes, use `dispatch get --include-transcript`; the result is bounded, partial `live_observed` evidence. For Codex, use `dispatch tail --limit 50` for persisted history when the lane is non-ephemeral, or open the Codex thread link. `tail` and selector-scoped `history` read App Server transcript history and backfill Dispatch's local history index for that thread; bare `history` is only an indexed overview. Do not pretend a DM harvested text you did not actually read. ## Optional Contract Lines Use one line only when it reduces ambiguity: ```text Contract: answer only; no repo/tracker/source-control mutation. Contract: 3-6 lines; include evidence paths if you check live files. Contract: sanity-check the wording; no implementation. Contract: reply back to when done. ``` ## Guardrails - Do not use `$dm` for background execution or task ownership. - Do not create new lanes unless the user asks. - Do not pin, archive, rename, or stop lanes as part of ordinary DM flow. - Do not send secrets, private data, long logs, or unrelated transcript dumps. - If the exchange becomes work ownership, stop and switch to a goal/delegation workflow. ## Example ```text From <@Docs Markdown thread link> to <@Dispatch Markdown thread link> via $dm: Quick terminology check: should the usage docs say "lane" everywhere, or is "thread" acceptable in the operator guide when referring to raw Codex ids? Contract: read-only; 3-5 lines; include evidence paths if you check repo docs. ```