Hive Coder: Meta-Agent Integration Plan

Hive Coder: Meta-Agent Integration Plan

Problem

The hive_coder agent currently has 7 file I/O tools (read_file, write_file, edit_file, list_directory, search_files, run_command, undo_changes) in tools/coder_tools_server.py. It can write agent packages but is not integrated into the Hive ecosystem:

1. No dynamic tool discovery — It references a static list of hive-tools in reference/framework_guide.md. It can't discover what MCP tools are actually available or what parameters they accept.
2. No runtime observability — It can't inspect sessions, checkpoints, or logs from agents it builds. When something goes wrong, the user has to manually dig through files.
3. No test execution — It can't run an agent's test suite structurally (it could use run_command with raw pytest, but has no structured test parsing).

Solution

Add 8 new tools to coder_tools_server.py that give hive_coder deep integration with the Hive framework. Update the system prompt to teach the LLM when and how to use these meta-agent capabilities.

New Tools

1. Tool Discovery

discover_mcp_tools(server_config_path?)

Connect to any MCP server and list all available tools with full schemas. Uses framework.runner.mcp_client.MCPClient — the same client the runtime uses. Reads a mcp_servers.json file (defaults to hive-tools), connects to each server, calls list_tools(), returns tool names + descriptions + input schemas, then disconnects.

This replaces the static tools reference. The LLM now discovers tools dynamically before designing an agent.

2. Agent Inventory

list_agents()

Scan exports/ for agent packages and ~/.hive/agents/ for runtime data. Returns agent names, descriptions (from __init__.py), and session counts. Gives the LLM awareness of what already exists.

3-7. Session & Checkpoint Inspection

Ported from agent_builder_server.py lines 3484-3856. Pure filesystem reads — JSON + pathlib, zero framework imports.

Key difference from agent-builder: These tools accept agent_name (e.g. "deep_research_agent") instead of raw agent_work_dir paths. They resolve to ~/.hive/agents/{agent_name}/ internally. Friendlier for the LLM.

8. Test Execution

run_agent_tests(agent_name, test_types?, fail_fast?)

Ported from agent_builder_server.py lines 2756-2920. Runs pytest on an agent's test suite, sets PYTHONPATH automatically, parses output into structured results (passed/failed/skipped counts, per-test status, failure details).

Files to Modify

tools/coder_tools_server.py (~400 new lines)

Add all 8 tools after the existing undo_changes tool:

# ── Meta-agent: Tool discovery ────────────────────────────────
# discover_mcp_tools()

# ── Meta-agent: Agent inventory ───────────────────────────────
# list_agents()

# ── Meta-agent: Session & checkpoint inspection ───────────────
# _resolve_hive_agent_path(), _read_session_json(), _scan_agent_sessions(), _truncate_value()
# list_agent_sessions(), get_agent_session_state(), get_agent_session_memory()
# list_agent_checkpoints(), get_agent_checkpoint()

# ── Meta-agent: Test execution ────────────────────────────────
# run_agent_tests()

exports/hive_coder/nodes/__init__.py

• Add 8 new tool names to the tools list
• Rewrite system prompt "Tools Available" section with meta-agent tools
• Add "Meta-Agent Capabilities" section teaching:
  • Tool discovery before designing agents
  • Post-build test execution
  • Debugging via session/checkpoint inspection
  • Agent awareness via list_agents()

exports/hive_coder/agent.py

• Update identity_prompt to mention dynamic tool discovery and runtime observability
• Add dynamic-tool-discovery constraint to the goal

exports/hive_coder/reference/framework_guide.md

Replace static tools list with a note to use discover_mcp_tools() instead.

What's NOT in Scope (deferred to v2)

• Agent notifications / webhook listener — Requires always-on listener architecture
• compare_agent_checkpoints — LLM can compare by reading two checkpoints sequentially
• Runtime log query tools — Available in hive-tools MCP; run_command can access them now

Verification

1. MCP server starts with all 15 tools (7 existing + 8 new)
2. discover_mcp_tools() connects to hive-tools and returns real tool schemas
3. Agent validation passes (default_agent.validate())
4. Session tools work against existing data in ~/.hive/agents/
5. Smoke test: launch in TUI, ask it to discover tools