agent-communication-debugger

What this skill does

# Agent Communication Debugger

Debug and diagnose issues with the A2A (Agent-to-Agent) communication system, including the orchestrator, coder-agent, tester-agent, and message transport layers.

## Prerequisites

- A2A agent system located in `a2a_communicating_agents/`
- Python 3.10+ environment
- Access to agent logs in `logs/` directory
- Agent configurations in respective `agent.json` files

## Instructions

### 1. Check Agent Status

First, determine which agents are running:

```bash
# Check all agent processes
ps aux | grep -E "(orchestrator|coder|tester|websocket)_agent|main.py" | grep -v grep
```

Look for:
- `orchestrator_agent/main.py`
- `coder_agent/main.py`
- `tester_agent/main.py`
- `websocket_server.py`

**Common issues:**
- Agent process not found → Agent isn't running, needs to be started
- Multiple instances → Duplicate processes causing conflicts

### 2. Inspect Agent Configurations

Read the agent configuration files to verify capabilities and topics:

```bash
# View orchestrator config
cat a2a_communicating_agents/orchestrator_agent/agent.json

# View coder agent config
cat a2a_communicating_agents/coder_agent/agent.json

# View tester agent config (if exists)
cat a2a_communicating_agents/tester_agent/agent.json
```

**Verify:**
- Agent names match expected values
- Topics are correctly defined
- Capabilities describe what the agent does
- No JSON syntax errors

### 3. Check Agent Logs

Examine logs for errors and message flow:

```bash
# View orchestrator logs (last 50 lines)
tail -50 logs/orchestrator.log

# View all logs with timestamps
tail -f logs/*.log

# Search for specific errors
grep -i "error\|exception\|failed" logs/*.log

# Check for routing decisions
grep -i "routing to\|routed to" logs/orchestrator.log
```

**Look for:**
- Connection errors
- Routing decisions showing wrong agent selection
- JSON parsing errors
- Message processing failures

### 4. Verify Message Transport

Check if the message transport (WebSocket or RAG board) is working:

```bash
# Check if WebSocket server is running
ps aux | grep websocket_server | grep -v grep
netstat -tlnp 2>/dev/null | grep 8765 || ss -tlnp 2>/dev/null | grep 8765

# Check RAG board storage
ls -lh a2a_communicating_agents/storage/
ls -lh storage/

# Check recent messages in message board
tail -20 storage/message_board.jsonl 2>/dev/null || echo "Message board not found"
```

**Expected:**
- WebSocket server on port 8765 (if using WebSocket transport)
- Recent messages in storage/message_board.jsonl (if using RAG transport)
- No permission errors accessing storage

### 5. Test Message Sending

Use the provided test script to send a message and verify delivery:

```bash
# Send a test message to orchestrator
python .claude/skills/agent-debug/scripts/test_message.py
```

This script will:
1. Send a test message to the orchestrator topic
2. Wait for response
3. Show message delivery status
4. Display any responses received

### 6. Diagnose Routing Issues

If messages reach orchestrator but route to wrong agent:

**Check orchestrator's routing logic:**
```bash
# View the decide_route method
grep -A 50 "def decide_route" a2a_communicating_agents/orchestrator_agent/main.py
```

**Check priority keyword mappings:**
```bash
# View fallback routing keywords
grep -A 20 "priority_mappings = {" a2a_communicating_agents/orchestrator_agent/main.py
```

**Verify agent discovery:**
```bash
# Check discovered agents in logs
grep "Discovered.*agents" logs/orchestrator.log | tail -5
```

**Common routing issues:**
- Agent not discovered → Check agent.json exists and is valid
- Wrong agent selected → Keywords don't match, update priority_mappings
- Null target → No suitable agent found, check agent topics/capabilities

### 7. Check Environment Variables

Verify API keys and configuration:

```bash
# Check if OPENAI_API_KEY is set (don't display value)
env | grep -E "(OPENAI|API_KEY)" | sed 's/=.*/=***HIDDEN***/'

# Check model configuration
grep -E "(model|MODEL)" .env 2>/dev/null | sed 's/=.*/=***HIDDEN***/' || echo "No .env file"
```

**Required environment variables:**
- `OPENAI_API_KEY` - For LLM-based routing and code generation
- `ORCHESTRATOR_MODEL` or `OPENAI_MODEL` - Model to use (default: gpt-5-mini)
- `CODER_MODEL` - Model for coder agent (optional, defaults to OPENAI_MODEL)

### 8. Restart Agents (if needed)

If agents are stuck or not responding:

```bash
# Stop all agents
pkill -f "orchestrator_agent/main.py"
pkill -f "coder_agent/main.py"
pkill -f "tester_agent/main.py"
pkill -f "websocket_server.py"

# Wait a moment
sleep 2

# Start WebSocket server (if using)
cd a2a_communicating_agents
nohup python agent_messaging/websocket_server.py > ../logs/websocket.log 2>&1 &

# Start orchestrator
nohup python orchestrator_agent/main.py > ../logs/orchestrator.log 2>&1 &

# Start coder agent
nohup python coder_agent/main.py > ../logs/coder.log 2>&1 &

# Verify they started
sleep 3
ps aux | grep -E "(orchestrator|coder|websocket)" | grep -v grep
```

### 9. Common Issues and Solutions

See [common_issues.md](common_issues.md) for a detailed troubleshooting guide covering:
- Messages not being delivered
- Routing to wrong agent
- Agent not generating responses
- Duplicate message processing
- Transport connectivity problems

## Quick Diagnostic Checklist

Run through this checklist systematically:

- [ ] All required agents are running (orchestrator, coder, tester)
- [ ] WebSocket server is running (if using WebSocket transport)
- [ ] Agent configuration files are valid JSON
- [ ] Orchestrator discovered all agents (check logs)
- [ ] OPENAI_API_KEY is set in environment
- [ ] Recent log entries show activity
- [ ] No Python exceptions in logs
- [ ] Test message sends and receives successfully
- [ ] Routing decisions select correct agent

## Examples

### Example 1: Agent Not Responding to Messages

User problem:
```
I'm sending messages to the orchestrator but getting no response
```

Debug workflow:

1. Check if orchestrator is running:
   ```bash
   ps aux | grep orchestrator_agent | grep -v grep
   ```
   Result: No process found → Orchestrator isn't running

2. Check logs for crash:
   ```bash
   tail -50 logs/orchestrator.log
   ```
   Result: ImportError for OpenAI package

3. Solution: Install missing dependency
   ```bash
   pip install openai
   ```

4. Restart orchestrator:
   ```bash
   cd a2a_communicating_agents
   nohup python orchestrator_agent/main.py > ../logs/orchestrator.log 2>&1 &
   ```

5. Verify it's running:
   ```bash
   ps aux | grep orchestrator_agent | grep -v grep
   tail -10 logs/orchestrator.log
   ```

### Example 2: Messages Routing to Wrong Agent

User problem:
```
I asked for code but it routed to dashboard-agent instead of coder-agent
```

Debug workflow:

1. Check orchestrator discovered coder-agent:
   ```bash
   grep "Discovered.*agents" logs/orchestrator.log | tail -1
   ```
   Result: Shows coder-agent in list ✓

2. Check routing decision in logs:
   ```bash
   grep -A 5 "please write.*code" logs/orchestrator.log
   ```
   Result: Shows routing to dashboard-agent

3. Check routing logic:
   ```bash
   grep -A 30 "priority_mappings = {" a2a_communicating_agents/orchestrator_agent/main.py
   ```
   Result: Keywords look correct

4. Check LLM routing decision:
   ```bash
   grep "Error in decision making" logs/orchestrator.log
   ```
   Result: LLM routing failed, falling back to heuristic

5. Check API key:
   ```bash
   env | grep OPENAI_API_KEY | sed 's/=.*/=***HIDDEN***/'
   ```
   Result: Variable not set

6. Solution: Set API key and restart orchestrator:
   ```bash
   export OPENAI_API_KEY="your-key-here"
   # Or add to .env file
   echo "OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key-here" >> .env
   ```

7. Restart orchestrator to pick up new environment

### Example 3: Coder Agent Acknowledges But Doesn't Generate Code

User problem:
```
Coder agent receives the message but only acknowledges, doesn't generate code
```

Debug workflow:

1. Check coder agent logs: