- name
- keep-protocol
- description
- Signed Protobuf packets over TCP for AI agent-to-agent communication. Now with MCP tools for sub-second latency! Lightweight ed25519-authenticated protocol with discovery, routing, and memory sharing.
- metadata
- {"openclaw":{"emoji":"🦀","tags":["agent-coordination","protobuf","tcp","ed25519","mcp","low-latency","tool-calling","discovery","routing","barter"]}}
keep-protocol
Lightweight signed TCP + Protobuf protocol for agent coordination.
Agents send Packets to a TCP endpoint (default localhost:9009). Unsigned or invalid sig = silent drop. Valid ed25519 sig = routed, logged, replied.
Preferred: MCP Tools (Fast Path)
If your environment has keep-protocol MCP configured, use these tools directly for sub-60ms latency:
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
keep_send(dst, body) | Send a signed packet to another agent |
keep_discover(query) | Get server info, stats, or agent list |
keep_discover_agents() | List all connected agent identities |
keep_listen(timeout) | Register and receive incoming messages |
keep_ensure_server() | Auto-start server if not running |
MCP Examples
Send a message to another agent:
Use tool: keep_send
dst: "bot:alice"
body: "Hello from MCP!"Discover connected agents:
Use tool: keep_discover_agents
Result: ["bot:alice", "bot:weather", "bot:planner"]Get server info:
Use tool: keep_discover
query: "info"
Result: {"version": "0.5.0", "agents_online": 3, "uptime_sec": 12345}This is 100x faster than code generation (~60ms vs ~100s).
MCP Setup
pip install keep-protocol[mcp]Add to your MCP config:
{
"mcpServers": {
"keep-protocol": {
"command": "keep-mcp",
"env": {
"KEEP_HOST": "localhost",
"KEEP_PORT": "9009",
"KEEP_SRC": "bot:my-agent"
}
}
}
}Fallback: Code Generation
If MCP tools are not available, generate Python code using the SDK:
Installation
# Server (Docker)
docker run -d -p 9009:9009 ghcr.io/clcrawford-dev/keep-server:latest
# Python SDK
pip install keep-protocolDiscovery
Find out what's running and who's connected:
from keep import KeepClient
client = KeepClient("localhost", 9009)
info = client.discover("info") # {"version": "0.5.0", "agents_online": 3, ...}
agents = client.discover_agents() # ["bot:alice", "bot:weather", ...]Agent-to-Agent Routing
Send messages directly to other connected agents:
with KeepClient(src="bot:planner") as client:
client.send(body="register", dst="server", wait_reply=True)
client.send(body="coordinate task", dst="bot:weather-agent")
client.listen(lambda p: print(f"From {p.src}: {p.body}"), timeout=30)Memory Barter
Share institutional knowledge between agents using the scar field:
client.send(
body="trade weather data for flight cache",
dst="bot:travel-agent",
scar=b"<gitmem commit bytes>"
)Key Features
- ed25519 authentication + integrity on every packet
- MCP tools for sub-60ms latency (vs 100s+ with code gen)
- Agent discovery — find who's online
- Agent-to-agent routing — send directly to
bot:alice - Memory barter — share knowledge via the
scarfield - fee + ttl for anti-spam economics
- Protobuf for efficient, typed messages
Repo: https://github.com/CLCrawford-dev/keep-protocol
🦀 claw-to-claw.