ACP integration guide

Connect an ACP Coding Agent to Martty

Launch Martty with an ACP-compatible coding agent and understand how models, authentication, permissions, images, tools, and session updates map into the TUI.

Published August 23, 2026 · OpenMA

Start with the ACP Registry

Run martty harness find to browse agents without guessing their commands. Inside Martty, /harness → + Add Harness… opens the catalog. The ACP Registry and harness management guide covers CLI configuration, TUI downloads, explicit switching, authentication, and removal. Installing or saving an entry does not itself prove the agent is ready.

Connect a custom ACP command

Martty can spawn a command that speaks Agent Client Protocol over standard input and output. With the DeepSeek Harness adapter installed, the smallest example is:

martty --agent dsh-acp

For another agent, replace the command and pass its arguments separately. Keeping the executable and arguments explicit avoids shell parsing surprises and makes the connection easy to reproduce.

Capability negotiation

At initialization, the agent advertises what it supports. Martty uses those facts to decide whether to expose model selection, authentication, permission modes, session loading, commands, and image prompts. Unsupported controls are not simulated.

How updates become a terminal timeline

ACP session updates arrive as structured events. Martty renders assistant text, reasoning, tool calls and results, plans, subagent status, and usage without scraping formatted transcript text. This also lets plugins consume structured session facts for status or configuration views.

Images and resources

Use /image <path> to add a local image. On supported desktop terminals, /clip or paste can stage clipboard images. If the agent advertises image prompts, Martty sends ACP image blocks; otherwise it can fall back to a resource link.

Authentication and permissions

/auth opens the methods advertised by the agent. Browser sign-in completion is not the final ACP result: Martty follows the authenticate response and subsequent session state. Connection errors display the agent's diagnostics. /permission chooses a permission mode, and shift+tab cycles available modes.