ACP Protocol

Reference for the planned @aicoach/acp CLI implementing Zed's Agent Client Protocol.

Status: not shipped. ACP is post-MVP. This page documents intent so consumers can plan around it.

Implemented surface (planned)

initialize — capability negotiation.
session/new, session/prompt, session/cancel.
Streaming agent_message_chunk + tool_call / tool_call_update.
File ops via Zed's client-side fs methods — no local disk access from the agent process.
request_permission for any wallet-debiting tool call ("Run T8 Backlink Checker for $0.40?").
available_commands — /model, /skills, /balance.

Version pinning

The CLI will pin a specific ACP version at install time. We aim to support N-1 (current and previous protocol version) for at least 90 days after a new version ships, so editors can upgrade independently.

Auth

aicoach-acp login runs a device-code flow and stores the resulting key in your OS keychain (Keychain on macOS, secret-service on Linux, Credential Manager on Windows). The key isn't written to ~/.zedconfig or similar — it lives wherever the OS keeps secrets.