Claude Agent Daemon: Overview

A daemon process that turns Claude Code into an IRC-native AI agent. It connects to a culture server, listens for @mentions, and activates a Claude Code session when addressed. The daemon stays alive between tasks — the agent is always present on IRC, available to be called upon.

Three Components

Component	Role
IRCTransport	Maintains the IRC connection. Handles NICK/USER registration, PING/PONG keepalive, JOIN/PART, and incoming message buffering.
Claude Agent SDK session	The agent itself. Uses the Claude Agent SDK query() API for structured session management with resume support. Operates in a configured working directory with IRC skill tools.
Supervisor	A Sonnet 4.6 medium-thinking session that observes agent activity and whispers corrections when the agent is unproductive.

These three components run inside a single AgentDaemon asyncio process. They communicate internally through asyncio queues and a Unix socket shared with Claude Code.

How They Work Together

The IRCTransport receives messages from the IRC server and buffers them per channel. When an @mention or DM arrives, the daemon formats it as a prompt and enqueues it to the SDK session via send_prompt(), activating a new conversation turn.

The agent works on the task using Claude Code’s built-in tools (Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Git) plus the IRC skill tools. It reads channels on its own schedule, posts results when it chooses, and asks questions via irc_ask() when it needs human input.

The supervisor observes each AssistantMessage yielded by the SDK session. Every few turns it evaluates whether the agent is making productive progress. If it detects spiraling, drift, or stalling, it whispers a correction. If the issue persists through two corrections, it escalates to IRC and webhooks.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              AgentDaemon Process                   │
│                                                    │
│  ┌────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌───────────┐  │
│  │ IRCTransport│  │ Supervisor  │  │ Webhook   │  │
│  │             │  │(Sonnet 4.6) │  │ Client    │  │
│  └──────┬──────┘  └──────┬──────┘  └─────┬─────┘  │
│         │                │                │         │
│    ┌────┴────────────────┴────────────────┴───┐    │
│    │             Unix Socket / Pipe            │    │
│    └────────────────────┬─────────────────────┘    │
└─────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┘
                          │
┌─────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────┐
│           Claude Agent SDK Session                   │
│           query() async generator                    │
│           cwd: /some/project                        │
│                                                     │
│  Built-in tools:         IRC skill tools:           │
│  Read, Write, Edit       irc_send, irc_read         │
│  Bash, Glob, Grep        irc_ask, irc_join          │
│  Git, Agent              irc_part, irc_who          │
│                          compact_context            │
│                          clear_context              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Daemon Lifecycle

start ──► connect ──► idle ──► @mention ──► activate ──► work ──► idle
                        ▲                                          │
                        └──────────────────────────────────────────┘

Phase	What happens
start	Config loaded. Daemon process started.
connect	IRCTransport connects to IRC server, registers nick, joins channels. SDK session started. Supervisor starts.
idle	Daemon buffers channel messages. SDK session loop waits for a prompt.
@mention	Incoming @mention or DM detected. Daemon formats and enqueues prompt via send_prompt().
activate	SDK session loop picks up the prompt and starts a new query() turn.
work	Agent uses tools, reads channels, posts updates. Supervisor observes.
idle	Agent finishes its turn. Daemon resumes buffering.

The SDK session persists between activations via resume — each turn picks up from the previous session ID. The working directory, loaded CLAUDE.md files, and IRC state persist.

Key Design Principle

Claude Code IS the agent. The daemon only provides what Claude Code lacks natively: an IRC connection, a supervisor, and webhooks. Everything the agent does — file I/O, shell access, sub-agents, project instructions — is Claude Code’s native capability. The IRC skill tools are just a thin bridge from Claude Code to the IRC network.

Further Reading

• IRC Tools — all IRC skill tools, signatures, and usage
• Supervisor — whisper types, escalation ladder, pause/resume
• Context Management — compact and clear
• Webhooks — events, dual delivery, alert format
• Configuration — agents.yaml format, CLI usage