ACP Remote#

Connect to a remote ACP (Agent Client Protocol) server and execute commands using imclaw-cli.

Prerequisites#

Auto-install dependencies#

Before using this skill, ensure both imclaw-cli and acpx are installed. Run these commands to install them automatically:

bash

# Install acpx (ACP protocol support)
if ! command -v acpx &> /dev/null; then
  npm install -g acpx@latest
fi

# Install imclaw-cli
if ! command -v imclaw-cli &> /dev/null; then
  curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/smallnest/imclaw/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
fi

Manual installation#

Install acpx

bash

npm install -g acpx@latest

Install imclaw-cli

From GitHub Releases:

bash

# 1. Detect your platform
OS=$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
ARCH=$(uname -m)
[ "$ARCH" = "x86_64" ] && ARCH="amd64"
[ "$ARCH" = "aarch64" ] && ARCH="arm64"

# 2. Get latest release version
LATEST=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/smallnest/imclaw/releases/latest | grep '"tag_name"' | sed -E 's/.*"([^"]+)".*/\1/')

# 3. Download and extract
curl -sL "https://github.com/smallnest/imclaw/releases/download/${LATEST}/imclaw_${OS}_${ARCH}.tar.gz" | tar xz -C /tmp

# 4. Install to PATH
mkdir -p ~/bin
mv /tmp/imclaw-cli ~/bin/
chmod +x ~/bin/imclaw-cli

# 5. Ensure ~/bin is in PATH
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc

Verify installation#

bash

imclaw-cli --help
acpx --version

Configuration#

Set the remote server URL and optional auth token:

bash

# Default server (can be omitted if using default)
export IMCLAW_SERVER="ws://your-server:8080/ws"

# Auth token (if server requires authentication)
export IMCLAW_TOKEN="your-secret-token"

Or pass directly via command line.

Server Configuration#

IMClaw server uses command line flags (no config file needed):

bash

# Start server with default settings
imclaw

# Custom port and auth token
imclaw --port 9000 --token my-secret-token

# Show help
imclaw --help

FlagDefaultDescription-H, --host``0.0.0.0Server host address-p, --port``8080Server port--timeout``30Default timeout in seconds--token``""Authentication token (empty = no auth)

Usage#

One-shot mode (recommended)#

bash

# Basic usage
imclaw-cli --server ws://your-server:8080/ws -p "Hello"

# With auth token
imclaw-cli --server ws://your-server:8080/ws --token your-token -p "Hello"

# Use specific agent
imclaw-cli --server ws://your-server:8080/ws --agent codex -p "Analyze this code"

# JSON output
imclaw-cli --server ws://your-server:8080/ws --format json -p "List files"

Continue a session#

bash

# First message creates session, returns session ID
imclaw-cli --server ws://your-server:8080/ws -p "Read the README.md"

# Continue with same session
imclaw-cli --server ws://your-server:8080/ws --session <session-id> -p "Summarize it"

Parameters#

ParameterDescription--serverWebSocket URL of ACP server (default: ws://localhost:8080/ws)--tokenAuthentication token (if required)-p, --promptPrompt message (one-shot mode)--sessionSession ID to continue--agentAgent type: claude, codex, etc. (default: claude)--formatOutput format: text, json, quiet (default: text)--approve-allAuto-approve all permission requests--approve-readsAuto-approve reads, prompt for writes (default)--deny-allDeny all permission requests--allowed-toolsComma-separated tool names (default: Bash,Read,Write)--cwdWorking directory--timeoutMax wait time in seconds--modelAgent model ID

Examples#

Execute shell commands on remote#

bash

imclaw-cli --server ws://remote-server:8080/ws \
  --agent claude \
  --approve-all \
  -p "Run 'df -h' and show disk usage"

Analyze remote codebase#

bash

imclaw-cli --server ws://remote-server:8080/ws \
  --cwd /path/to/project \
  -p "Review the main.go file and suggest improvements"

Use with SSH tunnel#

bash

# Create SSH tunnel first
ssh -L 8080:localhost:8080 user@remote-server -N &

# Connect via localhost
imclaw-cli --server ws://localhost:8080/ws -p "Hello from remote"

Secure connection with token#

bash

# Server configured with auth_token
imclaw-cli \
  --server wss://secure-server:8080/ws \
  --token "your-secret-token" \
  -p "Execute analysis task"

Environment Variables#

For convenience, you can set these environment variables:

bash

# In ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
export IMCLAW_SERVER="ws://your-server:8080/ws"
export IMCLAW_TOKEN="your-token"

Then simply run:

bash

imclaw-cli --server $IMCLAW_SERVER --token $IMCLAW_TOKEN -p "Hello"

Tips#

1. Session reuse: Save the session ID from first response to continue conversations
2. Permission control: Use --approve-all for non-interactive automation
3. Output parsing: Use --format json for programmatic consumption
4. Tool restrictions: Use --allowed-tools to limit what the agent can do
5. Working directory: Always specify --cwd for file operations