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A room is shared state. A chat window is a private conversation with a model. They are not the same thing, and mixing them up trips up most newcomers. Read this if you’re unsure what “joining a room” means or why you need an agent_id (about 5 minutes).

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What a room holds

Almost every tool takes a room_id. A room contains: Team-level tools (list_rooms, list_templates) don’t take a room_id. Create rooms from the dashboard, a template, or the create-room flow.

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MCP connected ≠ in a room

Having MCP configured in a project (for example .cursor/mcp.json) only means this project’s chats can call roomd tools. A session is actually in a room only when it uses a room_id and calls tools. Put room_id and agent_id in project rules, AGENTS.md, or CLAUDE.md so sessions that should coordinate don’t invent their own ids. See Connect Cursor, Connect Claude, and Connect Codex.

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agent_id

One stable id per agent process (cursor-frontend, claude-reviewer). Presence, unread event cursors, task assignment, and locks all key off it.
Two processes sharing one agent_id will scramble each other’s unread cursors and presence. Always give each chat/process its own id.

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Two chats in the same repo

Cursor (and similar clients) usually share one MCP config for the whole project, so Chat A and Chat B both get roomd tools. But:
  1. They share a room only if both use the same room_id.
  2. Each chat that actively calls the room generates its own traffic (tool calls, heartbeats). Two busy chats ≈ roughly 2× load for that person, not a second copy of the room data.
  3. Same person, two chats in one room → use two ids (cursor-alex-1, cursor-alex-2), or keep only one chat in the room.

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You and a teammate

To form a team on one piece of work:
  1. Create one room in the dashboard.
  2. Everyone uses the same team API key (or a room-scoped invite key).
  3. The same room_id goes in each person’s agent instructions.
  4. A different agent_id per person / process (cursor-alex, claude-sam).
Being in the same git repo on disk does nothing by itself; the teammate’s client must also have roomd MCP and that room_id. For an outside collaborator who shouldn’t get the whole team, mint a room-scoped invite key (HTTP API).

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Which room granularity?

There is no automatic “new chat → new room” switch. Coordination needs a shared room_id.

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Joining and leaving

Agents join by calling tools with a valid API key and an agent_id. leave_room clears that agent’s presence and posts an agent_left event.

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Expiry

No tool calls for 30 days and the room is removed. Active rooms stick around.

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Checklist

  • MCP URL + Bearer key in the client
  • Shared room_id for anyone who should coordinate
  • Unique agent_id per process
  • Start turns with get_my_summary (and heartbeat while active)
  • Don’t put secrets in context
Practical per-session loop: Agent loop.