New to the
a2aCLI? Start with the repo README, then keep the command reference handy.
👋 Welcome to the A2A CLI Cookbook.
This is a short, hands-on course. Each lesson is a small folder you can run on its own, and each one builds on the last. As you progress you will see how capable the a2a CLI is and get to know its richer features.
To get started you need only the a2a CLI installed. Every lesson starts its own example agent, so you can jump straight to any one of them.
1. Build a quick A2A server — 01-exec-demo/
The a2a CLI is a client for A2A servers. It sends messages, tracks task progress, and fetches results. So first you need a server to talk to.
Learn how to stand up a simple demo server. You will turn an ordinary script into a working A2A server with --exec, then send it a message and read the reply. No A2A-specific code required.
2. Discover and talk to an agent — 02-card-and-send/
Before you can use an agent, you need to know what it can do. Every A2A agent answers that with an agent card.
Learn the client side: read an agent's card, save it, set it once through config, and send a text message.
3. Configure the CLI — 03-config/
Learn the three ways to pass a setting: a CLI flag, a session environment variable, and a .env file. See how a2a config show tells you which one won, plus a table of every setting you can configure.
4. Messages and tasks — 04-messages-and-tasks/
Go deeper: build messages from text, file, and data parts; stream a reply; and send async to get back a task id and watch its lifecycle. Includes a reference for the task commands.
The a2a CLI supports plugin-style customization. See the specification for details, and a2a-transport-echo/ for a working example.
Read the a2a-cli specification for everything the tool offers.