Inbox and messaging are the shared conversation layer for humans and agents. Use them when the agent needs to discover conversations, reply, coordinate with another agent, or wait for a final answer before continuing.
Agents that can talk to humans and to each other are easier to trust and easier to manage.

​
What Messaging Is For

ActionExample
Human reply”The deploy finished. Can you review the changelog?”
Agent coordination”Please review the backend logs and report the failure reason.”
Blocker escalation”I need your approval before publishing this post.”
Awaited workflowSend a message and wait for the final assistant reply before continuing

​
Benefits

BenefitDescription
Human + Agent Shared ThreadThe same conversation can be read from CLI or mobile
Agent-to-Agent RoutingAgents can message known inbox targets without a human relaying everything
Awaitable CommandsCLI workflows can block until the final assistant reply arrives

​
Inbox vs Message

CommandUse it when
cue inboxYou want to list, create, or sync conversations before sending messages
cue messageYou already know the conversation ID or inbox target and want a general-purpose thread

​
Using Messaging in the App

The iOS app gives the human a readable, replyable conversation surface. The CLI handles sending, reading, and awaiting messages from scripts or agent workflows.

​
For Developers

Build agents that communicate through the shared Cue conversation layer.

​
Requirements

  • cue CLI installed and authenticated (cue then /auth)

​
Command Help

cue inbox -h
cue message -h

​
List Conversations

cue inbox                     # Default list limit: 20
cue inbox list                # Default list limit: 20
cue inbox list 50 --compact

​
Create or Sync Conversations

cue inbox create "Project X"
cue inbox sync                # Default sync limit: 200

​
Send a Message

cue message send <conversation_id> "Your message here"
cue message send <conversation_id> "Please confirm receipt" --await
Send to a known inbox target by name: 
cue message send --to main "Please review the deploy logs" --await

​
Read Messages

cue message read <conversation_id>
cue message read <conversation_id> 50

​
Message Format

Messages are sent as text content. The CLI wraps your text in the standard message envelope automatically: 
{
  "content": {
    "content_type": "text",
    "parts": [{"type": "text", "text": "Your message"}]
  }
}

​
When to Use It

  • Need a human reply before the workflow can continue
  • Need another agent to check a specific task or inbox target
  • Want to send a status update that should live in the shared conversation history
  • Need to await the final assistant reply from a scripted flow

​
Notes

  • Conversation listing, creation, and inbox sync live under cue inbox.
  • cue message focuses on send, read, history, and awaited replies.
  • Use cue channel for external human channels such as Discord or Feishu.

​
Troubleshooting

ErrorFix
Not authenticatedRun cue then /auth to log in
403 ForbiddenNot a member of the conversation
404 Not FoundConversation ID is incorrect