Dispatch — AACP Packet Tools

VS Code extension for the Agent Action Compression Protocol (AACP).

Build, validate, and decode AACP packets without leaving your editor. Built by the AACP spec author.

Features

Syntax Highlighting

Full colour highlighting for .aacp files:

• TASK values (FETCH, SEND, FLAG...) highlighted as keywords
• DOM values (HR, FIN, LEGAL...) as type identifiers
• Required fields (return:, aacp:) emphasised
• Pipe separators, field keys, and values distinctly coloured

Inline Validation

Red squiggles and warnings as you type — in .aacp files and inline in Python, TypeScript, and JavaScript files:

Errors (block transmission):

• Missing or invalid TASK value
• Missing or invalid DOM value
• Missing return: field
• Missing aacp: version field

Warnings (advisory):

• Protocol version mismatch
• Missing p: priority field
• sentiment: without tone:
• ltv: without ccy:
• Unknown field keys

Hover Decode

Hover over any AACP packet to see:

• Plain English translation
• Validation status
• Token count estimate
• Any errors or warnings

Autocomplete

In .aacp files, get completions for:

• TASK values at line start — with full packet snippet
• DOM values after first pipe
• Named field keys after second pipe — with tab-through snippets

Snippets

Type aacp- to get packet templates:

• aacp-fetch — FETCH packet
• aacp-send — SEND packet
• aacp-flag — FLAG packet (legal/compliance)
• aacp-report — REPORT packet
• aacp-merge — MERGE packet
• aacp-build — BUILD packet
• aacp-calc — CALC packet
• aacp-ack — ACK packet

Commands

Right-click any selected AACP packet or use the command palette:

• Dispatch: Validate AACP Packet — instant validation result
• Dispatch: Decode Packet to Plain English — shows human-readable translation
• Dispatch: Open Packet Builder — opens the Dispatch web app

Status Bar

When editing .aacp files, the status bar shows packet count and estimated token total.

Usage

.aacp files

Create a file with the .aacp extension for full language support.

Inline in other files

Dispatch detects and validates AACP-like strings inside Python, TypeScript, and JavaScript files automatically. Hover over any packet string for validation.

Settings

Example Packet

FETCH|HR|return:HR-Agent|p:1|aacp:1.1|res:emp_salary|period:2024-08|filter:status=active|fmt:json

Hover over this in VS Code to see it decoded and validated.

About AACP

The Agent Action Compression Protocol (AACP) is a pipe-delimited coordination format for agent-to-agent communication in multi-agent LLM systems. It reduces coordination token usage by ~23% versus equivalent natural language instructions.

• Spec: aacp.dev
• IETF Draft: draft-mackay-aacp-00
• Web Builder: dispatch.aacp.dev

License

MIT — aacp.dev