a2abase-cli 0.1.7
Production-ready CLI tool for scaffolding A2ABase Agent SDK projects
License: MIT
Requires Python: >=3.11
Keywords: a2abase, agent, cli, scaffold, sdk

# A2ABase CLI

<p align="center">
  <img src="https://a2abase.ai/belarabyai-symbol.svg" alt="A2ABaseAI" width="110" />
</p>

<p align="center">
  <b>Production-ready CLI tool for scaffolding and managing A2ABase Agent SDK projects.</b>
</p>

<p align="center">
  <a href="https://pypi.org/project/a2abase-cli/"><img src="https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/a2abase-cli?label=PyPI" alt="PyPI"></a>
  <a href="https://a2abase.ai/settings/api-keys"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/API-Key%20Dashboard-blue" alt="API Keys"></a>
  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/python-3.11%2B-blue" alt="Python 3.11+">
  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-lightgrey" alt="MIT License">
</p>

---

> **One command to scaffold, develop, and deploy A2ABase AI agents.**  
> The A2ABase CLI helps you quickly create, manage, and run production-grade AI agent projects with built-in tooling, MCP server integration, and deployment workflows.

## 🚀 Quick Start

### Installation

```bash
pip install a2abase-cli
```

After installation, the `a2abase` command is available globally:

```bash
a2abase --help
```

### Create Your First Project

```bash
# Initialize a new project
a2abase init --name my-agent

# Navigate to project
cd my-agent

# Set up environment (add your API key)
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env and add: BASEAI_API_KEY=pk_xxx:sk_xxx

# Install dependencies
pip install -e .

# Run in development mode
a2abase dev
```

**That's it!** You now have a fully functional A2ABase agent project with:
- ✅ Pre-configured project structure
- ✅ Example weather agent with real API integration
- ✅ MCP server for custom tools
- ✅ Auto-reload development server
- ✅ Ngrok integration for remote agent access

## 🔑 Get Your API Key

Before using the CLI, you'll need an A2ABase API key:

1. Sign up at **[A2ABaseAI Dashboard](https://a2abase.ai/settings/api-keys)**
2. Create an API key
3. Add it to your project's `.env` file:

```bash
BASEAI_API_KEY=pk_xxx:sk_xxx
```

## 📖 Commands

### Initialize a new project

```bash
a2abase init
```

This will interactively prompt you for:
- Project name
- Package name
- Template (basic, advanced, complex)
- Package manager (uv or pip)

**Template Options:**
- `basic`: Simple agent with native A2ABase tools only (no MCP server)
- `advanced`: Agent with custom tools via MCP server (requires ngrok)
- `complex`: Multi-agent system with multiple agents and coordination

## 🔄 Understanding Templates: Basic vs Advanced

### Basic Template

The **basic** template creates a simple agent project that uses only **native A2ABase tools** - the 50+ built-in tools provided by the A2ABase platform (web search, file operations, browser automation, etc.).

**When to use Basic:**
- ✅ You only need A2ABase's built-in tools
- ✅ You want a simple setup without MCP server complexity
- ✅ You're prototyping or learning the SDK
- ✅ You don't need custom integrations

**What you get:**
- Simple agent structure
- Access to all A2ABase built-in tools
- No MCP server setup required
- No ngrok configuration needed

### Advanced Template

The **advanced** template creates an agent project with **custom tools** served via an **MCP (Model Context Protocol) server**. This allows you to create your own tools and integrate with external APIs, databases, or services.

**When to use Advanced:**
- ✅ You need custom tools not available in A2ABase's catalog
- ✅ You want to integrate with your own APIs or services
- ✅ You need domain-specific functionality
- ✅ You want to serve tools that can be discovered dynamically

**What you get:**
- MCP server setup (FastMCP)
- Example weather tool with real API integration
- Custom tool scaffolding
- Ngrok integration for remote agent access
- Complete MCP server implementation

## 🔌 How MCP (Model Context Protocol) Works

**MCP (Model Context Protocol)** is a standardized protocol that allows AI agents to discover and use tools from external servers. Think of it as a way for your agent to "call" functions that live on your local machine or remote server.

### Architecture Overview

```
┌─────────────────┐         ┌──────────────────┐         ┌─────────────────┐
│  A2ABase Agent  │────────▶│   MCP Server     │────────▶│  Your Custom    │
│  (Remote)       │  HTTP   │  (Local/Remote)  │  Python  │  Tools          │
└─────────────────┘         └──────────────────┘         └─────────────────┘
     │                              │
     │                              │
     └────────── Discovers tools ───┘
                via MCP protocol
```

### How It Works

1. **MCP Server**: Your custom tools run in an MCP server (using FastMCP) that exposes them via HTTP
   ```python
   # Example: tools/weather.py
   async def get_weather_tool(city: str) -> str:
       # Your custom logic here
       return weather_data
   ```

2. **Tool Registration**: Tools are registered with the MCP server using decorators
   ```python
   @mcp.tool()
   async def get_weather_tool(city: str) -> str:
       """Get weather for a city."""
       return await fetch_weather(city)
   ```

3. **Agent Connection**: Your agent connects to the MCP server using `MCPTools`
   ```python
   from a2abase.tools import MCPTools
   
   custom_tools = MCPTools(
       endpoint="http://localhost:8000/mcp",  # Your MCP server
       name="custom_tools",
       allowed_tools=["get_weather_tool"]     # Tool names to enable
   )
   await custom_tools.initialize()
   ```

4. **Tool Discovery**: The agent discovers available tools from the MCP server
   - The MCP server exposes a list of available tools
   - Each tool has a schema (name, description, parameters)
   - The agent can call these tools during execution

5. **Tool Execution**: When the agent needs to use a tool, it makes an HTTP request to your MCP server
   - Agent sends: `{"tool": "get_weather_tool", "arguments": {"city": "San Francisco"}}`
   - MCP server executes your Python function
   - Returns result back to the agent

### Why Ngrok is Required

**The Challenge:**
- A2ABase agents run on **remote servers** (not on your local machine)
- Your MCP server runs **locally** on your machine (`localhost:8000`)
- Remote agents cannot access `localhost` - they need a **public URL**

**The Solution:**
- **Ngrok** creates a secure tunnel from the internet to your localhost
- It gives you a public URL like `https://abc123.ngrok.io` that forwards to `localhost:8000`
- Remote agents can now access your local MCP server via the ngrok URL

**Example Flow:**
```
1. Start MCP server locally: localhost:8000
2. Ngrok creates tunnel: https://abc123.ngrok.io → localhost:8000
3. Agent connects to: https://abc123.ngrok.io/mcp
4. Agent discovers tools and can call them
5. Tool execution happens on your local machine
```

### Key Benefits of MCP

- ✅ **Separation of Concerns**: Tools run independently from agents
- ✅ **Dynamic Discovery**: Agents can discover new tools without code changes
- ✅ **Language Agnostic**: MCP servers can be written in any language
- ✅ **Security**: Tools run in your controlled environment
- ✅ **Flexibility**: Easy to add, remove, or update tools

### Example: Adding a Custom Tool

1. **Create the tool function** (`tools/my_tool.py`):
   ```python
   async def my_tool(param: str) -> dict:
       """My custom tool."""
       return {"result": f"Processed: {param}"}
   ```

2. **Register with MCP server** (`tools/mcp_server.py`):
   ```python
   from .my_tool import my_tool
   
   @mcp.tool()
   async def my_tool_mcp(param: str) -> str:
       """My custom tool description."""
       result = await my_tool(param)
       return json.dumps(result)
   ```

3. **Use in your agent**:
   ```python
   custom_tools = MCPTools(
       endpoint="https://your-ngrok-url.ngrok.io/mcp",
       name="custom_tools",
       allowed_tools=["get_weather_tool", "my_tool_mcp"]  # Add your tool
   )
   ```

**Options:**
- `--name, -n`: Project name (non-interactive)
- `--package, -p`: Package name (non-interactive)
- `--template, -t`: Template type: basic, advanced, or complex (non-interactive)
- `--pm`: Package manager: uv or pip (non-interactive)
- `--install`: Install dependencies after creation
- `--force`: Overwrite existing files
- `--cwd`: Working directory

### Add an agent

```bash
a2abase add agent <name>
```

**Example:**
```bash
a2abase add agent research
```

This creates `src/<package>/agents/research_agent.py` with a basic agent implementation.

### Add a tool

```bash
a2abase add tool <name>
```

**Example:**
```bash
a2abase add tool web_search
```

This creates `src/<package>/tools/web_search.py` with a basic tool implementation.

**Options:**
- `--from-api`: Select from available A2ABase API tools
- `--agent, -a`: Associate tool with specific agent
- `--force`: Overwrite existing tool file

**Select from A2ABase API tools:**
```bash
a2abase add tool --from-api
```

This will show an interactive list of available A2ABase built-in tools (50+ tools available).

### Run in development mode

```bash
a2abase dev
```

Runs the project with auto-reload on file changes. Automatically starts the MCP server with ngrok tunnel.

**⚠️ IMPORTANT**: Ngrok is enabled by default because A2ABase agents run on remote servers and require public access to your local MCP server. Your custom tools won't work without ngrok!

**Setup (required for remote agents):**
```bash
# 1. Install ngrok support
pip install pyngrok

# 2. Get free ngrok auth token from https://dashboard.ngrok.com/get-started/your-authtoken
export NGROK_AUTH_TOKEN=your_token_here

# 3. Run dev command (ngrok enabled by default)
a2abase dev
```

**Options:**
- `--watch/--no-watch`: Enable/disable auto-reload (default: enabled)
- `--mcp-port`: MCP server port (default: 8000)
- `--no-mcp`: Don't start MCP server
- `--ngrok/--no-ngrok`: Enable/disable ngrok tunnel (default: enabled, required for remote agents)
- `--ngrok-token`: Ngrok auth token (or set NGROK_AUTH_TOKEN env var)

The dev command will:
- ✅ Start MCP server on `http://localhost:8000/mcp` (or custom port)
- ✅ Create ngrok tunnel (enabled by default, required for remote agents)
- ✅ Display both local and public URLs in a formatted table
- ✅ Run your agent with auto-reload on file changes

**Disable ngrok** (only for local testing without remote agents):
```bash
a2abase dev --no-ngrok
```

### Run once

```bash
a2abase run --input "your prompt here"
```

**Options:**
- `--input, -i`: Input text for the agent
- `--json`: Output as JSON

### Run tests

```bash
a2abase test
```

**Options:**
- `--verbose, -v`: Verbose output
- `--coverage`: Run with coverage

### Doctor (validate environment)

```bash
a2abase doctor
```

Checks your environment for:
- ✅ Python version (3.11+)
- ✅ Virtual environment
- ✅ Required dependencies
- ✅ Project configuration
- ✅ Write permissions
- ✅ Package manager availability

### Show version

```bash
a2abase version
```

Shows CLI version, SDK version, and Python version.

## 📁 Project Structure

When you run `a2abase init`, it creates a production-ready project structure:

```
<project_name>/
├── pyproject.toml          # Project configuration
├── README.md               # Project documentation
├── .gitignore             # Git ignore rules
├── .env.example           # Environment variables template
├── a2abase.yaml           # A2ABase project config
├── src/
│   └── <package_name>/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── main.py        # Entrypoint
│       ├── sdk_adapter.py # SDK adapter (real or stub)
│       ├── agents/
│       │   ├── __init__.py
│       │   └── weather_agent.py  # Example weather agent
│       ├── tools/
│       │   ├── __init__.py
│       │   ├── weather.py         # Real weather tool (Open-Meteo API)
│       │   ├── mcp_server.py     # MCP server for custom tools
│       │   └── README.md         # Tools documentation
│       └── registry/
│           ├── __init__.py
│           ├── tools.py          # Tool registry
│           └── card.py           # Agent card generator
├── vendor/
│   └── a2abase_sdk_stub/  # Fallback stub SDK
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── agent.py
│       ├── tools.py
│       └── runner.py
└── tests/
    ├── __init__.py
    └── test_smoke.py
```

## ✨ Generated Project Features

### Weather Tool
- 🌤️ **Real weather data** using [Open-Meteo API](https://api.open-meteo.com/v1/forecast)
- ✅ **Free** - No API key required
- ✅ **Current weather** - Temperature, humidity, wind, conditions
- ✅ **Forecast** - Up to 16 days of weather forecast
- ✅ **Geocoding** - Automatic coordinate lookup for city names

### MCP Server
- 🔧 **Custom tools** - Serve your tools via MCP (Model Context Protocol)
- 🚀 **Auto-start** - Automatically started by `a2abase dev`
- 🌐 **Ngrok support** - Expose server publicly with `--ngrok` flag
- 📝 **Well-documented** - Complete guide in `tools/README.md`

### Example Agent
- 🤖 **Weather Agent** - Ready-to-use example with custom weather tool
- 📋 **Agent cards** - Metadata generation for agent registry
- 🔄 **Auto-reload** - Development mode with file watching

## 🎯 Key Features

- ✅ **Interactive project scaffolding** - Create projects with guided prompts
- ✅ **Agent and tool generators** - Quickly add new agents and tools
- ✅ **MCP server integration** - Serve custom tools to A2ABase agents
- ✅ **Ngrok support** - Expose MCP server publicly for remote access
- ✅ **Weather tool example** - Real weather API integration (Open-Meteo)
- ✅ **Auto-reload development server** - Watch for changes and auto-restart
- ✅ **Environment validation** - Doctor command checks your setup
- ✅ **Fallback stub SDK** - Projects work without SDK installed
- ✅ **Idempotent operations** - Won't overwrite without `--force`
- ✅ **Rich terminal UI** - Beautiful colors, tables, and formatting
- ✅ **Cross-platform** - Works on macOS, Linux, Windows
- ✅ **Python 3.11+ support** - Modern Python features

## 📚 Documentation

- **[Quick Start Guide](https://github.com/A2ABaseAI/sdks/blob/main/a2abase_cli/QUICKSTART.md)** - Get started in 5 minutes
- **[A2ABaseAI SDK Docs](https://github.com/A2ABaseAI/sdks/blob/main/README.md)** - Main SDK documentation
- **[Python SDK Docs](https://github.com/A2ABaseAI/sdks/blob/main/python/README.md)** - Python SDK reference
- **[TypeScript SDK Docs](https://github.com/A2ABaseAI/sdks/blob/main/typescript/README.md)** - TypeScript SDK reference

## 🌐 Ngrok Integration (Required for Remote Agents)

**Ngrok is enabled by default** because A2ABase agents run on remote servers and need public access to your local MCP server. Without ngrok, remote agents cannot access your custom tools.

### Why Ngrok is Required

- ✅ A2ABase agents execute on remote servers (not locally)
- ✅ Your MCP server runs locally on your machine
- ✅ Remote agents need a public URL to access your local MCP server
- ✅ Ngrok creates a secure tunnel from the internet to your local server

### Setup

1. **Get free ngrok auth token**:
   - Sign up at [ngrok.com](https://ngrok.com)
   - Get token from [dashboard](https://dashboard.ngrok.com/get-started/your-authtoken)

2. **Install pyngrok**:
   ```bash
   pip install pyngrok
   ```

3. **Set environment variable**:
   ```bash
   export NGROK_AUTH_TOKEN=your_token_here
   ```

4. **Run dev command** (ngrok enabled by default):
   ```bash
   a2abase dev
   ```

The CLI will display both local and public URLs. **Use the public URL** in your agent's MCPTools configuration for remote agent access.

⚠️ **Security Note**: Ngrok exposes your MCP server publicly. Use only for development/testing. For production, deploy your MCP server to a proper hosting service with HTTPS and authentication.

## 💬 Support

- Run `a2abase` to see available commands
- Run `a2abase --help` for command overview
- Run `a2abase <command> --help` for specific command help
- Run `a2abase doctor` to validate your environment
- Discord: https://discord.gg/qAncfHmYUm
- GitHub Issues: https://github.com/A2ABaseAI/sdks/issues

## 🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! 

- Open an issue to discuss larger changes
- Submit pull requests for bug fixes or new features
- Follow the style and lint rules (uses `ruff`)

## 📄 License

Released under the **MIT License**.  
See `LICENSE` for full details.