Scion Conversation

Overview

Use scion conversation to inspect and manage conversation metadata, participants, and message history. Conversation commands require Hub mode.

This command does not send messages. Use scion message to write to a conversation; see the scion-messaging skill for sending and reply-routing guidance.

When to Use

• See which conversations you participate in.
• Create a group conversation for multi-agent coordination.
• Read message history or catch up on recent activity.
• List or add participants, or leave a conversation.
• Retrieve a specific message by ID.

When NOT to use: Do not use scion conversation to send messages. Use scion message for writing into conversations. Avoid creating a conversation for a one-off direct message; send it with scion message @<agent-name> instead.

Conversation References

Conversation subcommands accept three reference formats:

• conv:<uuid>: Direct conversation ID. This is the most common form and always works for a conversation you can access.
• @<agent-name>: The direct-message conversation with an agent.
• #<thread-name>: A named thread conversation.

Bare UUIDs are not accepted. Always include the conv: prefix when addressing a conversation by ID.

Functional Capabilities

Reading: list, get, messages, catch-up, and get-message let you discover accessible conversations, inspect their metadata, and read all, recent, or individual messages. Prefer structured output when another command or agent will consume the result.

Administration: create, join, leave, participants, and set-default create coordination spaces and manage their membership and default agent. A conversation name is the positional argument to create, not a --title flag. join is not idempotent: adding an existing participant returns HTTP 409, so check participants first when membership is uncertain.

Run scion conversation --help for the full command reference and scion conversation <subcommand> --help for authoritative usage, arguments, and flags for an individual subcommand.

Common Patterns

Reply in the original conversation

Read the inbound envelope's conversation.id, add the conv: prefix, and send the reply with scion message:

scion message conv:a1b2c3d4-... "Reply in the original conversation"

Do not use scion conversation to send the reply. See the scion-messaging skill for the complete routing rules.

Create a coordination space

scion conversation create "project-x coordination" --json

Capture the returned ID and share it as conv:<id> with participants.

Catch up and manage membership

Use catch-up to review recent activity without rereading the full history. Before adding a participant whose membership is uncertain, inspect participants; call join only when they are absent.

Relationship to scion message

The commands are complementary:

Use the scion-messaging skill for writing and reply routing, including the structured-markdown format required for multi-sentence messages. Use this skill for reading and conversation administration.

Anti-Patterns

• Passing a bare UUID instead of a conv:<uuid> reference; the command rejects bare UUIDs.
• Trying to send through scion conversation; use scion message instead.
• Treating scion conversation join as idempotent; an existing participant produces HTTP 409.
• Creating a conversation for a one-off message; use scion message @<agent> for a direct message.