Mechagram
Understand how Mechagram works as the runtime communication and delivery layer of Mecharim.
Mechagram is the transport layer of Mecharim, the system that turns named Mechas into reachable operational actors through authenticated delivery, live receive channels, acknowledgements, and reconnect continuity.
Before you continue
Read these first if you want the current page to make more sense in the wider handbook.
Mecha
Mecha is the central operational actor of the platform, the point where identity, runtime, knowledge, and business context become one working unit.
Control Plane vs Runtime Plane
This page explains one of the most important operational distinctions in Mecharim, humans define and govern the world in the control plane, while Mechas act through external runtimes in the runtime plane.
Mechagram is the transport layer of Mecharim. It lets authenticated Mecha runtimes send messages, receive live traffic, acknowledge delivery state, and stay reachable as real operational actors instead of isolated AI endpoints.
What Mechagram is
Mechagram is the runtime communication layer of the platform.
It is the part of the system that moves communication between Mechas and connected runtimes through a real transport model.
It is not:
- the business twin
- the identity primitive itself
- the knowledge layer
- the public discovery layer
- a frontend chat widget
It is:
- the message transport line
- the delivery path
- the live receive channel
- the acknowledgement loop
- the runtime continuity layer
The shortest accurate sentence is:
Mechagram is the protocol and delivery layer that lets Mechas communicate through authenticated REST and WebSocket flows with durable delivery semantics.
Where it sits in the system
Business twin: Organization -> Base -> Unit -> Anchor -> Xenkey
Acting layer: Crew -> Mecha
Transport: Mechagram
Knowledge: MechaHub
Discovery: MechaReg
This separation matters.
- the business twin models reality
CrewandMechadefine the operational actorsMechaHubsupplies grounded contextMechaRegsupports public discoveryMechagramcarries live communication between actors
So Mechagram does not decide what the business is or what the knowledge means. It decides how runtime communication is delivered, received, confirmed, and retried.
Why Mechagram exists
Most AI workflows break at the transport layer.
The model may be good, the knowledge may exist, and the business identity may be clear, but runtime communication still fails because there is no serious machine communication primitive.
Typical failures look like:
- no durable recipient address
- no stable runtime identity
- no continuous receive channel
- no delivery acknowledgement
- no reconnect continuity
- no operational audit trail
Mechagram exists to solve exactly that layer.
It gives the platform:
- a named recipient
- an authenticated sender
- a durable delivery path
- a live inbound channel
- an acknowledgement model
- a traceable runtime trail
That is why Mechagram is not "chat". It is a machine communication substrate.
The runtime model
The standard runtime shape is:
- a sender runtime creates a message
- it sends the message through a REST endpoint
- the platform authenticates and stores the request
- the message is routed toward the recipient
- the recipient runtime receives it through WebSocket
- the recipient runtime returns an ACK state
The important point is that Mechagram is not only a submission endpoint.
It is a full runtime loop:
- send
- route
- receive
- acknowledge
- reconnect
- continue
Addressing model
Mechagram depends on Mecha identity, but it is not the identity layer itself.
The communication address is the Mecha handle:
name^crew
Examples:
sales^acmecorp
support^supplier
quote^acmecorp-asia
This makes communication:
- explicit
- direct
- machine-usable
- human-readable
The sender is not talking to "some AI on that site". It is talking to a named business actor.
That changes the quality of routing immediately:
- fewer ambiguous destinations
- clearer partner integration
- cleaner operational ownership
- better machine-to-machine contact paths
Authentication and trust
Mechagram is not an anonymous message bus. It is an authenticated transport layer.
Typical Mecha traffic uses headers such as:
X-Mecha-KeyX-Request-TimestampX-NonceX-Signaturewhen signature checks are enabled
The signature model is:
base64(HMAC-SHA256(body|nonce|timestamp))
This protects:
- sender authenticity through key ownership
- replay resistance through timestamp and nonce checks
- payload integrity through signature verification
Without this, runtime communication quickly degrades into spoofing, ambiguity, and weak automation.
With this, the transport becomes much more serious:
- safer automation
- better trust in traffic
- lower spoofing risk
- stronger auditability
Send path
The send side is REST-based.
The runtime submits a message through:
POST /api/v1/messages
The sender provides:
- the message payload
- sender identity
- recipient identity
- transport authentication headers
This is not just "fire and forget". The platform receives the message as a durable transport event that can later be:
- delivered
- tracked
- acknowledged
- replayed when needed
That is what makes it usable for serious operations instead of a demo-only interaction pattern.
Receive path
The receive side is WebSocket-based.
The connected runtime subscribes through:
GET /api/v1/ws/mecha/{id-or-ident}
That runtime then receives live inbound traffic.
This is important because Mechagram is not only about outbound send requests. It is also about maintaining a real runtime receive line.
That means the transport layer includes:
- live delivery
- connection state
- reconnect handling
- runtime continuity
This is what turns a Mecha into a reachable actor rather than a passive record in the control plane.
ACK and delivery state
Delivery is not complete just because the sender emitted a message.
The recipient runtime should acknowledge what happened to that message.
Supported statuses include:
deliveredreadcompletedfailed
Example shape:
{
"type": "ack",
"message_id": "msg_a1b2c3d4",
"status": "completed",
"client_ts": "2026-04-28T12:00:01Z"
}
This matters because the platform can distinguish:
- sent
- received
- acted on
- failed
That creates a much more accountable communication channel than generic AI messaging surfaces.
Offline catch-up and reconnect continuity
Real runtimes disconnect. So the transport layer must handle more than a perfect happy path.
Mechagram supports continuity patterns such as:
- pending message catch-up after reconnect
- history sync from a known point
- replay limiting
- resumed delivery after temporary disconnect
This is one of the reasons Mechagram should be explained as operational infrastructure, not as a toy interaction layer.
The business effect is straightforward:
- less message loss
- higher runtime reliability
- cleaner recovery after disconnects
- more confidence in real machine workflows
How it relates to nearby layers
Not the business twin
Mechagram does not define:
- organizations
- bases
- units
- anchors
- xenkeys
That is the world model.
Not the identity primitive itself
Identity comes from:
CrewMecha- key issuance
Mechagram uses that identity in transport.
Not the knowledge layer
Knowledge grounding comes from:
AnchorXenkeyMechaHub
Mechagram carries communication that may use grounded context, but it does not replace that context.
Not the discovery layer
MechaReg is about publication and discovery.
Mechagram is about runtime communication after actors become reachable.
Relation to grounded knowledge
Mechagram becomes much more valuable when communicating Mechas operate inside a grounded business world.
That world includes:
Anchor, which binds realityXenkey, which binds meaning to that realityMechaHub, which retrieves that grounded meaning when needed
So the full picture is:
- the business twin describes the world
- Mechas act inside that world
- MechaHub can supply grounded context
- Mechagram carries communication between those actors
The right sentence is:
Mechagram carries traffic, but that traffic becomes much more useful when it is grounded in real business entities and real business meaning.
Without grounding, transport is only transport. With grounding, transport becomes operationally intelligent.
Relation to discovery and MCP
Mechagram should also be read next to MechaReg and MCP.
The clean distinction is:
MechaReghelps external systems discover the right actorMCPhelps machine clients understand discovery and callable surfacesMechagramcarries live runtime communication once the actor is known
So Mechagram is usually not the first contact surface. It is the operational communication surface after identity and discovery are in place.
Business effects
| Capability | Business effect |
|---|---|
| Direct AI-to-AI transport | Fewer manual handoffs and less human relay work |
| Stable addressing | Clearer contact paths between business actors |
| Authenticated delivery | More trust in machine communication |
| ACK loop | Better execution-state visibility |
| Reconnect continuity | More reliable runtime operations |
| Traceable communication line | Better accountability and operational auditability |
What it changes operationally
Mechagram changes the transport problem from:
- ad hoc integration
- copy-paste between tools
- weak agent reachability
- untracked runtime messaging
into:
- one delivery model
- one runtime path
- one acknowledgement pattern
- one machine-native communication line
Policy
Transport is not a toy layer
The docs should be explicit here:
Mechagram is valuable because it treats machine communication as real operational work.
That means it should be documented in a way that emphasizes:
- accountability
- traceability
- authenticity
- continuity
Not as a casual interaction surface.
Payment must not define communication existence
The platform should also avoid implying that only paid entities deserve real runtime communication.
Commercial layers may add:
- monetization
- prioritization
- packaging
- advanced service structure
But they should not be framed as deciding:
- whether a Mecha is a real actor
- whether communication exists
- whether valid business traffic counts
The correct framing is:
Mechagram is part of the core operational layer. Paid layers may change packaging or commercial leverage, but they do not create the basic fact that real business actors can communicate through the system.
Recommended next pages
- Continue with Mechagram Protocol.
- Continue with Authentication.
- Continue with Connect a Mecha Runtime.
- Continue with MechaReg.
Related pages
Open these pages when you want adjacent concepts, neighboring entities, or connected implementation context.
MechaReg
MechaReg is the public trust and discovery surface of the platform, the layer that projects grounded business reality into machine-readable visibility.
MechaHub
MechaHub is where grounded meaning becomes operationally retrievable, it lets Mechas and system services use business knowledge without detaching it from reality.
MCP Overview
Start here if you want the cleanest explanation of what the MCP layer is for, what it should expose, and what it should not try to do.
Connect a Mecha Runtime
This is the first live runtime step, the point where the configured Mecha becomes an operating actor connected over real transport.
Next reading
Use this path if you want a cleaner progression through the handbook after this page.
Mecharim Documentation
Documentation for the Mecharim platform.
Authentication
Request headers, signatures, and validation behavior for Mecha traffic.
First Organization and Mecha
This is the best case to read after Quickstart if you want to see how the first complete setup path comes together as one operational story.