Runtime Modes¶
Echo Agent offers three runtime modes for different scenarios from local development to production.
Mode Comparison¶
| Mode | Command | Use Case | Persistence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreground | echo-agent run |
Development, debugging | Process lifetime |
| Gateway | echo-agent gateway |
Production, multi-channel | System service |
| CLI Client | echo-agent cli |
Attach to running Gateway | N/A (thin client) |
Foreground Mode¶
Runs the agent in the current terminal. Suitable for:
- First-time setup and testing
- Development and debugging
- Single-channel usage (CLI channel only)
The process exits when the terminal closes.
Gateway Mode¶
# Run in foreground
echo-agent gateway
# Install as system service
echo-agent gateway install
echo-agent gateway start
Gateway mode provides:
- HTTP/WebSocket API for external access
- Multi-channel support (all 14 channels)
- Dashboard web UI
- Background service management
- A2A protocol endpoint
Multi-client is not multi-tenant
Gateway authentication provides request admission and read/admin scopes, but ordinary API tokens are not a universal user identity for every stored resource. Dashboard and several APIs expose instance-wide state. Mutually untrusted users should use separate instances and data directories; see the security model.
CLI Client Mode¶
Attaches to a running local Gateway as a thin client. Native terminal
scrollback is the default; use echo-agent cli --tui for the full-screen UI.
The Gateway must already be running.
Tip
Use echo-agent status to check if Gateway is running and which channels are active.