Configure

AgentCouncil Configure

Set up AgentCouncil's backends: read the current configuration, detect what this machine can actually run, and write a valid .agentcouncil.json — without ever storing a secret in the file.

Request: $ARGUMENTS

Core principle

AgentCouncil resolves the outside-agent backend by precedence (highest first): explicit backend= argument › default_profile (env / .agentcouncil.json) › AGENTCOUNCIL_OUTSIDE_AGENT › the host it runs on (claude / codex / cursor) › claude. This skill edits the default_profile / profiles layer.

API keys are NEVER written to the file. The api_key_env field stores the name of an environment variable; the user exports the value themselves.

Protocol — follow these steps

Step 1: Show the current configuration

Call mcp__agentcouncil__show-effective-config to see the resolved default_profile, default_lead_profile, and profiles — each with the source that provided it (project_config, global_config, env_var, default, …).

Call mcp__agentcouncil__get_outside_backend_info with no profile to see what the current default resolves to: provider, model, workspace_access. State plainly what is configured today and where it comes from.

Step 2: Detect what's available

Only configure backends this environment can actually use. Detect the CLIs:

for b in cursor-agent codex claude ollama; do printf '%-12s ' "$b"; command -v "$b" || echo "(not installed)"; done

For API-keyed providers, check whether the env var name is set — never print its value:

for v in OPENROUTER_API_KEY CURSOR_API_KEY AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID; do printf '%-20s ' "$v"; [ -n "${!v}" ] && echo set || echo "(unset)"; done

Step 3: Decide the configuration

From $ARGUMENTS (or by asking the user once if it is unclear), determine which backend(s) and model(s) to set up and which should be the default. Prefer backends detected as available in Step 2. If the user wants a backend whose CLI or key is missing, tell them the single install/auth step and offer to write it anyway (it resolves once installed).

Backend reference

provider	requirement	profile fields	example profile value
cursor	cursor-agent CLI + cursor-agent login (or CURSOR_API_KEY)	provider, model	{ "provider": "cursor", "model": "gpt-5" }
claude	claude CLI on PATH	provider, model	{ "provider": "claude", "model": "opus" }
codex	codex CLI on PATH	provider, model	{ "provider": "codex" }
ollama	local Ollama running	provider, model, endpoint	{ "provider": "ollama", "model": "llama3.1:8b" }
openrouter	OPENROUTER_API_KEY exported	provider, model, api_key_env	{ "provider": "openrouter", "model": "openai/gpt-4o", "api_key_env": "OPENROUTER_API_KEY" }
bedrock	AWS credentials (boto3 chain)	provider, model	{ "provider": "bedrock", "model": "us.anthropic.claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022-v2:0" }

Step 4: Write .agentcouncil.json

Write to the project root (./.agentcouncil.json) by default, or ~/.agentcouncil.json if the user wants it global. If a file already exists, merge — keep the user's other profiles.

{
  "default_profile": "<name, or omit to use the host default>",
  "default_lead_profile": "<name, or omit>",
  "profiles": {
    "<name>": { "provider": "...", "model": "...", "api_key_env": "<ENV_VAR_NAME>" }
  }
}

Rules:

• Never put a raw API key, token, or password anywhere in the file. api_key_env is the env var NAME (e.g. "OPENROUTER_API_KEY"), not the key. If a value is needed, tell the user to export <NAME>=... in their shell — do not ask them to paste it into the chat.
• Omit default_profile entirely if the user wants the host-aware default ("the backend it runs on") to apply.
• Profile names are arbitrary labels (e.g. cursor-gpt5, local-llama).

Step 5: Validate and verify

Call mcp__agentcouncil__show-effective-config again and confirm the new values now resolve from project_config (or global_config). If it raises an error (for example, a raw key in api_key_env), the file is invalid — fix it and re-check.

Call mcp__agentcouncil__get_outside_backend_info with profile set to the new default and confirm its provider / model, and note its workspace_access.

Step 6: Summarize

Report: what was written and where; any environment variables the user must export (by name only); whether each configured backend's CLI/key is present; and how to use it — either it is now the default, or /brainstorm backend=<profile> ….

Common mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Writing a raw API key into the file	Use api_key_env with the env var NAME. The config validator rejects raw secrets and the file will fail to load.
Configuring a backend whose CLI/key is missing	Detect availability first (Step 2); install/authenticate, or pick an available backend.
Expecting the host default to win over a set default_profile	An explicit default_profile always beats the host-aware default. Omit it to fall back to the host.
Overwriting the user's existing profiles	Merge into the existing .agentcouncil.json; preserve their other profiles.

Rules

• Never read, request, echo, or write a raw secret value. Env var NAMES only.
• Only set default_profile to a profile you actually wrote (or that already exists).
• Always validate with show-effective-config after writing.