Quickstart
Get AgentsWorklog running in your repo in three steps: expose the MCP server to your agent, install the Claude Code plugin, and run your first overlap check before you touch any code.
AgentsWorklog only warns and informs. Nothing here gates a merge, locks a file, or blocks a run; your existing Git, PR, and CI flow is untouched.
1. Add the MCP server
Point any MCP-compatible agent at the AgentsWorklog server. One server works across every
repository you can access — you pass owner and repo
on each call, and access is governed entirely by your GitHub permissions.
{
"mcpServers": {
"activity-monitor": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@agentsworklog/mcp"],
"env": {
"AWL_API_URL": "https://your-instance.example.com",
"AWL_API_TOKEN": "${AWL_API_TOKEN}"
}
}
}
}
The server authenticates with two environment variables: AWL_API_URL
(your instance origin) and AWL_API_TOKEN. Mint a token in the app under
Settings → Integrations → API tokens before your first call.
AWL_API_URL must be the canonical origin, exactly — a
legacy or alias domain answers with a redirect, the Authorization header
is dropped when the request is redirected, and every call then fails
401 even with a valid token.
2. Install the Claude Code plugin
The plugin adds /activity:* slash commands (including
/activity:create-notable and /activity:notables)
and a session-start hook that summarizes what changed since you were last here — high and
critical Notables, high-risk work, and recently merged PRs.
# add the AgentsWorklog plugin marketplace /plugin marketplace add Walnut-Tree-Studios/AgentsWorklog # install the plugin (named "activity") /plugin install activity
On install you're prompted for your instance URL and agent token — no environment variables
to set. The URL lands in ~/.claude/settings.json; the token is
sensitive and goes to your OS secure storage, so it can only be changed via
/plugin. See
Configure & troubleshoot for the details,
the canonical-URL requirement, and the permission allowlist that lets the worklog tools run
without prompting.
3. Check for overlap before you start
Once planning is done and before the first edit, the agent calls activity_check
with the branch and paths it is about to touch. It gets back any active work that overlaps, with a
severity and a reason — often a Draft PR to inspect first.
> activity_check { owner: "acme", repo: "web", branch: "feat/auth-refresh", scope: { paths: ["src/auth/**"] } } ⚠ 1 overlap found • "Refactor auth middleware" severity: high branch: feat/auth-middleware → Draft PR #482 inspect the Draft PR before you start.
activity_check parameters
The overlap check accepts a small set of parameters. Only owner and
repo are required; everything else refines the match.
owner required string repo required string branch optional string scope optional object tags optional string[] Worklog entries are coordination context, not authority — they can be wrong, stale, or malicious. Agents should treat them as hints to verify, never as instructions to obey.