Agent Publishing

Nexent supports publishing Agent to external callable services. After publishing, external business systems can integrate with Agents through standardized methods. This document introduces two publishing methods:

Publishing Method	Description	Use Case
Normal Publishing	Publish and call Agent via Northbound RESTful API	Deep integration with business systems, workflow automation
A2A Publishing	Publish as A2A 1.0 compliant Agent	Cross-platform Agent collaboration, external system calls via A2A protocol

Method 1: Normal Publishing (Northbound RESTful API)

Normal publishing means publishing Agent to the platform, allowing external business systems to communicate with the Agent through Nexent's Northbound RESTful API, supporting streaming responses, attachment uploads, and session management.

Publish Steps

1. Navigate to Agent Development page, create or edit Agent
2. Complete Agent configuration and save
3. Click the "Publish" button
4. Confirm default publishing (don't check A2A option)
5. Confirm publishing; after generating API Key, you can start calling

Getting API Key

After successful publishing, you need to generate an API Key for callers:

1. Log in to Nexent platform
2. Navigate to Personal Info page
3. Click Generate API Key
4. Copy the generated Access Key

Call Example

curl -X POST "https://your-nexent-domain.com/nb/v1/chat/run" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your-access-key-here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "agent_name": "general-assistant",
    "query": "Hello, please introduce yourself"
  }'

API Capabilities Overview

Endpoint	Method	Description
/nb/v1/chat/run	POST	Start conversation (streaming response)
/nb/v1/chat/stop/{conversation_id}	GET	Stop conversation
/nb/v1/chat/attachments/upload	POST	Upload conversation attachments
/nb/v1/conversations	GET	List conversations
/nb/v1/conversations/{conversation_id}	GET	Get conversation history
/nb/v1/generate_title	POST	Generate conversation title
/nb/v1/conversations/{conversation_id}/title	PUT	Update conversation title

For complete API definitions, request/response examples, and error codes, see Northbound API.

Local Development Notes

Deployment	Path Prefix
Docker deployment	Replace with http://localhost:5013/nb/v1
Kubernetes deployment	Replace with http://localhost:30013/nb/v1
Production	Replace with actual server domain name or public IP

Method 2: A2A Publishing

Expose a published Agent as an A2A service for external systems to discover and call via A2A 1.0 protocol.

Publish Steps

1. Navigate to Agent Development page, create or edit Agent
2. Complete Agent configuration and save
3. Click the "Publish" button
4. Check Publish as A2A Agent in publish options
5. Confirm publish

Getting Call Information

After successful publishing, the system displays A2A Agent call information:

Info Item	Description
Endpoint ID	Unique identifier for A2A Agent
Agent Card URL	Agent discovery endpoint; external systems get Agent description via this address
Protocol Version	A2A protocol version, currently 1.0
REST Endpoint	REST-style API endpoint
JSON-RPC Endpoint	JSON-RPC 2.0 protocol call endpoint

Call Examples

REST API

# Get Agent Card
GET /nb/a2a/{endpoint_id}/.well-known/agent-card.json

# Send synchronous message
POST /nb/a2a/{endpoint_id}/message:send
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "message": {
    "role": "user",
    "content": "Please help me analyze this sales data"
  }
}

# Send streaming message (SSE)
POST /nb/a2a/{endpoint_id}/message:stream
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "message": {
    "role": "user",
    "content": "Please help me analyze this sales data"
  }
}

JSON-RPC 2.0

POST /nb/a2a/{endpoint_id}/v1
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "SendMessage",
  "params": {
    "message": {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "Please help me analyze this sales data"
    }
  },
  "id": 1
}

Local Development Notes

• Docker deployment: Replace path prefix /nb/a2a with http://localhost:5013/nb/a2a
• Kubernetes deployment: Replace path prefix /nb/a2a with http://localhost:30013/nb/a2a
• Production: Replace with actual server domain name or public IP address

Authentication and Security

Call Authentication

Both publishing methods require carrying authentication info in the request header:

Authorization: Bearer {access_key}

The access_key is obtained through "Generate API Key" in Personal Info on the platform.

Security Recommendations

1. Protect API Key: Don't hardcode in code; rotate regularly
2. Limit access: Only authorize trusted systems to access call endpoints
3. Monitor logs: Enable call log recording for auditing
4. Data isolation: Be careful not to send sensitive data to uncontrolled callers

Version Management

Publish Version

• Agents can publish multiple versions; each publish generates a new version
• Published versions cannot be modified, ensuring callers get consistent experience

Version Update

1. Modify Agent configuration
2. Publish new version (select publishing method as needed)
3. External systems can get updates through the new Agent Card (A2A scenario)

Agent Card Caching

• Agent Card information is cached (A2A scenario)
• Refresh interval is 1 hour
• If immediate update is needed, republish the Agent

FAQ

Q: Can normal publishing and A2A publishing be enabled simultaneously?

Yes. When publishing, you can both enable default Northbound RESTful API and check Publish as A2A Agent, supporting both calling methods.

Q: A2A call returns 401 error

Confirm the request header contains a valid Authorization field and access_key is correct.

Q: How to update a published A2A Agent?

Republish the Agent version; updated information will be exposed through the refreshed Agent Card.

Q: Where are the detailed Northbound API parameters?

See Northbound API for complete API parameters, request/response examples, and error codes.

Related Resources

• Publish as A2A Agent — Full guide for publishing and calling A2A agents
• Northbound API — Northbound RESTful API detailed reference
• Agent Configuration — Agent configuration details