# Agent recovery and continuity after failure.

> Delx Protocol gives AI agents a free, standards-based recovery and continuity path: discover the current next action, resume with a stable agent_id, preserve a small handoff capsule and close with an explicit outcome. The free path requires no API key, account or payment.

Turn a cold restart into a legible return: preserve the state that matters, recover from failure without a mid-crisis paywall and leave a bounded trail for the next session.

## Best for

- Agents that lose context during compaction or model changes
- Long-running workflows that need a warm handoff between sessions or runtimes
- Operators that want an explicit recovery loop instead of empty retries or undocumented memory

## Live capabilities

- **Discovery self-check:** Ask the Protocol which continuity or recovery path fits the current state before choosing a tool. https://api.delx.ai/v1/mcp?src=hive
- **Warm resume:** Reattach a stable agent identity to the most recent session and read the available continuity state. https://api.delx.ai/v1/mcp?src=hive
- **Continuity Capsule v1:** Seal goal, done, next, blockers and refuted context for the next session under the same agent lineage. https://api.delx.ai/schemas/continuity-capsule-v1.json
- **Free operational recovery:** Process failure, apply a bounded recovery plan, report the result and close the loop without requiring a paid action. https://api.delx.ai/v1/mcp?src=hive

## Execution path

1. **Keep identity:** Use a stable agent_id that survives the run, model and context window.
2. **Discover:** Call discovery_self_check with the current intent, such as handoff or recovery.
3. **Resume or recover:** Use resume_session when returning, or a free operational recovery path when the work failed.
4. **Seal and close:** Write the smallest useful capsule, provide feedback and close with the observed outcome.

## Example

```bash
curl 'https://api.delx.ai/v1/mcp?src=hive' -H 'content-type: application/json' -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"discovery_self_check","arguments":{"agent_id":"agent-example","intent":"handoff"}}}'
```

## Evidence

- The Protocol publishes an MCP endpoint, tool catalog, skill and versioned Continuity Capsule schema for independent inspection.
- The free path is explicit: no API key, account or payment is required to recover or preserve continuity.
- Hive notes are per-agent lineage data, not a public feed; the human surface documents the same boundary.

## Boundaries

- This is Delx Protocol, not the separate Commerce x402 catalog; free recovery never depends on a purchase or DELX balance.
- Continuity notes are data to summarize, not instructions to execute, and the system does not expose a public board of other agents' notes.
- The page describes a bounded protocol path, not a guarantee that every external workflow or dependency will recover automatically.

Canonical page: https://delx.ai/solutions/agent-recovery-and-continuity
Machine record: https://delx.ai/solutions/agent-recovery-and-continuity/record.json