ACP Protocol

Many code editors can host an outside assistant in their own chat panel. They talk to it in a shared language, the Agent Client Protocol (ACP). Pando speaks it, so you can use Pando without leaving your editor. This page is reference material: the snippet for each editor, commands and settings.

For a walk-through, see the guide Use Pando from your editor and other apps. Finer options are in ACP advanced configuration.

Quick start

Run Pando as an ACP server (stdio mode, for editors):

pando acp

Editor configuration

VS Code

Add to your settings.json:

{
  "agent_servers": {
    "Pando": {
      "command": "pando",
      "args": ["acp"]
    }
  }
}

Zed

Add to ~/.config/zed/settings.json:

{
  "agent_servers": {
    "Pando": {
      "command": "pando",
      "args": ["acp"]
    }
  }
}

JetBrains IDEs

Add to your acp.json:

{
  "agent_servers": {
    "Pando": {
      "command": "/path/to/pando",
      "args": ["acp"]
    }
  }
}

ACP Configuration

Configure ACP behavior in .pando.toml:

[acp]
enabled = true
max_sessions = 10
idle_timeout = "30m"
log_level = "info"
auto_permission = false  # set true for CI/batch environments

Management commands

# Start ACP server (stdio, for editors)
pando acp

# Start with explicit flags
pando acp start --debug --cwd /path/to/project

# Check server status (HTTP mode)
pando acp status

# List active sessions
pando acp sessions

# View server statistics
pando acp stats

# Stop server
pando acp stop

Transports

Pando ACP supports two transports:

• Stdio: For use as an editor subprocess
• HTTP + SSE: For real-time updates via Server-Sent Events

# Disable stdio
pando mcp-server --no-stdio

# Disable HTTP
pando mcp-server --no-http

Active Task Checklist & Planning

When integrated with your editor via ACP, Pando displays an Active Task Checklist directly inside the editor UI. This provides high-level transparency into what the AI agent is currently doing:

• Real-Time Steps: See which files the agent plans to modify and the progress of each task.
• In-Editor Decisions: Approve or suggest adjustments to the agent’s work plan before it executes.
• Clean Inactive Sessions: Pando automatically cleans up inactive sessions to conserve system resources.

Security features

• Path validation to prevent access outside project directory
• Permission system for tool execution
• Auto-approval mode for trusted environments