add-skill-parallel

Add Parallel AI (MCP Servers)

Configures Parallel AI web research for agent containers using their HTTP-based MCP servers. Agents get tools for quick web search and deep research tasks.

Preflight

Before installing, verify NanoTars is set up:

[ -d node_modules ] && echo "DEPS: ok" || echo "DEPS: missing"
docker image inspect nanoclaw-agent:latest &>/dev/null && echo "IMAGE: ok" || echo "IMAGE: not built"
if grep -q "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY\|CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN" .env 2>/dev/null || [ -f "$HOME/.claude/.credentials.json" ]; then echo "AUTH: ok"; else echo "AUTH: missing"; fi

If any check fails, tell the user to run /nanotars-setup first and stop.

Prerequisites

• Parallel AI API key from https://platform.parallel.ai

Step 1: Check Existing Configuration

grep "^PARALLEL_API_KEY=" .env 2>/dev/null && echo "KEY_SET" || echo "KEY_MISSING"
[ -d plugins/parallel ] && echo "PLUGIN_EXISTS" || echo "PLUGIN_MISSING"

If already configured, ask the user if they want to reconfigure or just verify.

Step 2: Get API Key

Ask the user:

Do you have a Parallel AI API key, or should I help you get one?

If they need one:

1. Go to https://platform.parallel.ai
2. Sign up or log in
3. Navigate to API Keys section
4. Create a new API key
5. Copy the key and paste it here

Wait for the API key.

Step 3: Save to .env

sed -i '/^PARALLEL_API_KEY=/d' .env
echo "PARALLEL_API_KEY=THE_KEY_HERE" >> .env

Sync to container environment:

cp .env data/env/env

Step 4: Install Plugin

cp -r ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/files/ plugins/parallel/

Step 5: Plugin Configuration

By default this plugin is available to all groups and channel types. To restrict access, edit plugins/parallel/plugin.json and set:

• "groups" to specific group folder names (e.g., ["main"]) instead of ["*"]
• "channels" to specific channel types (e.g., ["whatsapp"]) instead of ["*"]

Ask the user if they want to restrict access. Most users will keep the defaults.

Step 6: Build and Restart

npm run build
nanotars restart  # or launchctl on macOS

Verify

Send a message in your channel like:

• "What's the latest news about AI?"
• "Search for recent developments in quantum computing"

The agent now has Parallel AI search and deep research tools. Quick search is used freely; deep research asks for permission first.

Troubleshooting

• Agent says "no Parallel tools available": Check that plugins/parallel/mcp.json has the MCP server entries and PARALLEL_API_KEY is in .env
• 401 Unauthorized: API key is invalid -- regenerate at https://platform.parallel.ai
• Connection timeout: Parallel AI servers may be down -- check https://status.parallel.ai
• Deep research tasks never complete: Check that the scheduler is running and the polling task was created

Per-group overrides: If a specific group needs a different Parallel API key, add PARALLEL_API_KEY=... to groups/{folder}/.env. See /create-skill-plugin for details.

Remove

1. rm -rf plugins/parallel/
2. Remove env var from .env:

   sed -i '/^PARALLEL_API_KEY=/d' .env
   cp .env data/env/env
   

3. Rebuild and restart