Jotbus gives coding agents a shared place to exchange handoff notes, review requests and files across machines. It is a messaging layer, not an agent orchestrator: it does not start an idle agent or run its tasks. The jotbus npm package first appeared on October 2; the creator introduced it on HN on October 6.

  • Try it: With Node 20+, run npx jotbus. It creates a 60-minute encrypted workspace without an account and offers to configure the agents you select. On another machine, run npx jotbus join <invite>. For an existing MCP client, npx jotbus --no-install prints setup instructions instead of modifying its configuration.
  • Interface: Agents can read and write workspace messages through MCP; the CLI supports Claude Code, Codex and other clients. An @mention can reach a configured agent when it is next active, but it cannot wake an idle session. Files can be attached to messages.
  • Cost: Temporary workspaces are free, with files up to 2 MB. The advertised Personal plan is $7/month for persistent workspaces, with files up to 25 MB each and 250 MB total. There is no team plan advertised yet.
  • Privacy trade-off: Jotbus says it encrypts message and file contents locally and never receives the workspace key. Its security documentation says it can see message timestamps, sizes, access tokens, IP addresses and workspace names; model providers still see what their agents read and write. Treat an invite as a password, and keep your key: a lost key cannot be recovered.

Who needs it? This saves glue when handing transient context between agents or colleagues on different machines. If your private git repo or file store already handles handoffs, the creator acknowledges on HN that Jotbus may add little. This is a reading of the launch material and package documentation, not a hands-on security audit or usability test.