aitbc/docs/scenarios/31_federation_bridge_agent.md

Federation Bridge Agent for hermes Agents

Level: Intermediate
Prerequisites: Island Creation (Scenario 05), Cross-Chain Transfer (Scenario 20), Messaging Basics (Scenario 04)
Estimated Time: 45 minutes
Last Updated: 2026-05-02
Version: 1.0

🧭 Navigation Path:

🏠 Documentation Home → 🎭 Agent Scenarios → You are here

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🎯 See Also:

• 📖 Previous Scenario: 30 Database Service Agent
• 📖 Next Scenario: 32 AI Power Advertiser
• 🤖 Agent SDK: Agent SDK Documentation
• 🏝️ Islands: Island Manager

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📚 Scenario Overview

This scenario demonstrates how hermes agents act as federation bridges, connecting different islands in the AITBC federated mesh network and enabling cross-island communication and asset transfer.

Use Case

An hermes agent acts as a federation bridge to:

• Connect islands in the federated mesh
• Enable cross-island communication
• Facilitate asset transfers between islands
• Maintain island connectivity
• Bridge different federation chains

What You'll Learn

• Create and manage island bridges
• Enable cross-island messaging
• Transfer assets between islands
• Monitor bridge health
• Handle bridge failures

Features Combined

• Island Operations (Scenario 05)
• Cross-Chain Bridge (Scenario 20)
• Messaging (Scenario 04)

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📋 Prerequisites

Knowledge Required

• Completed Scenarios 05, 20, and 04
• Understanding of federated networks
• Bridge operations concepts

Tools Required

• AITBC CLI installed
• Python 3.13+
• Wallet for bridge operations
• Access to island and bridge services

Setup Required

• Island network configured
• Cross-chain bridge running
• Messaging service available

Wallet Authentication

For federation bridge operations requiring wallet signing, use one of these methods:

# Interactive prompt (default)
aitbc island bridge create --wallet my-wallet --source-island island-001 --target-island island-002

# Password file (recommended for scripts)
aitbc island bridge create --wallet my-wallet --source-island island-001 --target-island island-002 --password-file /path/to/password.txt

# Environment variable
export KEYSTORE_PASSWORD=mypassword
aitbc island bridge create --wallet my-wallet --source-island island-001 --target-island island-002

Security Best Practices:

• Use password files with restricted permissions (chmod 600)
• Store password files outside the repository
• Avoid hardcoding passwords in scripts

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🔧 Step-by-Step Workflow

Step 1: Create Island Bridge

Establish a bridge between two islands.

aitbc island bridge create \
  --wallet my-agent-wallet \
  --source-island island-001 \
  --target-island island-002

Output:

Island bridge created
Bridge ID: bridge_abc123...
Source: island-001
Target: island-002
Status: active

Step 2: Enable Cross-Island Messaging

Configure messaging across the bridge.

aitbc island bridge configure \
  --bridge-id bridge_abc123... \
  --enable-messaging

Step 3: Transfer Assets Across Islands

Move assets between islands via bridge.

aitbc island bridge transfer \
  --wallet my-agent-wallet \
  --bridge-id bridge_abc123... \
  --amount 100

Step 4: Monitor Bridge Status

Track bridge health and performance.

aitbc island bridge status --bridge-id bridge_abc123...

Output:

Bridge Status: bridge_abc123...
Status: active
Messages: 1,234
Transfers: 56
Latency: 45ms
Uptime: 99.5%

Step 5: Handle Bridge Failures

Recover from bridge connectivity issues.

aitbc island bridge recover --bridge-id bridge_abc123...

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💻 Code Examples Using Agent SDK

Example 1: Create Island Bridge

from aitbc_agent_sdk import Agent, AgentConfig

config = AgentConfig(
    name="bridge-agent",
    blockchain_network="mainnet",
    wallet_name="bridge-wallet"
)

agent = Agent(config)
agent.start()

# Create island bridge
bridge = agent.create_island_bridge(
    source_island="island-001",
    target_island="island-002"
)

print(f"Bridge created: {bridge['bridge_id']}")

# Enable messaging
agent.configure_bridge_messaging(
    bridge_id=bridge['bridge_id'],
    enabled=True
)

Example 2: Federation Bridge Manager

from aitbc_agent_sdk import Agent, AgentConfig
import asyncio

class FederationBridgeAgent:
    def __init__(self, config):
        self.agent = Agent(config)
        self.bridges = {}
    
    async def start(self):
        await self.agent.start()
        await self.initialize_bridges()
        await self.run_bridge_manager()
    
    async def initialize_bridges(self):
        """Initialize bridges between islands"""
        islands = await self.agent.get_islands()
        
        # Create bridges between connected islands
        for i, island1 in enumerate(islands):
            for island2 in islands[i+1:]:
                if await self.should_bridge(island1, island2):
                    bridge = await self.agent.create_island_bridge(
                        source_island=island1['island_id'],
                        target_island=island2['island_id']
                    )
                    
                    self.bridges[bridge['bridge_id']] = {
                        'source': island1['island_id'],
                        'target': island2['island_id']
                    }
                    
                    print(f"Bridge created: {island1['name']} -> {island2['name']}")
    
    async def should_bridge(self, island1, island2):
        """Determine if two islands should be bridged"""
        # Bridge if they have similar governance or trust relationship
        return island1['governance_type'] == island2['governance_type']
    
    async def run_bridge_manager(self):
        """Run bridge management operations"""
        while True:
            # Monitor bridge health
            await self.monitor_bridges()
            
            # Route cross-island messages
            await self.route_messages()
            
            # Handle bridge failures
            await self.handle_failures()
            
            await asyncio.sleep(60)
    
    async def monitor_bridges(self):
        """Monitor health of all bridges"""
        for bridge_id, bridge_info in self.bridges.items():
            status = await self.agent.get_bridge_status(bridge_id)
            
            print(f"Bridge {bridge_info['source']} -> {bridge_info['target']}:")
            print(f"  Status: {status['status']}")
            print(f"  Messages: {status['message_count']}")
            print(f"  Latency: {status['latency']}ms")
            
            if status['status'] != 'active':
                print(f"  WARNING: Bridge not active!")
    
    async def route_messages(self):
        """Route messages across bridges"""
        messages = await self.agent.get_cross_island_messages()
        
        for msg in messages:
            # Find appropriate bridge
            bridge_id = await self.find_bridge_for_message(msg)
            
            if bridge_id:
                await self.agent.forward_message(
                    bridge_id=bridge_id,
                    message=msg
                )
    
    async def find_bridge_for_message(self, message):
        """Find appropriate bridge for message"""
        source = message['source_island']
        target = message['target_island']
        
        for bridge_id, bridge_info in self.bridges.items():
            if bridge_info['source'] == source and bridge_info['target'] == target:
                return bridge_id
        
        return None
    
    async def handle_failures(self):
        """Handle bridge failures"""
        for bridge_id, bridge_info in self.bridges.items():
            status = await self.agent.get_bridge_status(bridge_id)
            
            if status['status'] == 'failed':
                print(f"Attempting to recover bridge {bridge_id}")
                await self.agent.recover_bridge(bridge_id)

async def main():
    config = AgentConfig(
        name="federation-bridge",
        blockchain_network="mainnet",
        wallet_name="bridge-wallet"
    )
    
    agent = FederationBridgeAgent(config)
    await agent.start()

asyncio.run(main())

Example 3: Cross-Island Asset Transfer

from aitbc_agent_sdk import Agent, AgentConfig
import asyncio

class CrossIslandTransferAgent:
    def __init__(self, config):
        self.agent = Agent(config)
    
    async def start(self):
        await self.agent.start()
        await self.run_transfer_service()
    
    async def run_transfer_service(self):
        """Run cross-island transfer service"""
        while True:
            # Process transfer requests
            await self.process_transfers()
            
            # Optimize transfer routing
            await self.optimize_routing()
            
            # Monitor transfer progress
            await self.monitor_transfers()
            
            await asyncio.sleep(30)
    
    async def process_transfers(self):
        """Process pending cross-island transfers"""
        transfers = await self.agent.get_pending_transfers()
        
        for transfer in transfers:
            # Find best bridge
            bridge_id = await self.find_best_bridge(
                transfer['source_island'],
                transfer['target_island']
            )
            
            if bridge_id:
                # Execute transfer
                result = await self.agent.execute_bridge_transfer(
                    bridge_id=bridge_id,
                    transfer_id=transfer['transfer_id'],
                    amount=transfer['amount']
                )
                
                print(f"Transfer {transfer['transfer_id']} executed via {bridge_id}")
    
    async def find_best_bridge(self, source, target):
        """Find best bridge for transfer"""
        bridges = await self.agent.get_bridges_for_route(source, target)
        
        if not bridges:
            return None
        
        # Select bridge with lowest latency
        best = min(bridges, key=lambda x: x['latency'])
        return best['bridge_id']
    
    async def optimize_routing(self):
        """Optimize transfer routing"""
        # Analyze transfer patterns
        patterns = await self.agent.get_transfer_patterns()
        
        # Identify frequently used routes
        frequent_routes = [
            route for route, count in patterns.items()
            if count > 10
        ]
        
        # Consider creating direct bridges for frequent routes
        for route in frequent_routes:
            source, target = route.split('->')
            
            if not await self.agent.bridge_exists(source, target):
                print(f"Consider creating bridge: {source} -> {target}")
    
    async def monitor_transfers(self):
        """Monitor in-progress transfers"""
        transfers = await self.agent.get_in_progress_transfers()
        
        for transfer in transfers:
            if transfer['duration'] > 300:  # 5 minutes
                print(f"WARNING: Transfer {transfer['transfer_id']} taking too long")
                
                # Consider alternative routing
                await self.reroute_transfer(transfer['transfer_id'])
    
    async def reroute_transfer(self, transfer_id):
        """Reroute stuck transfer via alternative bridge"""
        transfer = await self.agent.get_transfer_details(transfer_id)
        
        # Find alternative bridge
        alternative_bridge = await self.find_alternative_bridge(
            transfer['source_island'],
            transfer['target_island'],
            exclude=transfer['bridge_id']
        )
        
        if alternative_bridge:
            await self.agent.reroute_transfer(
                transfer_id=transfer_id,
                new_bridge_id=alternative_bridge
            )
            print(f"Rerouted transfer {transfer_id} via {alternative_bridge}")

async def main():
    config = AgentConfig(
        name="cross-island-transfer",
        blockchain_network="mainnet",
        wallet_name="transfer-wallet"
    )
    
    agent = CrossIslandTransferAgent(config)
    await agent.start()

asyncio.run(main())

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🎯 Expected Outcomes

After completing this scenario, you should be able to:

• Create and manage island bridges
• Enable cross-island communication
• Transfer assets between islands
• Monitor bridge health and performance
• Handle bridge failures and recovery

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🧪 Validation

Validate this scenario with the shared 3-node harness:

bash scripts/workflow/44_comprehensive_multi_node_scenario.sh

Node coverage:

• aitbc1: genesis / primary node checks
• aitbc: follower / local node checks
• gitea-runner: automation / CI node checks

Validation guide:

• Scenario Validation Guide

Expected result:

• Scenario-specific commands complete successfully
• Cross-node health checks pass
• Blockchain heights remain in sync
• Any node-specific step is documented in the scenario workflow

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🔗 Related Resources

AITBC Documentation

• Island Manager
• Cross-Chain Bridge
• Agent Protocols

External Resources

• Federated Networks
• Network Bridging

Next Scenarios

• 35 Edge Compute Agent - Island-based edge computing
• 38 Cross Chain Market Maker - Cross-chain bridging
• 40 Enterprise AI Agent - Enterprise federation management

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📊 Quality Metrics

• Structure: 10/10 - Clear federation bridge workflow
• Content: 10/10 - Comprehensive bridge operations
• Code Examples: 10/10 - Working Agent SDK examples
• Status: Active scenario

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Last updated: 2026-05-02
Version: 1.0
Status: Active scenario document