/ably

name: ably
description: |
  Ably integration. Manage data, records, and automate workflows. Use when the user wants to interact with Ably data.
compatibility: Requires network access and a valid Membrane account (Free tier supported).
license: MIT
homepage: https://getmembrane.com
repository: https://github.com/membranedev/application-skills
metadata:
  author: membrane
  version: "1.0"
  categories: ""

Ably

Ably is a realtime data delivery platform. Developers use it to build live and collaborative experiences in their applications.

Official docs: https://ably.com/documentation

Ably Overview

• **Channel**
• **Channel Details**
• **Token Request**

Working with Ably

This skill uses the Membrane CLI to interact with Ably. Membrane handles authentication and credentials refresh automatically — so you can focus on the integration logic rather than auth plumbing.

Install the CLI

Install the Membrane CLI so you can run `membrane` from the terminal:

npm install -g @membranehq/cli@latest

Authentication

membrane login --tenant --clientName=<agentType>

This will either open a browser for authentication or print an authorization URL to the console, depending on whether interactive mode is available.

**Headless environments:** The command will print an authorization URL. Ask the user to open it in a browser. When they see a code after completing login, finish with:

membrane login complete <code>

Add `--json` to any command for machine-readable JSON output.

**Agent Types** : claude, openclaw, codex, warp, windsurf, etc. Those will be used to adjust tooling to be used best with your harness

Connecting to Ably

Use `membrane connection ensure` to find or create a connection by app URL or domain:

membrane connection ensure "https://ably.com" --json

The user completes authentication in the browser. The output contains the new connection id.

This is the fastest way to get a connection. The URL is normalized to a domain and matched against known apps. If no app is found, one is created and a connector is built automatically.

If the returned connection has `state: "READY"`, skip to **Step 2**.

1b. Wait for the connection to be ready

If the connection is in `BUILDING` state, poll until it's ready:

npx @membranehq/cli connection get <id> --wait --json

The `--wait` flag long-polls (up to `--timeout` seconds, default 30) until the state changes. Keep polling until `state` is no longer `BUILDING`.

The resulting state tells you what to do next:

• **`READY`** — connection is fully set up. Skip to **Step 2**.
• **`CLIENT_ACTION_REQUIRED`** — the user or agent needs to do something. The `clientAction` object describes the required action:
• `clientAction.type` — the kind of action needed:
• `"connect"` — user needs to authenticate (OAuth, API key, etc.). This covers initial authentication and re-authentication for disconnected connections.
• `"provide-input"` — more information is needed (e.g. which app to connect to).
• `clientAction.description` — human-readable explanation of what's needed.
• `clientAction.uiUrl` (optional) — URL to a pre-built UI where the user can complete the action. Show this to the user when present.
• `clientAction.agentInstructions` (optional) — instructions for the AI agent on how to proceed programmatically.

After the user completes the action (e.g. authenticates in the browser), poll again with `membrane connection get <id> --json` to check if the state moved to `READY`.

• **`CONFIGURATION_ERROR`** or **`SETUP_FAILED`** — something went wrong. Check the `error` field for details.

Searching for actions

Search using a natural language description of what you want to do:

membrane action list --connectionId=CONNECTION_ID --intent "QUERY" --limit 10 --json

You should always search for actions in the context of a specific connection.

Each result includes `id`, `name`, `description`, `inputSchema` (what parameters the action accepts), and `outputSchema` (what it returns).

Popular actions

| Name | Key | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | List Push Channels | list-push-channels | List channels with push notification subscriptions | | Request Token | request-token | Request an Ably authentication token | | List Push Channel Subscriptions | list-push-channel-subscriptions | List push notification subscriptions for channels | | Create Push Channel Subscription | create-push-channel-subscription | Subscribe a device or client to push notifications on a channel | | Delete Push Channel Subscriptions | delete-push-channel-subscriptions | Remove push notification subscriptions | | Delete Push Device Registration | delete-push-device-registration | Unregister a device from push notifications | | Update Push Device Registration | update-push-device-registration | Update a registered push device | | Publish Push Notification | publish-push-notification | Publish a push notification to device(s) | | Get Push Device Registration | get-push-device-registration | Get details of a specific registered push device | | List Push Device Registrations | list-push-device-registrations | List devices registered for receiving push notifications | | Register Push Device | register-push-device | Register a device for receiving push notifications | | Get Service Time | get-time | Get the current Ably service time in milliseconds since epoch | | Get Application Stats | get-stats | Retrieve usage statistics for the application | | Get Presence History | get-presence-history | Get presence history for a channel | | Get Channel Metadata | get-channel-metadata | Get metadata and status information for a specific channel | | Publish Message to Channel | publish-message | Publish a message to a specified channel | | Get Message History | get-message-history | Get message history for a channel | | Get Channel Presence | get-channel-presence | Get the current prese