Message Mapping

This page describes how Aion Server adapts A2A requests to Google ADK and maps ADK events back into A2A Messages, Tasks, and streaming events. This page uses the v1 canonical JSON-RPC method names. Aion ingress may continue to accept legacy slash-style aliases for compatibility.

Overview

A distribution or client sends an A2A request into Aion Server.
Aion exposes the request through ctx.aion_runtime_context.inbox.
The agent yields events, optionally providing an explicit A2A outbox.
Aion resolves those events into a final A2A Message or Task.
The caller or distribution delivers the response into the original context.

1. Inbound Messages

1.1 Agent Invocation

Both SendMessage and SendStreamingMessage use the same execution path: the agent’s run_async() is always driven as an async event stream.

SendMessage (blocking=true) — collects all events and returns the final Task.
SendMessage (blocking=false) — returns after the first event, continues processing in background with status="working".
SendStreamingMessage — yields events as they arrive and streams them to the client via SSE.

Both methods use the same SendMessageRequest payload; only the response mode differs.

1.2 Part Type Mapping

Inbound A2A message parts are transformed into ADK Content as follows:

A2A Part	ADK Representation
`Part(text=...)`	`types.Part(text=...)`
`Part(raw=...)`	`types.Part(inline_data=types.Blob(mime_type=..., data=...))`
`Part(url=...)`	`types.Part(file_data=types.FileData(mime_type=..., file_uri=...))`
`Part(data=...)`	`types.Part(text=json.dumps(data))`

MIME type resolution order for file parts: explicit mime_type attribute → guess from filename → fallback to application/octet-stream. Part conversion is additive, not authoritative. Messaging media keeps caption text, generated transcript text, a file with MessageMediaPayload metadata, and normalized event data as separate ordered A2A parts. Inspect every part in ctx.aion_runtime_context.inbox.message.parts when provenance matters, and associate file and transcript metadata by mediaId. A file’s fileId is the stable Aion File Recording and fileVersionId is the exact immutable Recordable. Do not assume that the first text part is the whole request. If the message contains no usable parts, the plain text input from the request is used as a fallback.

1.3 Accessing Inbound Context — `ctx.aion_runtime_context.inbox`

When an inbound A2A Message arrives, Aion Server makes it available through ctx.aion_runtime_context on the invocation context:

from google.adk.agents import BaseAgent


class MyAgent(BaseAgent):
    async def _run_async_impl(self, ctx):
        inbox = ctx.aion_runtime_context.inbox
        task = inbox.task
        message = inbox.message
        metadata = inbox.metadata

inbox contains:

Field	Type	Description
`task`	`Task`	The current A2A Task
`message`	`Message`	The full inbound A2A Message, including non-text parts
`metadata`	`dict`	`SendMessageRequest`-level metadata (distribution/network, trace info)

1.4 Replying into the Inbound Context

Thread.from_context(...) wraps the inbound context, and thread.reply(...) builds its routing from the inbound event, so the reply returns to the conversation the request arrived from — the same DM, the same thread, the same shared conversation — without the agent reconstructing that target. An agent that needs to send somewhere else passes an explicit target to thread.post(...).

from aion.adk.authoring.invocation import AionInvocationContext, Thread


async def _run_async_impl(self, ctx: AionInvocationContext):
    thread = Thread.from_context(ctx.aion_runtime_context)
    text = thread.message.text if thread.message else ""
    await thread.reply(f"Received: {text}")

2. Outbound Messages

Valid responses to an A2A SendMessage call are a Message or a Task. Aion Server constructs the response using the following precedence:

(1) SDK-managed response buffer (authoritative when populated)

The runtime maintains a request-scoped messaging buffer for the current turn. SDK helpers and ordinary ADK event content may populate that buffer, including partial stream output and final non-partial message content that is intended to become the durable reply. When this buffer is non-empty, it is the authoritative source for A2A response compilation.

(2) `a2a_outbox`

Set a2a_outbox in event.actions.state_delta to provide an explicit A2A response. It must be an A2AOutbox instance wrapping either a Message or a Task:

from a2a.types import Message, Task, Part, Role
from aion.core.a2a import A2AOutbox
from google.adk.agents import BaseAgent
from google.adk.events import Event, EventActions


class MyAgent(BaseAgent):
    async def _run_async_impl(self, ctx):
        # Option 1: outbox as Message
        yield Event(
            author=self.name,
            actions=EventActions(state_delta={
                "a2a_outbox": A2AOutbox(message=Message(
                    role=Role.ROLE_AGENT,
                    parts=[Part(text="Done!")],
                ))
            })
        )

        # Option 2: outbox as Task (patch)
        yield Event(
            author=self.name,
            actions=EventActions(state_delta={
                "a2a_outbox": A2AOutbox(task=Task(
                    history=[...],
                    artifacts=[...],
                    metadata={"my_key": "my_value"},
                ))
            })
        )

Server-owned fields are enforced:

task_id and context_id are set to current values managed by Aion Server.
Metadata keys beginning with aion: or https://docs.aion.to are reserved for the platform. aion:network carries routing and identity, aion:ephemeral decides whether an event is persisted, and the extension URIs address extension payloads. Ask for that behaviour through the typed parameter that produces it — emit_message(..., ephemeral=True), routing=... — rather than by writing the key.

Behavior:

If a2a_outbox.message is set → append to current Task history.
If a2a_outbox.task is set → treat as a patch to the server’s Task: server merges or extends history and artifacts; provided metadata merges shallowly. Reserved keys are dropped from the patch — they reach neither the stored Task nor the wire.

(3) Framework-native fallback

If neither the SDK-managed response buffer nor a2a_outbox is populated, Aion Server falls back to framework-native output for the current turn:

first, accumulated partial stream text
then, if needed, the final non-partial agent-authored event content
finally, deterministic final session/state inspection when the adapter exposes enough data to do so safely

If you need to return a comprehensive A2A response (e.g., data parts, rich metadata, multiple artifacts), use a2a_outbox rather than relying on the streaming fallback.

When to Reach for `a2a_outbox`

An ordinary final ADK event is enough for a plain text reply. Reach for a2a_outbox when:

you need structured parts rather than plain text
you want to emit a provider-neutral card payload
you need to override the default outbound target
you want to return a task patch instead of a single message

3. Summary

Read ctx.aion_runtime_context.inbox to access the inbound A2A Task, Message, and metadata.
Prefer SDK helpers or normal ADK event content when you want to populate the shared runtime response buffer.
Optionally set a2a_outbox in event.actions.state_delta as an A2AOutbox instance for full-fidelity A2A responses.
Yield partial events for real-time text streaming.

Python SDK

LangGraph

Google ADK

Overview

1. Inbound Messages

1.1 Agent Invocation

1.2 Part Type Mapping

1.3 Accessing Inbound Context — `ctx.aion_runtime_context.inbox`

1.4 Replying into the Inbound Context

2. Outbound Messages

(1) SDK-managed response buffer (authoritative when populated)

(2) `a2a_outbox`

(3) Framework-native fallback

When to Reach for `a2a_outbox`

3. Summary

​Overview

​1. Inbound Messages

​1.1 Agent Invocation

​1.2 Part Type Mapping

​1.3 Accessing Inbound Context — ctx.aion_runtime_context.inbox

​1.4 Replying into the Inbound Context

​2. Outbound Messages

​(1) SDK-managed response buffer (authoritative when populated)

​(2) a2a_outbox

​(3) Framework-native fallback

​When to Reach for a2a_outbox

​3. Summary

​Related Pages

Overview

1. Inbound Messages

1.1 Agent Invocation

1.2 Part Type Mapping

1.3 Accessing Inbound Context — `ctx.aion_runtime_context.inbox`

1.4 Replying into the Inbound Context

2. Outbound Messages

(1) SDK-managed response buffer (authoritative when populated)

(2) `a2a_outbox`

(3) Framework-native fallback

When to Reach for `a2a_outbox`

3. Summary

Related Pages