Create your first surface

Start a new surface

Navigate to Surfaces in the sidebar.

Select Add Surface.

The Start a new surface dialog shows a list of starter templates. Each entry shows the template name, a short description, and its protocol badge. Select an A2A starter template for this guide.

The surface builder opens with the canvas already populated from the template.

The surface is given a default name made from its protocol and a number, such as a2a_surface_1. To update it, select the blue Surface container on the canvas. The Name field is in the settings panel that opens on the right.

Configure the Access Point

The Access Point element defines how incoming traffic reaches the surface. Select it in the canvas to open its settings panel.

Under Routing, set the following fields:

The Entry point URL banner at the top of the panel shows the full URL other agents use to reach this surface: the listen address, surface prefix, and custom path combined. The same URL also appears in a banner at the top of the canvas. Select the copy icon next to the URL and keep it for Step 5.

Configure the Managed Agent

The Managed Agent element forwards requests to your backend service. Select it in the canvas to open its settings panel.

Set Target Endpoint URL to your backend service’s publicly accessible URL.

If required fields are missing:

• Visual alerts appear.
• Elements are highlighted.
• The Elements tab in the sidebar shows incomplete configuration.

Save the surface

Select the green ✓ button in the sidebar to save the surface.

• The surface is saved immediately.
• No restart is required.

A success notification confirms the surface was created, and you are returned to the Surfaces list where the new surface appears.

Send a test request

Replace <ENTRY_POINT_URL> in the command below with the Entry point URL you copied in Step 2.

curl -k -X POST "<ENTRY_POINT_URL>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "message/send",
    "id": "test-001",
    "params": {
      "message": {
        "role": "user",
        "messageId": "msg-001",
        "parts": [{ "kind": "text", "text": "Hello from the quickstart" }]
      }
    }
  }'

If using the echo server, a successful response returns 200 OK with a JSON body containing the echoed method, path, headers, and body. The full request is also printed to the echo server’s terminal. For your own backend, a successful response depends on your service.