Each agent in the agents/ directory can have an icon/avatar declared in the "icon" field of its meta.json. The backend serves the file via GET /api/agents/{id}/icon.

Visual style

Icons were generated with xAI Grok Imagine in a concept art / character design style:

Style: illustrated, not photorealistic, not flat vector, not anime
Technique: bold brushstrokes, rich colours, depth, video game concept art quality (Overwatch / Arcane / Hades)
Format: portrait (vertical rectangle)
Background: medium-bright, not dark, no neon
Subject: a character / living being representing the agent's role, with contextual elements (tools, holograms, symbols)
Palette: varies per agent, generally warm with one dominant colour

Base prompt template

Stylized character portrait of an AI agent called "{NAME}".
Concept art style with bold brushstrokes and rich colors.
{character description and surrounding visual elements}
{dominant colours}
Illustrated character design, not photorealistic, not flat vector, not anime.
Video game concept art quality.
Portrait format, vertical.
High detail, expressive.

Per-agent reference

Agent	Subject	Palette
Architect	Visionary with floating architectural blueprints and geometry	Blue & teal
Engineer	Technician/cyborg with holographic tools, gears, circuits	Amber & steel blue
Explorer	Curious analyst with magnifying glass, floating code and data trails	Deep blue & gold
Researcher	Scientist with smart glasses, floating documents, magnifier	Purple & teal
Main Assistant	Central charismatic leader with luminous geometric shapes	Purple & gold
TIC	Mysterious figure with multiple eyes, radar, data nodes	Dark purple & cyan
Tinker	Clever craftsperson with multitool, gears, repair tools	Orange & steel grey
Worker	Practical person with futuristic toolbelt and mechanical elements	Orange & steel grey
Blueprint	Scholarly figure with floating scrolls and glowing quills writing words in mid-air, luminous documents orbiting	Deep indigo & burnished gold
Tech Lead	Confident strategist at a holographic kanban board, task cards floating mid-air, sub-agents visible in the background	Warm amber & deep teal
Project Coordinator	Central orchestrator with glowing connected nodes, satellite sub-agents orbiting, holographic project maps and branching task flows	Teal & warm gold

Adding a new agent icon

Generate the image using the prompt template above
Save it as agents/{agent_id}/icon.png
Add "icon": "icon.png" to the agent's meta.json
No code changes needed — the backend serves whatever file path is declared in the manifest