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Creating Autonomous Agents

Autonomous agents are AI assistants that run automatically on a schedule to check for updates, review content, and take actions—all without you having to ask.

Example use cases:

  • Daily email review - Check your inbox every morning and summarize important messages
  • Content monitoring - Review social media posts and flag items needing attention
  • Data analysis - Run weekly reports and identify trends
  • Task automation - Check project status and create follow-up tasks

What Are Agents?​

An agent is an AI assistant that:

  • Runs automatically on a schedule you set (every hour, daily, weekly, etc.)
  • Follows instructions you provide in markdown files
  • Uses tools from bundles you've enabled
  • Keeps a history of what it's done

Think of it like: Setting up a recurring task, but instead of you doing it, an AI assistant does it for you automatically.

Prerequisites​

Before creating an agent, you need:

Platform AI Included

Agents use platform AI (Anthropic) by default, so you don't need to provide your own API key. Token usage counts toward your plan limits. You can optionally add your own API key in settings if you prefer.

Step 1: Create Your Agent​

  1. Go to Dashboard → Agents
  2. Click "Create Agent"
  3. Enter a Display Name (e.g., "Daily Email Reviewer")
  4. Optionally add a Description
  5. Click "Create"

Your agent is created but won't run yet—you need to configure it first.

Step 2: Configure AI Settings​

Agents use platform AI (Anthropic) with the default model automatically. No configuration needed!

Platform AI by Default

Agents use platform AI (Anthropic) with the default model automatically. Token usage counts toward your plan limits. If you reach your token limit, agents will be automatically disabled until you upgrade or add your own API key.

Using Your Own API Key

You can optionally add your own Anthropic API key in settings. Agents will use your key instead of the platform key, and usage won't count toward plan limits.

Step 3: Choose Tools (Bundle or Hub)​

Your agent needs access to tools to perform actions. Choose one:

Option A: Use MCP Hub (All Your Tools)​

The MCP Hub gives your agent access to all tools from all bundles you've enabled.

  1. In the "MCP Source" section, select "Use MCP Hub"
  2. Your agent can now use any tool from any enabled bundle

Best for: Agents that need tools from multiple bundles

Option B: Use a Specific Bundle​

Limit your agent to tools from one specific bundle.

  1. In the "MCP Source" section, select "Use specific bundle"
  2. Choose a bundle from the dropdown
  3. Your agent can only use tools from that bundle

Best for: Focused agents that work with one service (e.g., "GitHub Monitor" using only GitHub tools)

Bundle Must Be Operational

If you choose a specific bundle, it must be enabled and have all required credentials verified. If the bundle becomes unavailable, your agent will be automatically paused.

Step 4: Write Agent Instructions​

Agent instructions tell your agent who it is and what it should do.

  1. Go to the "Agent Instructions" tab
  2. Write markdown content explaining:
    • Who the agent is - Its role and purpose
    • What it should do - Its goals and objectives
    • How it should behave - Guidelines and constraints

Example:

# Email Review Assistant

You are an email review assistant that helps prioritize important messages.

## Your Role
- Review emails from the past 24 hours
- Identify urgent messages that need immediate attention
- Summarize important conversations
- Flag messages requiring follow-up

## Guidelines
- Be concise in summaries
- Only flag truly urgent items
- Maintain privacy - don't share email content verbatim
  1. Click "Save"

Step 5: Create Heartbeat Checklist​

The heartbeat checklist is what your agent runs on each scheduled execution.

  1. Go to the "Heartbeat Checklist" tab
  2. Write a markdown checklist of tasks:

Example:

# Daily Email Review

1. Check inbox for new emails from the past 24 hours
2. Identify emails marked as important or from key contacts
3. Summarize the 5 most important emails
4. Check for any emails requiring immediate response
5. Create a summary report
  1. Click "Save"

Your agent will execute this checklist every time it runs.

Step 6: Set Schedule​

Configure how often your agent runs:

  1. In the "Configuration" tab, find "Heartbeat Interval"

  2. Set the interval in minutes:

    • 60 minutes - Runs every hour
    • 1440 minutes - Runs once per day
    • 10080 minutes - Runs once per week
    • Or any custom interval (minimum 5 minutes)

  3. Click "Save Configuration"

Step 7: Activate Your Agent​

Before your agent can run, make sure:

  • ✅ Agent Instructions are saved
  • ✅ Heartbeat Checklist is saved

Then click "Activate" to start your agent.

Once activated, your agent will run automatically on the schedule you set.

Token Limits

If your workspace reaches its AI token limit, agents will be automatically disabled. Upgrade your plan or add your own API key to continue running agents.

Monitoring Your Agent​

View Execution History​

  1. Go to your agent's page
  2. Click the "History" tab
  3. See all past runs with:
    • Status - Success, Failed, or Running
    • Started At - When the run began
    • Duration - How long it took
    • Tool Calls - How many tools were used

View Run Details​

Click on any run to see:

  • What tools were called
  • The agent's response
  • Any errors that occurred
  • Token usage

Check Agent Status​

On your agent's page, you'll see:

  • Status Badge - Active (green), Inactive (gray), Suspended (red), or Blocked
  • Last Heartbeat - When it last ran
  • Next Run - When it will run next (estimated)

Agent Status Explained​

  • Active - Agent is running on schedule
  • Inactive - Agent is paused and won't run
  • Suspended - Agent has an issue (missing configuration, bundle unavailable, etc.) and is automatically paused
  • Blocked - Agent is blocked due to a critical error

Adding Skills (Optional)​

Skills are additional capabilities you can give your agent beyond the basic instructions.

  1. Go to the "Skills" tab
  2. Click "Add Skill"
  3. Enter:
    • Skill Name - What the skill is called
    • Content - Markdown explaining the skill
  4. Click "Add Skill"

Example Skill:

# Data Analysis

When analyzing data:
- Look for trends over time
- Identify outliers
- Compare current period to previous period
- Highlight significant changes (>10%)

Skills are available to your agent but aren't required—they're helpful for complex workflows.

Manual Execution​

You can trigger your agent to run immediately without waiting for the schedule:

  1. On your agent's page, click "Run"
  2. Your agent will execute its checklist right away
  3. View the results in the History tab

Note: Manual runs still count toward your schedule—you won't get duplicate runs for the same time slot.

Editing Your Agent​

You can update your agent at any time:

  • Edit Instructions - Update the "Agent Instructions" tab
  • Edit Checklist - Update the "Heartbeat Checklist" tab
  • Change Schedule - Update the heartbeat interval
  • Switch Bundles - Change which bundle or hub the agent uses

Changes take effect on the next run.

Deactivating or Deleting​

Deactivate (Pause)​

Click "Deactivate" to pause your agent. It will stop running but keep all its configuration and history.

Delete​

Click "Delete" to permanently remove your agent and all its history. This cannot be undone.

Best Practices​

Writing Good Instructions​

  • Be specific - Clear goals work better than vague instructions
  • Set boundaries - Tell your agent what NOT to do
  • Provide context - Explain why tasks matter
  • Use examples - Show what good output looks like

Writing Effective Checklists​

  • Number your tasks - Makes it clear what order to follow
  • Be actionable - Each item should be something the agent can do
  • Use tools - Reference specific tools your agent can call
  • Keep it focused - Don't try to do too much in one run

Managing Costs​

  • Monitor token usage - Check run history to see how many tokens each run uses
  • Track plan limits - Token usage counts toward your plan's monthly limit
  • Set per-run limits - Configure max tokens per run if needed
  • Optimize frequency - Don't run more often than necessary
  • Review failures - Failed runs still use tokens, so fix issues quickly
  • Use your own API key - Add your own Anthropic API key to bypass plan limits

Troubleshooting​

Agent Won't Activate​

Check:

  • Agent Instructions are saved (not empty)
  • Heartbeat Checklist is saved (not empty)
  • Workspace hasn't reached token limit (agents are auto-disabled at limit)

Agent Shows "Suspended" or "Inactive"​

Common causes:

  • Bundle is disabled or unavailable
  • Bundle credentials are invalid
  • Missing agent instructions or heartbeat checklist
  • Workspace reached AI token limit (agent auto-disabled)

Fix:

  • Check bundle status and credentials
  • Ensure all required fields are filled
  • Check if workspace is at token limit (upgrade plan or add your own API key)
  • Reactivate the agent

Agent Runs But Does Nothing​

Check:

  • Heartbeat checklist has actionable tasks
  • Checklist references tools that exist
  • Tools are available in the selected bundle/hub
  • Review run history to see what happened

High Token Usage or Agent Auto-Disabled​

If agent was auto-disabled:

  • Your workspace reached its monthly AI token limit
  • Upgrade your plan to increase limits
  • Or add your own Anthropic API key in settings (usage won't count toward plan limits)

To reduce token usage:

  • Simplify your instructions and checklist
  • Reduce the frequency of runs
  • Set a max tokens limit per run
  • Review run history to identify expensive operations

Next Steps​

Now that you've created your first agent:

  • Monitor its runs in the History tab
  • Refine your instructions based on results
  • Add skills for more complex workflows
  • Create additional agents for different tasks

Need help? Check the FAQ or contact support.