Agents
An Agent is a named assistant configured for a particular kind of work. Every Agent inherits one global capability configuration and stores only its profile, workspace choice, and explicit overrides. User-owned context remains available across Agents according to your settings.
When to create another Agent
Create one when you need a real capability boundary, for example:
- a coding Agent allowed to edit repositories;
- a research Agent with web and connector access;
- a personal Agent that uses a separate workspace;
- a lightweight Agent that uses a lower-cost model.
Do not create a new Agent only to start a different conversation. A new Session is enough for that.
Create an Agent in the console
- Open Agents.
- Choose Add Agent.
- Give it a clear name and personality instruction.
- Save, then start a new chat with that Agent.
- Add an Agent-specific override only when it must differ from the global defaults.
Test a read-only request before allowing tools that write files, run commands, send messages, or access external accounts.
Create an Agent in the terminal
xopc agents add research --workspace ~/.xopc/workspace-research
xopc agents listThe command creates or updates the Agent entry and prepares its directories. To remove an Agent from configuration:
xopc agents delete researchRead the confirmation carefully if on-disk cleanup is offered; deleting files is different from disabling an Agent.
Choose the default Agent
The default is used for new Sessions that do not name an Agent:
xopc agents default researchExisting Sessions remain assigned to their current Agent. To use another Agent, start a new chat and select it explicitly.
Design a safe Agent
For each Agent, decide:
| Setting | Question to answer |
|---|---|
| Responsibility | What work should this Agent accept or decline? |
| Workspace | Which files may it use? |
| Models | Which model balances quality, speed, privacy, and cost? |
| Tools | Which actions can it take? |
| Skills | Which reusable instructions does it need? |
| Boundaries | Which actions always require confirmation? |
Begin with the smallest useful capability set. Add access only after the Agent succeeds without it.
For a guided example, see Create a second Agent. Exact configuration fields are listed in Configuration reference.