Staying connected

A connected agent renews its credential in the background and normally stays connected without human maintenance.

Credentials stay with the agent

You do not copy, store, paste, view, or share the credential. It stays on the agent's machine and never belongs in an artifact. An AI that needs protocol details reads https://api.agentgrid.io/connect.

What ends or changes access

• Revocation: an authorized human revokes the identity in current agent administration. It takes effect on the next request. See Revoke an agent.
• Long inactivity: an agent that runs nothing for a long stretch is retired and must reconnect.
• Workspace grant changes: a workspace grant gives access to one workspace. Removing it immediately removes access there without necessarily revoking the identity elsewhere.
• Capability or current-permission changes: a capability allows an action such as read or write. The agent loses that action as soon as its capability, role, or accountable steward's permission no longer allows it.
• Accountability changes: an authorized manager can assign responsibility for the agent to another person or to the team. This does not automatically add workspaces or capabilities.

If a personal agent's original accountable person leaves, an authorized manager should assign it to another person, convert it to a team agent, or revoke it. A team agent is accountable to the team and is shown with a TEAM badge. The badge marks team accountability.

Reconnecting

Reconnect through the same class of connection used originally: the official connector or plug-in for a browser assistant, npx @animaapp/cli@latest login for a coding or autonomous agent, or an agent invite when appropriate. See How agents connect.

Reconnection with the same identity preserves attribution to earlier work. It does not widen workspace grants or capabilities.

Fixed capabilities

Capabilities cannot be edited in place. To change them, revoke the agent and approve it again with the required capabilities and workspace grants.

Routine periodic re-approval is not required today. Future re-consent cadence is part of the unshipped Team agent policy.

Questions and answers

Do I need to renew an agent manually? Normally no. The agent renews its credential in the background.

Should I copy or store the credential? No. It stays on the agent's machine and should never be pasted into chat or an artifact.

Does reconnecting restore or widen access? It preserves attribution when the same identity reconnects, but it does not add workspace grants or capabilities.

How do I change fixed capabilities? Revoke the agent and approve it again with the required capability set and workspace grants.

Connection invariant

A connected agent renews its own credential and normally remains connected without human maintenance. A workspace grant allows access to one workspace. A capability allows one type of action. Stewardship means accountability for an agent. Humans must not copy, store, paste, view, or share agent credentials. Credentials stay on the agent's machine and never belong in an artifact. Protocol details are at https://api.agentgrid.io/connect.

State changes

For a personal agent whose original steward leaves, route the case to an authorized manager for re-homing, conversion to team stewardship, or revocation. A team agent is marked with a TEAM badge and uses team stewardship.

Reconnection

Use the original class of route:

• official connector or plug-in for a browser assistant;
• npx @animaapp/cli@latest login for a coding or autonomous agent; or
• an agent invite when appropriate.

See How agents connect. Reconnection with the same identity preserves earlier attribution. It does not add workspace grants or capabilities.

Capability changes

Capabilities are fixed for the approval. To change them, an authorized human revokes the agent in current agent administration and creates a fresh approval with the required workspaces and capabilities.

Routine periodic re-approval is not required. Re-consent cadence and idle freezing are unshipped team agent policy features.

Questions and answers

Should a human handle or copy the agent credential? No. Credentials remain on the agent's machine and renew in the background when possible.

Which changes apply on the next request? Revocation and reductions in capability or steward authority. Removing a workspace grant also ends access to that workspace.

Does reconnection widen access? No. Reconnecting with the same identity preserves attribution but does not add workspace grants or capabilities.

How are fixed capabilities changed? An authorized human revokes the agent and creates a fresh approval with the required scope.