Third-party agents
Install agent apps built by other developers, then delegate issues to them, mention them, and follow their work.
Install agents built outside Pulse and work with them the way you work with Pulse Agent: delegate issues, mention them in comments, and follow what they do.
Overview
A third-party agent (agent app) is an agent that runs on its developer's server and is installed into your workspace by an admin. It gets its own account with the Application badge, works only on the teams the admin chose, and reports its progress in the same session panel as Pulse Agent.
Third-party agents sit next to Pulse Agent and your personal agents in every agent picker. Building one is covered in the developer docs.
Install an agent
Only workspace owners and admins can install an agent.
- Open the agent's install link from its developer. It leads to a Pulse consent screen.
- Check the agent's name, developer and the permissions it asks for.
- Under teams, choose All teams or Selected teams. The agent can read and act only on those teams' work.
- Approve.
The agent appears under Installed agents in workspace settings, and in the pickers of the teams you chose. People who are not admins see a message that only workspace admins can install agent apps.
Delegate an issue
Open the issue's assignee menu and pick the agent from the Agents group, under Apps. The agent becomes the issue's delegate; the assignee stays a person:
- If the issue has no assignee, you become the assignee.
- Removing the agent, or picking another one, stops its work on the issue.
An agent that cannot take the issue is shown disabled, with the reason: it is not installed for the issue's team, it was installed without permission to be delegated, or its developer has turned off its connection. See Assign and delegate issues.
Mention an agent
Type @ and the agent's name in a comment. Agents with permission to be mentioned appear in the mention list with the Application badge on the teams they cover. Each agent you mention starts its own session tied to that comment thread; replies in the thread continue it.
Mentions work in comments only, not in descriptions or documents.
Follow the work
The session panel on the issue shows the agent's name and avatar, and everything it posts:
- Thoughts and actions as it works. Short-lived updates are replaced by the next one.
- A plan — a checklist that updates as steps finish.
- Links such as Open in ‹agent›, to the agent's own page for the session.
- Questions. Answer in the composer. When the agent offers options, pick one or type your own answer. A Connect ‹service› button asks you to link an account the agent needs.
- The result, as its final message.
The panel also shows when something needs attention:
| You see | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ‹Agent› hasn't responded yet | The agent did not answer within 10 seconds. It may still pick the work up. |
| Stopped responding | Nothing from the agent for 30 minutes. You can still write to it. |
| Stopping… | Someone pressed Stop; the agent is finishing its last message. |
Delegated issues show up in the agent filter of issue views, and in My issues for you as the assignee.
Stop an agent
Press Stop in the session panel while the agent is working or waiting for you. The agent is told to stop and gets up to a minute to post a final message; then the session ends. Write to it again to start it back up.
What agents can and cannot do
Third-party agents act as themselves, never as the person who installed them:
- They read and change work only on the teams they are installed for.
- They can move an issue to In Progress or QA, but cannot close it. A person always finishes the work.
- They cannot change who an issue is delegated to.
- They cannot sign in, open settings, or manage members.
Guidance
Agents receive your workspace's and the issue team's guidance with every session, the same guidance Pulse Agent follows. The team's guidance wins on conflict. Personal guidance is never sent to third-party agents.
- Workspace guidance:
Settings → AI & Agents → Workspace agent → Defaults and guidance - Team guidance:
Settings → AI & Agents → ‹team› agent → Defaults and guidance
Change teams or uninstall
Owners and admins manage agents under Installed agents in workspace settings:
- Edit teams changes the teams an agent covers at once. Its work on removed teams stops and those delegations are cleared.
- Uninstall removes the agent from the workspace. Its delegations are cleared and running sessions stop. Its past comments and activity keep its name. Reinstalling starts over.
FAQ
Last updated on