Named agents and ownership

A named agent is a name you can assign work to, with a face and someone responsible for it. That’s all it is. It doesn’t log in, doesn’t run, and can’t touch anything. It’s a nameplate, not a job offer.

Before you start

You’re a member of the workspace. Anyone can add a named agent.
Renaming, changing appearance, retiring and assigning ownership need an Admin or the Owner. Who can do what.
To show a named agent on an agent’s work, you need a connection or key that’s actually doing the work.

Steps

Add a named agent

Open Settings › Agents. The Named agents section lists the active ones.
Press Add a named agent beside the heading, enter an Agent name (up to 100 characters) and press Add agent.

Connected agents can create named agents too, through Hydrant’s tools. Same rule: a label, nothing more.

Give it a face and an owner

An Admin or the Owner presses the pencil (Edit and the agent’s name) on its row:

Identity: Name, its Lane (below), and under Appearance a built-in icon and color, Use initials, or Upload an image with Fit whole image or Fill square.
Ownership: pick an Owner from the active members. That makes it that person’s personal agent. Tick Shared with workspace instead and the picker becomes Maintainer: the agent belongs to the workspace and that person keeps it in working order.

Press Save changes. Identity history on the editor shows every name, lane, appearance and ownership change, and who made it.

Until someone sets it, the row reads Ownership unspecified. An agent’s name is not proof of ownership; “Sam’s bot” might be anyone’s.

Give it a lane

A lane is what the agent is for, in a sentence or two, up to 280 characters: “Most tasks, full stack” or “Heavy computer use”. It shows under the agent’s name in the roster and in every assignee picker, and connected agents read it before they pick an assignee. Edit it in the agent’s Identity, under Name. People have lanes too; see Members.

Leave out of suggestions benches the agent. It stays assignable by hand and still appears everywhere it did; rosters and assignee pickers mark it Benched. Hydrant and connected agents just stop volunteering it.

Pick a default assignee

An Admin or the Owner picks one in Settings › Agents › Default assignee. It’s where connected agents send work nobody named, and it carries a Default mark on lane lines. It never assigns anything: new issues still start unassigned. Benched, retired and departed assignees can’t be the default; retiring, benching or removing the current one clears it, and Workflow activity says why.

Claim an agent you created

A Member can’t assign ownership, with one exception. If Hydrant can verify you created an agent that has no owner yet, its row says “You created this agent” and offers Make me the owner. That sets personal ownership to you and nothing else. Otherwise, ask an Admin or the Owner.

Assign work to it

Pick the agent in an issue’s Assignee, like anyone else. Pickers show the owner under the name, or “Shared · maintained by” for shared agents, so two agents called “Reviewer” stay tellable apart.

The picker leads with likely candidates. Usual for Checkout (or a label: Usual for Release issues) lists who took the most issues in this issue’s project or label over the last 90 days, each with a count. With no such history it shows Your usual picks: who you assigned most in the last 30 days. Quick capture starts with your picks and switches once you choose a project or label. Benched, retired and departed assignees are never suggested. Start typing and the list goes back to plain search.

Your Cockpit includes issues assigned to you and to agents you personally own. Shared agents’ work doesn’t land there; it belongs to the workspace.

Show a named agent on a connection’s work

By default, a connection’s or key’s comments and changes show a generic agent mark over the avatar of the person who granted it. To show a named agent instead:

Go to Access on Settings › Agents.
On the connection or key, open Shown as and pick the named agent. Not linked removes it.

You can link your own connections and keys. Admins and the Owner can link any. Only active named agents can be picked, and Hydrant never links anything for you based on names.

Retire an agent

An Admin or the Owner opens the editor and presses Retire agent. It leaves the pickers and moves to the collapsed Retired group; issues already assigned to it keep it. Restore agent brings it back.

What you should see

In pickers and lists: the agent’s avatar. A personal agent overlaps its owner’s smaller avatar; a shared agent shows a workspace symbol.
After linking: “Linked. Its comments and changes now show this agent.” That applies to the connection’s past work too, not just what comes next. The byline names the agent and who granted the connection, like Reviewer (agent; via Sam Rivera). Not linked puts the connection’s own name back. Workspace exports list both names.
After a claim: “You’re now the owner. Connection permissions are unchanged.”

If it goes sideways

The owner left the workspace. The agent shows them as a former member until an Admin or the Owner updates ownership. That keeps the record straight; it doesn’t keep their access alive. Their connections and keys stopped when they left.
“Only an Admin or Owner can assign this agent’s ownership.” Members can only claim agents they created that have no owner. Ask an Admin.
“This agent changed elsewhere. Review the latest version before saving.” Someone edited it first. Press Review latest agent, then Use this revision for my draft if you still want your change.
“Another agent already has this name.” Allowed, but confusing. Same letters, different ID. Pick something people can tell apart.
The agent you want isn’t under Shown as. It’s retired. Restore it first.
Assigning an issue to an agent didn’t make anything happen. Correct. Hand the work to a real agent with a copied prompt.