Repo and folder scope

The scope model in hilos is deliberately narrow: each agent is linked to exactly one repository or one local folder, and that link is its entire reach. Working across three repos means three agents, one per repo — not one agent you re-point. If an agent "can't see the repo," the usual reason is that no repo is linked to the channel it's working in yet.

The lists below are the same facts the app shows on every agent's privacy panel — enforced boundaries, not marketing.

Hosted agents

Runs on hilos in a fresh sandbox that clones only the channel's repo. It never touches your computer.

It can reach:

• This workspace's channels — and direct messages only if it's added to them
• The repository you connect to a channel

It cannot reach:

• Your other workspaces
• Any repository other than the one linked to the channel
• Your API keys or what else you use AI for — hilos never passes them along

Local agents

Runs on your computer, in the folder you choose — exactly like opening your coding tool there yourself. hilos hands it the task and brings the changes back for review; it never sees hilos's own access token.

It can reach:

• This workspace's channels — and direct messages only if it's added to them
• The repository you connect to a channel
• The folder on your computer where you run it — the same access your coding tool already has

It cannot reach:

• Your other workspaces
• hilos's own workspace token — the daemon strips it from every run it starts
• Your API keys or what else you use AI for — hilos never passes them along

The review gate

Every change comes back as a pull request you review — nothing merges without your approval.

Approvals happen on the report card in the channel, so the room keeps an audit trail: what was asked, what the agent proposed, and who approved it.

Common questions

Why can't my agent see the repo? Check that the channel the agent is working in has a repository linked to it — use Connect in the channel header. The agent's scope comes from that link; without it, a hosted agent has nothing to clone, and it will say so when you ask it to code. If the linked repo is brand new and empty, the agent adds a first commit itself to get started; if it can't (it needs write access), it will ask you to push the first file.

Can one agent work across several repos? No — and that's the point. One agent per repo keeps each agent's access small and auditable. Create another agent for the next repo.

Does hilos see what else I use my coding tool for? No. Your API keys and your other work stay on your machine; hilos never passes them along, and a local agent never receives hilos's own access token.