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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cogniagent.ai/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Out of the box, an actor can have a conversation — but it can’t do much. Capabilities are how you give each actor superpowers: search your knowledge, send a Slack message, run a refund calculation, kick off a workflow. There are three capability families:

Knowledge bases

Search your indexed documents — product docs, policy PDFs, FAQs.

Integrations

Call actions on connected apps — Gmail, Slack, Salesforce, Shopify, 2,700+ more.

Custom tools

Run a Python snippet, hit an HTTP endpoint, or trigger a CogniAgent workflow.
Each capability becomes a tool the actor can call during its turn. The LLM decides when to use it.

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Opening the capabilities drawer

In an actor’s config panel, click Configure Capabilities.
Capabilities drawer Knowledge tab

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Knowledge bases

Pick a knowledge base from your workspace’s Knowledge Base library. The actor gets a search_knowledge_base tool it can call whenever it needs to look something up. Fields when you add a KB:
FieldWhat it does
Knowledge BasePick from the dropdown.
DescriptionOne-line note about when this actor should search it. The LLM uses it to decide.
ActiveToggle to enable / disable without removing.
Apply RerankingMore accurate but slightly slower searches. Default on.
Add multiple knowledge bases per actor when they serve different purposes. The LLM sees them as separate tools (e.g. search_product_docs and search_policy_documents) and picks the right one.

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Integrations

Integrations give an actor the ability to act on connected apps.
Capabilities Integrations tab
Three-step flow:
1

Pick an app

Browse the catalog (2,700+ apps). Search by name — Gmail, Slack, Salesforce, etc.
Integration app picker
Integration app picker filtered to Gmail
2

Pick a connection

Choose an existing connection or set up a new one. Connections live in the Integrations page of your workspace.
3

Pick which actions to expose

Each app has many actions. You choose which ones this actor can call.For example, Gmail has send-email, list-messages, search-threads, etc. If this actor only ever needs to send emails, give it only send-email. Narrow scope = safer behaviour.
Gmail actions selector
Each chosen action becomes a named tool the actor can call (e.g. send-email). The LLM picks the tool’s arguments — to, subject, body — based on the actor’s instructions and the conversation context.

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A worked example

A “Send confirmation email” actor:
  • Capability: Gmail → connection Acme Gmail → action send-email.
  • Instructions: “After collecting the user’s name, email, and request, send them a confirmation email summarizing what we’ve captured. Use the send-email tool.”
When the user has provided their details, the actor calls send-email with to=<user's email>, subject="We received your request", and a body containing the summary. The email lands in the user’s inbox; the actor confirms in chat.

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Custom tools

Three types:
Capabilities Custom Tools tab
Click Add to pick which kind of custom tool to add:
Custom tools Add menu

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Execute Code

A Python snippet the actor can run. Sandboxed; preinstalled with common libraries. 
output_data({
    'refund_amount': args['monthly_price'] * args['months_remaining']
})
The LLM provides the args based on the conversation; the snippet returns structured data back. Best for: calculations, formatting, data transformations.
Execute Code custom tool form

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Execute Workflow

Kicks off another CogniAgent workflow by id. Optionally waits for it to finish and returns the result. Best for: deterministic multi-step processes you’ve already built as workflows — refund processing, lead scoring, report generation.
Execute Workflow custom tool form

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HTTP Request

Make an HTTP call to an internal API or third-party endpoint. Configure method, URL, headers, body schema; parse the response. Best for: lightweight integrations to APIs you control, or one-off endpoints that don’t justify a full integration.
HTTP Request custom tool form

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Built-in tools every actor has

Independent of what you configure, every actor automatically has the routing tools its focus mode allows: done (signal completion), hand off to a sibling, escalate to global, ask user to clarify. You don’t see these in the capabilities drawer — they’re managed by the platform.

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Global vs per-actor capabilities

You can also configure capabilities at the flow level — every actor inherits them.
Flow settings Capabilities tab
Use the flow-level Capabilities tab in Flow settings when:
  • Every actor needs the same knowledge base (e.g. company FAQ).
  • You’re configuring an integration once that multiple actors will use (e.g. Slack notifier).
Use per-actor capabilities when:
  • Only one actor needs the capability (e.g. only Returns Specialist needs Shopify access).
  • Access should be restricted for privacy / scope reasons.

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Anti-patterns

Don’t expose every action from an app. If you give an actor “all of Gmail”, the LLM will call delete-thread when “delete this conversation” comes up in chat. Narrow scope to the actions the actor genuinely needs.
Don’t put behaviour into tool names. Tool names should describe what they do, not when to use them — “when to use” goes in the actor’s instructions. The LLM reads instructions, then picks tools.

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Next

Step builder

Script an actor’s behaviour step-by-step.

Flow settings

Flow-level context, knowledge, and integrations.