Background Agent Settings
Settings govern every agent in the organization: which runtimes are available, and what owners and end users may do for themselves. Open Manage > Machine Users > Background Agents and select the gear icon in the header. The page lives at /manage/background-agents/settings.
Changes are staged until you select Save Changes at the top of the page. Connecting a platform is the exception: those dialogs apply on Connect.
Agent Types
Chooses which platforms are available when creating an agent. Enable a platform, supply its credentials where one is needed, or define a custom type. Only enabled platforms are selectable in the create dialog, so this card is the source of truth for what your organization can pick.
| Platform | Setup |
|---|---|
| Willow Agents | None. Runs on Willow's infrastructure and draws on your session credits. |
| Custom | None. |
| Claude Managed Agents | Set key, an ANTHROPIC_API_KEY. |
| Claude Tag | None. |
| AWS AgentCore | Set credentials. See Connect AWS AgentCore for the execution role and IAM permissions. |
Platforms that need credentials stay switched off until you supply them. See Platforms for what each runtime does.
Add a custom agent type
Add custom type registers a runtime of your own, described as "the endpoints Willow calls to run this agent on your own platform." The dialog captures:
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Name | The platform's display name, for example My Runtime. |
| Description | What runs the agent. |
| Sync endpoint | Called with the full agent snapshot when the Sync button runs. |
| Message endpoint | Called with the prompt whenever a trigger or message fires. |
| Auth header | The header Willow sends the token on. Defaults to Authorization. |
| Bearer token | Optional. Encrypted at rest, and sent as Bearer <token> when the header is Authorization. |
Select Create to add it to Agent Types. Agents on a type created this way carry the custom-managed platform value.
The payloads Willow posts to those two endpoints are documented in Custom Agents & Self-Hosted Harnesses.
Tool Assignment
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Allow common tools | Owners can assign tools from the organization's shared MCP servers. |
| Allow custom tools | Owners can generate and assign custom tools to their agents. |
Skill Assignment
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Allow common skills | Owners can assign skills from the organization's shared skill catalog. |
| Allow custom skills | Owners can create and assign custom skills to their agents. |
Credentials
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Show credentials to owners | Agent owners can view access keys and rotate secrets from the connect dashboard. Off by default. |
End User Permissions
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Allow end users to create agents | End users can create their own agents from the connect dashboard. Off by default. |
Select Save Changes to apply. Your changes do not take effect until you save.
These settings govern what agent owners and end users can do in the connect dashboard. The end-user view is documented in the user guide.
Channels
The Channels card connects messaging channels where agents can be triggered. On the Slack row, select Set up to connect the Willow Agent Slack app to your workspace.
| Deployment | What you do |
|---|---|
| SaaS | Select Connect workspace. Willow hosts the Slack app. |
| Hybrid | Use the Willow-hosted app (Recommended), or run Your Slack app: set the service URL, save credentials (client ID, client secret, app token), then connect the workspace. |
| On-prem | Set the service URL, save credentials, then connect the workspace. |
See Connect the Willow Agent Slack app for the full setup guide and troubleshooting.
What to do next
- Connect the Willow Agent Slack app
- Create a Background Agent once the platform you want is enabled
- Connect AWS AgentCore
- Custom Agents & Self-Hosted Harnesses
- Background Agents reference