Agents & Templates

What is an Agent?

An agent is a reusable configuration for running an AI CLI on a project. It defines:

CLI provider — Claude Code or Codex
Role — builder (writes code) or reviewer (reviews code)
Instructions — system prompt appended to the CLI session
Model — which model to use (optional, uses CLI default if unset)
Allowed tools — which tools the agent can use (Read, Edit, Write, Bash, Glob, Grep)
Max turns — maximum number of turns per session

Agents belong to a project. You can have multiple agents on the same project (e.g., a builder and a reviewer).

Roles

Builder

A builder agent writes code. When it finishes, Abbado can:

Auto-commit changes
Push the branch
Trigger a reviewer agent (pipeline mode)

Builder agents typically have full tool access: Read, Edit, Write, Bash, Glob, Grep.

Reviewer

A reviewer agent reviews code changes. It typically has read-only tool access: Read, Grep, Glob.

In pipeline mode, a reviewer agent launches automatically after a builder completes. The reviewer reads the diff and outputs either APPROVED or CHANGES_REQUESTED. If changes are requested, the builder relaunches with the feedback (up to 3 iterations).

Agent Templates

Abbado ships with 14 preconfigured agent templates across 6 categories:

Review

Template	Description	Tools
PR Reviewer	Reviews code changes, identifies bugs, suggests improvements	Read, Grep, Glob
Architecture Reviewer	Reviews code structure, dependencies, architectural decisions	Read, Grep, Glob

Coding

Template	Description	Tools
Bug Fixer	Analyzes bugs, finds root cause, implements fix with tests	Read, Edit, Write, Bash, Grep, Glob
Feature Builder	Implements new features end-to-end: code, tests, and docs	Read, Edit, Write, Bash, Grep, Glob
Refactorer	Refactors code for clarity without changing behavior	Read, Edit, Write, Bash, Grep, Glob

Testing

Template	Description	Tools
Test Writer	Writes missing tests to improve coverage	Read, Write, Bash, Grep, Glob
E2E Test Writer	Writes end-to-end tests for user-facing flows	Read, Write, Bash, Grep, Glob

Documentation

Template	Description	Tools
Documentation Writer	Writes and updates README, API docs, inline comments	Read, Write, Glob, Grep
API Documenter	Documents API endpoints with request/response examples	Read, Write, Grep, Glob

DevOps

Template	Description	Tools
CI/CD Setup	Sets up or improves CI/CD pipelines	Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob
Dockerfile Optimizer	Optimizes Docker images for size and build speed	Read, Edit, Write, Bash, Glob

Security

Template	Description	Tools
Security Auditor	Audits code for OWASP vulnerabilities (read-only)	Read, Grep, Glob
Dependency Checker	Checks for outdated or vulnerable dependencies	Read, Bash, Grep, Glob

Custom Agents

You can create agents from scratch instead of using templates. When creating a custom agent, configure:

{
  "project_id": "<uuid>",
  "name": "My Custom Agent",
  "cli_name": "claude-code",
  "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
  "instructions": "You are a specialist in...",
  "allowed_tools": "Read,Edit,Write,Bash,Glob,Grep",
  "max_turns": 100,
  "role": "builder"
}

Instructions

The instructions field is appended to the CLI session as a system prompt via --append-system-prompt. Use it to give the agent context about the project, coding standards, or specific constraints.

Provider Config

The provider_config field stores provider-specific configuration as JSON. This is a flexible field for future use — currently it’s an empty object {}.

Provider & Model Selection

Each agent specifies a CLI provider:

Claude Code
Codex

Provider ID: claude-code
Default models: Sonnet 4.6, Opus 4.6, Haiku 4.5
CLI: claude

Provider ID: codex
Default models: o3, o4-mini, GPT-4.1
CLI: codex

The model list is configurable via Settings > Models in the UI, or the PUT /api/settings/models endpoint. You can add custom providers and models.

API

Endpoint	Method	Description
`/api/agents`	`POST`	Create an agent
`/api/agents/{id}`	`GET`	Get an agent
`/api/agents/{id}`	`PUT`	Update an agent
`/api/agents/{id}`	`DELETE`	Delete an agent
`/api/projects/{project_id}/agents`	`GET`	List agents for a project

See the full API Reference for request/response details.