Tool Governance

Fine-grained control over agent tool access.

Tool Rings

Tools are classified into 4 rings based on risk level:

  • Read Ring: Safe, read-only operations (view documents, check status)
  • Write Ring: Standard write operations (create tasks, update backlog)
  • Action Ring: Elevated actions (approve sprints, grant capabilities)
  • External Ring: Restricted external access (API calls, file system)

Capability Sets

Each agent role has a capability set that defines:

  • Which tools they can access
  • What operations they can perform
  • What data they can read/write

Capability sets are versioned, so you can rollback changes if needed.

Runtime State

The runtime state determines what tools are available:

  • Planning Mode: PM cannot execute code, only plan
  • Execution Mode: Agents can execute tasks
  • Review Mode: Read-only review of artifacts