Capabilities and tools¶

Capabilities are master switches that decide which classes of tools the model may be offered and which the access gate will execute. They are configured under AI ‣ Configuration ‣ Behavior ‣ Capabilities.

Capability record fields¶

Code — stable technical code (ask, read, write, …).
Name — UI label.
Is enabled — global off switch.
Restricted to groups — empty = all AI users (who pass other checks); otherwise only those Odoo groups.
Optional company scoping.

Important

Disabling a capability hides its tools and makes the gate reject them if the model invents a call. Offering a tool without the capability is not possible through the normal menu; the gate remains authoritative.

Shipped capabilities¶

Tool catalogue (built-in)¶

Ask¶

search_docs — keyword search over models/fields the user may use.
get_environment — live version, edition, company, user, optional modules.
list_skills / use_skill — skill catalogue and body load.
list_allowed_actions — which business actions are allow-listed.
memory_search / memory_save / memory_forget / memory_link.
present_choices — structured options for the UI.

Read¶

search — domain search + field read (capped limit).
read — by explicit ids (fails if too many ids; does not silently trim).
read_group — aggregates (measures validated; domains policy-checked).
get_fields — schema (required flags; not raw callable domains).

Write / delete¶

create_record / update_record / delete_record — always via gate; may become pending writes.
fetch_file_to_field — requires web and write.

Web¶

web_search / web_fetch — subject to domain allow-list and daily caps.

Action¶

call_action — only methods present on Allowed Actions.

Navigate / customize / setup¶

navigate — UI navigation helpers.
Customize tools — inspect/apply view chain, custom fields/models, undo, import/export customizations (admin).
Setup tools — preview/install modules through guided setup controls.

Agent capability ceiling¶

On ai.agent, Capabilities further intersects what that agent may use. An agent with only ask + read cannot execute write tools even if Write is globally enabled for humans.

For ad-hoc channel runs with scope intersect, the effective capability classes are:

effective = agent.capability_ids ∩ requester.allowed_capabilities
            (and global enabled flags / group restrictions)

Scope agent_full uses the agent’s capabilities without intersecting the requester’s capability classes. Data access still uses the agent user’s Odoo ACL + AI policy — not the requester’s record rules. See Agents.

Enabling write safely (pilot pattern)¶

Keep global Write disabled.
Create an Odoo group e.g. AI Writers.
Enable Write capability with Restricted to groups = AI Writers.
Add model-level perm_create / perm_write allow rules only for the models in the pilot (Access policy).
Keep write mode confirm or hybrid.
Monitor logs and violations for two weeks before widening.