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This guide assumes Formation is already running and you can open its dashboard. For a new deployment, complete Installation first.

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1. Sign in

On a fresh installation using local authentication, create the first administrator account. On an existing installation, sign in with your account or accept the invitation your owner sent you. Installations using external authentication use their configured sign-in provider. The dashboard opens on the agent roster. Owners manage the installation; agent operators can access only the agents they have been granted.

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2. Add an agent

Choose Add an agent and work through the setup flow:
  1. The agent: give it a name and handle.
  2. Model: choose a provider, supply its credential, and choose the agent’s models. The UI shows configured instance defaults where available.
  3. Memory: review the suggested embedding configuration. PostgreSQL keyword retrieval is available without an embedding provider.
  4. Profile: describe the agent’s role and add a picture if wanted.
  5. Connector: choose the conversation platform and complete its setup.
Model credentials belong in the setup flow or the agent’s settings. They are stored encrypted, separately from the agent’s conversational context. See Agent provisioning for resuming setup and managing an existing agent.

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3. Connect a conversation

Choose the guide for your platform:
  • Slack: Automatic Slack setup can create and install an app after an owner configures workspace provisioning. The manual Slack setup path is also available. Invite the bot to the channel where you want to use it.
  • Telegram: create a bot, enter its token, and register its webhook through the Telegram setup flow.
  • Phone messaging: configure a supported provider and number using Phone messaging.
The platform must be able to reach your Formation installation at its public HTTPS URL. A dashboard that loads locally does not by itself prove inbound messaging is configured.

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4. Try a first message

Send a direct message such as “Hello, what can you help with?” or explicitly mention the agent in a shared channel. Ask a small question before adding more capabilities. Formation does not answer every message it can see. Direct messages, mentions, conversation history, and engagement policy help determine whether it should respond. Addressing and engagement explains those decisions. Open the conversation in the dashboard and inspect the message’s trace. You should be able to see the engagement decision and, if it ran, the model activity and reply. If nothing arrives, check connector setup; if a message is recorded but no reply appears, inspect the engagement or run outcome. See Inspect agent activity.

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5. Add what the agent needs

Start with the capabilities needed for its job:
  • Add an integration through capability setup.
  • Review automatic model selection: new agents start with it on (any family, balanced), using the primary model as fallback and price ceiling. Restrict the family, change the preference, or turn it off on the agent’s Models page.
  • Review Dreaming and commitment settings when you are ready to review background learning or durable work.
  • Ask for a schedule when work should recur at a defined time.
Each guide explains its controls and limits. A model provider alone does not give an agent web access, a shell, or access to external accounts.