Agent context and tools
Ara agents work best when they have the same context a teammate would need. Three primitives cover most of it.
Native Codex memory compounds per repository and is visible in Settings.
Encrypted credentials injected into the sandbox. Values are write-only.
External tools the agent can call during a session.
What goes where
How they fit a session
A session starts from the prompt and repo. Ara then adds the context available to that run: the repository’s native Codex memory, scoped secrets, and enabled MCP tools.
Codex generates and compacts memory asynchronously. Inspect it in Settings → Memory; use Skills & Rules for instructions you want to author directly.
Secrets are different
Secret values can be set, overwritten, and deleted. They cannot be read back.
Use user scope for credentials tied to one operator. Use repo scope for
credentials that should only be available on one repository.