Otto configuration

Configure Otto agents to access MCP servers and define their capabilities within your Ascend Project.

Organization

The otto.yaml configuration must be located within a dedicated otto directory in your Ascend Project:

Screenshot

File tree

├── otto
│   ├── agents
│   │   ├── custom_agent.md
│   ├── mcp.yaml
│   ├── otto.yaml
│   └── rules
│       └── demo_welcome.yaml
│       └── git_commits.yaml

Basic agent setup

Configure Otto agents in your otto.yaml file to override agent behavior, customize system instructions, set conversation turn limits (max_turns), and grant access to MCP servers:

otto/otto.yaml

otto:
  agents:
    chat:
      max_turns: 100
      mcp_servers:
        - slack

Agent configuration options

You can customize agents using the following options in otto.yaml:

otto/otto.yaml

otto:
  agents:
    [agent_id]:
      additional_instructions: ... # Append to system instructions
      instructions: ... # Replace system instructions entirely
      max_turns: ... # Override conversation turn limit
      mcp_servers: ... # Grant access to MCP servers
      tools: ... # Configure tool access

Override system instructions

Use additional_instructions to append to the default system instructions, or use instructions to completely replace them:

otto/otto.yaml

otto:
  agents:
    chat:
      additional_instructions: Always provide code examples when explaining concepts.

    commit_message:
      additional_instructions: Use an emoji in every commit.

Set conversation limits

Override the maximum number of turns for any agent:

otto/otto.yaml

otto:
  agents:
    chat:
      max_turns: 100

Agent access control

Grant agents access to specific MCP servers configured in mcp.yaml (see MCP guide):

otto/otto.yaml

otto:
  agents:
    chat:
      mcp_servers:
        - slack

    "Pipeline Monitor":
      mcp_servers:
        - slack

Access patterns:

• Specific agents: Only listed agents can access the MCP servers
• Granular control: Different agents can have different server access levels
• Multiple servers: Agents can access multiple MCP servers simultaneously

Built-in agent customization

You can customize both custom agents and built-in agents like chat and commit_message. Customizations in otto.yaml are applied when agents are instantiated, including during commit message generation:

otto/otto.yaml

otto:
  agents:
    chat:
      max_turns: 100
      mcp_servers:
        - slack

    commit_message:
      additional_instructions: Use an emoji in every commit.

note

Currently, Ascend natively supports the Slack messaging integration via @zencoderai/slack-mcp-server.

See the MCP guide for more information.

Next steps

After configuring Otto agents:

• Set up MCP servers following the MCP Setup Guide
• Configure Otto Automations
• Test agent functionality by triggering Otto actions