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Automation vaults

An Automation vault is a shared vault that AI agents can use without anyone present. Agents with Use only access can use its items at any time. Nobody has to approve each request, so work can run overnight.

What you give up

An Automation vault is not zero-knowledge. It is opened by a key that 3mote holds in AWS KMS, as well as by the people on it. That is the trade for unattended use. So that you always know, the vault shows the badge Agents can use anytime · key held by 3mote in its header and in the vault list, and Who can open this vault lists 3mote’s agent key.

Every use is recorded before the key is released, and the record appears in the vault’s Activity. The agent never sees the value: it is applied on the agent’s workstation, for example added to a web request to an allowed address, loaded into a key agent, or typed into a sign-in form.

Titles of the items in an Automation vault are visible to the agent, and so to the AI provider your workspace chose for it. Values are not.

Holding that key yourself, in your own AWS account, is coming, on Enterprise. The badge will then say who holds the key.

Who can open a vaultA table of three kinds of vault. Private and shared vaults are zero-knowledge: 3mote cannot open them. An Automation vault can also be opened by a key 3mote holds, so it is not zero-knowledge.KindWho can open itCan 3mote open it?Private vaultThe personThe Recovery Group, unless your ownersturned that off for Private vaultsNoZero-knowledgeShared vaultPeople, teams and roles you addThe Recovery GroupAn agent workstation, for one session, onlyfor items a person chose to grantNoZero-knowledgeAutomation vaultPeople, teams and roles you addThe Recovery GroupA key 3mote holds in AWS KMS, so agents canuse items any time. Every use is recorded.Yes, with its keyNot zero-knowledgeVault names, and who can open each vault, are visible to workspace admins. Items are not.
Who can open each kind of vault, and whether 3mote can.

Who can turn it on

You need to be able to manage the vault (Can manage) and to manage Passwords. Private vaults cannot be Automation vaults. Automation is available on every plan.

  1. Open the shared vault, then ⋯ → Make this an Automation vault….
  2. Read the notice. It says that a key 3mote holds will be able to open the vault, that agents with Use access can use its items at any time and every use is recorded in Activity, and that people’s access does not change.
  3. Type the vault’s name to confirm, then select Make Automation vault.

Your device checks that the key it is about to use is the one this app expects before it encrypts anything to it. If it is not, nothing changes. Everyone who can open the vault is notified.

How an agent uses it

How an agent uses an Automation vaultSequence: the agent asks to use an item, 3mote checks access and records the use before anything else, then asks AWS KMS to open the vault key with the key 3mote holds, and sends the agent's workstation the item's key locked to that session.AI agent onits workstation3mote serversAWS KMS(3mote's agent key)1. Asks to use an itemin an Automation vault2. Checks the agent, the vault and theperson the agent works for3. Records the use first.No record, no key.4. Asks KMS to openthe vault key5. Returns the vault key(held only for a moment)6. Sends the item's key, locked tothis session. It lasts up to 1 hour.7. Applies the value. The model neversees it. Every use is in Activity.
An agent asks to use an item in an Automation vault. 3mote records the use first, and only then asks AWS KMS to open the vault key.

The agent asks to use an item. 3mote checks that the agent is allowed, that the vault is an Automation vault, and that the person the agent is working for can still open the vault. It records the use, then has AWS KMS open the vault key and passes the item’s key on, locked to that one workstation session. The key lasts up to an hour. If the record cannot be written, no key is released.

An item whose output has been caught carrying its value three times in a week is paused, and no agent can use it until a manager of the vault clears it (Allow agents again). Changing or deleting an item, removing an agent’s access, turning Automation off, or deactivating the agent or the person it works for ends access straight away.

Adding an agent

Open the vault, then ⋯ → Share… and add the agent at Use only. Its row reads Can use anytime. An agent that is not in the list cannot use the vault.

Turning it off

Open the vault, then ⋯ → Turn off Automation…, and confirm. Your device updates the vault’s keys and re-encrypts its items, which can take a moment, and the key 3mote holds can no longer open the vault. The vault becomes an ordinary shared vault again, with the Zero-knowledge badge.

Afterwards the page tells you the date: Values agents could use until that date should be rotated at their services. That is because the key holder could have opened them while the vault was in this mode. Rotating the password, key or token at the service is the only certain way to be safe. Moving an item out of an Automation vault has the same effect: rotate its value.

Plan limits

Automation vaults are included on Free, Team and Enterprise. Holding your own key is coming for Enterprise only.