AI Onboarding Agent
Skip manual setup. The AI Onboarding Agent connects to your server via SSH, analyzes your codebase, discovers API integrations, detects credentials, and creates all necessary KnoxCall resources through a conversational interface.What is the Onboarding Agent?
The Onboarding Agent is a conversational AI assistant powered by Claude that:- 🔍 Scans your codebase to find external API calls
- 🔑 Detects secrets in .env files and environment variables
- 🤖 Suggests resources (routes, secrets, clients) to create
- 💬 Asks clarifying questions when it needs your input
- ✨ Creates everything automatically once you approve
How It Works
Quick Start
Step 1: Create Onboarding Session
- Navigate to Onboarding in the admin UI
- Click New Onboarding Session
- Fill in server details:
- Click Create Session
Step 2: Connect to Server
Choose your authentication method:- Password
- SSH Private Key
Step 3: Select Repositories
Browse your server’s filesystem and select code directories to analyze:Step 4: Chat with the Agent
The agent will greet you and explain what it’s doing:Step 5: Review & Approve
The agent presents a summary of what it will create:approve to confirm, or ask questions to refine.
Step 6: Automatic Creation
The agent creates everything:Features
Intelligent Code Analysis
The agent uses Claude’s AI to: Detect API Calls:Secret Detection
Finds credentials in multiple formats: .env Files:- Suggests descriptive names (
stripe_secret_keynotenv_var_42) - Detects secret type (API key, OAuth token, password)
- Shows preview (first 4 chars) without exposing full value
- Groups secrets by service
Conversational Interaction
The agent can: Ask clarifying questions:Pause & Resume
The agent saves its state, allowing you to:- Disconnect and return later
- Review findings before proceeding
- Consult with your team
- Re-run analysis on the same server
Advanced Usage
Bulk Domain Classification
Instead of classifying each endpoint individually, classify by domain:Repository Re-Analysis
Clone an existing session to re-scan the same server:Custom Collections
Organize routes into logical groups:Multi-Environment Setup
The agent can configure environments during creation:Security & Privacy
Read-Only Access
The agent operates with read-only SFTP access:- ✅ Can list directories
- ✅ Can read file contents
- ❌ Cannot execute commands
- ❌ Cannot write files
- ❌ Cannot modify permissions
- ❌ Cannot delete anything
Credential Handling
SSH Credentials:- Never stored in database
- Only held in memory during connection
- Cleared when session ends
- Must be re-entered for each session
- Full values never shown in UI
- Only first 4 characters displayed (preview)
- You must provide actual values during resource creation
- Agent cannot access production secret values
- Encrypted using AES-256-GCM
- Stored with per-secret encryption keys
- Keys encrypted with master key
- Zero-knowledge architecture
Network Isolation
- Agent runs server-side (not in your browser)
- SSH connection from KnoxCall servers to your server
- No third-party services involved
- No data sent to external APIs (except Claude for analysis)
Audit Trail
All agent actions are logged:Supported Languages & Frameworks
Fully Supported
Backend Languages:- JavaScript / Node.js
- TypeScript
- PHP
- Python
- Ruby
- Go
- Java
- Express.js, Koa, Fastify (Node)
- Laravel, Symfony (PHP)
- Django, Flask, FastAPI (Python)
- Rails, Sinatra (Ruby)
- Gin, Echo (Go)
- Spring Boot (Java)
Detected Patterns
HTTP Clients:Troubleshooting
Connection Issues
Problem: “Connection refused”Analysis Issues
Problem: “No endpoints discovered”Agent Behavior
Problem: “Agent stopped responding”API Reference
REST Endpoints
Create Session:Event Types
agent.message:Best Practices
Before Starting
- Review your code - Ensure .env files are up to date
- Set up SSH user - Use a read-only account with limited permissions
- Backup credentials - Agent won’t access vault secrets; have them ready
- Clean up test code - Remove old API integrations you’re not using
During Analysis
- Be specific - “All Stripe endpoints are external” vs “yes”
- Group by service - Create collections like “Payment APIs”, not “APIs”
- Use environments - One route with dev/prod environments, not separate routes
- Verify suggestions - Agent’s AI is smart but review before approving
After Creation
- Test routes - Use the testing UI to verify proxying works
- Configure secrets - Add environment-specific secret values if needed
- Set rate limits - Agent doesn’t configure these; set manually
- Review client permissions - Ensure client IP is correct
Security Checklist
- Used read-only SSH credentials
- Reviewed all discovered secrets before creating
- Verified no sensitive data in agent conversation
- Checked created routes target correct environments
- Tested with non-production credentials first
- Deleted onboarding session after completion (optional)
Limitations
What the Agent Cannot Do
- Execute commands on your server
- Modify your source code
- Access databases directly
- Read secrets from external vaults (AWS, HashiCorp)
- Detect API calls made via SDK without explicit URLs
- Parse compiled/minified code
- Read binary files
Edge Cases
Dynamic URLs:Next Steps
Create Your First Route
Manually create a route if agent missed one
Secret Management
Learn about secret encryption and environments
Environment Setup
Configure dev, staging, and production
Client Permissions
Restrict which clients can call routes
📊 Guide Info
- Level: Beginner to Intermediate
- Time: 10-30 minutes (depends on codebase size)
- Prerequisites: SSH access to your server
🏷️ Tags
onboarding, automation, ai, ssh, setup, agent