How agent context works

Milestone connects to your agent through a few separate pieces. They're easy to confuse, and knowing which one you're looking at turns most problems into one-minute fixes.

The four pieces

• The connection - gives your agent tools: read tasks, search your team's knowledge, record what it learned. Your agent uses these when it decides to.
• The token - proves who you are and, importantly, which workspace you're reading and writing. The workspace is baked into it.
• Repo binding - maps a git repository to a board, so work in that repo lands in the right place.
• Team knowledge sync - the automatic part. Loads your team's context on your first prompt, and reports back what the session used.

Tools and memory are separate

This is the distinction worth remembering.

The connection means your agent can ask Milestone things. Team knowledge sync means it automatically starts every session already knowing them.

You can have the first without the second - and that's the default, because knowledge sync is something you switch on deliberately. An agent that's connected but has sync off will look like it's working, answer from general knowledge, and never mention your conventions.

What's automatic, what isn't

Which piece failed?

• Agent doesn't know Milestone exists, or has no tools - the connection.
• Tools work, but answers are generic and never cite your team - knowledge sync is off.
• It answers, but with another team's information - the token is from the wrong workspace.
• Everything works, but agent work lands on the wrong board - repo binding.

Related

• Team knowledge sync - turn the automatic part on.
• Bind a repo - connect a repository to a board.
• Troubleshoot agent connections.