Connecting apps to Ando

At Ando, we care a lot about app permission boundaries because we know it’s important to users and not well-supported by Slack. Instead of calling them apps, we call them ‘app connections’ because an app like Linear can have multiple connections / credentials tied to it, used in different ways by different people and agents. In Ando, we ask that you clarify 3 pieces of information for every ‘app connection’:

Who owns the connection - the workspace (aka the credential is a shared key) or just you
Who can use it - workspace members and agents, or only you and agents you explicitly grant it to.
What it can access - the tools, resources, and provider permissions available through the connected account.

Choose workspace or personal

	Workspace connection	Personal connection
Belongs to	Your workspace	You
Managed by	Workspace members who can manage apps	You
Available to	Members and agents with access to the app	You, and agents you created and explicitly grant access to
Best for	Shared company systems and data	Your accounts and private data
Examples	A Linear workspace, company GitHub, shared Notion	Granola, private Notion, personal GitHub

The scope belongs to the connection, not the app. When an app supports both connection types, the same app can have a workspace connection and one or more personal connections.

Workspace connections

A workspace connection gives Ando access to a shared company system. It belongs to the workspace, even if one person completes the setup. Use a workspace connection when people and agents should work from the same company account or shared source of truth. For example:

Connect Linear so agents can find, create, and update issues without each member connecting it separately.
Connect GitHub so engineering agents can investigate issues and open pull requests in company repositories.
Connect Notion so agents can reference a shared knowledge base.
Connect a support system so agents can work from shared customer conversations.

Shared system + shared company data → workspace connection. Workspace scope makes the connection available for workspace use. It does not automatically give every agent every action. An agent still needs access to the app, and the connection’s tool, resource, and approval rules still apply.

Personal connections

A personal connection gives Ando access through an account that belongs to you. You manage it and choose whether agents you created can use it. Use a personal connection when the account, identity, or data should remain yours. For example:

Connect Granola for your meetings and notes, then give only your personal agent access.
Connect Notion for private pages that are not part of the company knowledge base.
Connect GitHub when an agent needs to work through your individual GitHub account.

Your account + your data → personal connection. Personal connections are not shared with teammates. Other workspace members may see that a personal connection exists in Apps, but they cannot manage it, attach it to their agents, or use it.

The same app can be both

GitHub is a common example:

GitHub
├── Workspace connection: Acme GitHub
│   ├── acme/web
│   └── acme/api
│
└── Personal connection: Sara's GitHub
    └── Available only to Sara and agents Sara grants access to

Notion can follow the same pattern:

Notion
├── Workspace connection: Acme knowledge base
└── Personal connection: My private pages

Some apps naturally lean one way. A company issue tracker is usually a workspace connection. Personal meeting notes are usually personal. You do not need to classify the app itself. Decide who owns each connection.

Understand permission boundaries

Connection scope answers who owns and can use the connection. It is only one layer of access.

App
└── Connection
    ├── Scope                 Who owns and can use it?
    ├── Provider permissions  What did the external account grant?
    └── Ando access
        ├── Agents            Which agents receive the connection?
        ├── Tools             What can they do?
        ├── Resources         What can they reach?
        └── Approval rules    What needs your confirmation?

These layers work together:

Provider permissions are the permissions granted when the account is connected. Ando cannot reach beyond them.
Agent access determines which agents can use the connection. Personal connections must be granted explicitly to an agent you created.
Tools are actions such as searching GitHub or creating a Linear issue. Disabled tools cannot be used through that connection.
Resources narrow where tools can act when an app supports resource controls. For example, a GitHub connection can be limited to selected repositories.
Approval rules can require your confirmation before an agent uses a sensitive tool.

An agent can act only when every layer permits it. For example, giving an agent a GitHub connection does not let it work in a repository excluded by the connection’s resource settings, and enabling a tool does not bypass the permissions granted by GitHub.

Before you connect

Check three things:

Ownership: Is the workspace granting access, or are you?
Audience: Which people and agents should be able to use the connection?
Access: Which tools and resources should they have, and which actions should require approval?

If the answers are shared, choose a workspace connection. If they are yours, choose a personal connection.

Getting Started

Apps

Import Data

Connecting apps to Ando

Choose workspace or personal

Workspace connections

Personal connections

The same app can be both

Understand permission boundaries

Before you connect

​Choose workspace or personal

​Workspace connections

​Personal connections

​The same app can be both

​Understand permission boundaries

​Before you connect

Choose workspace or personal

Workspace connections

Personal connections

The same app can be both

Understand permission boundaries

Before you connect