What do the agent behaviour sliders do?
Open the full settings page and click Agent behaviour. At the top are four sliders that set how your agents work: Testing rigor, Security rigor, Response style, and Brain chat. Each slider shows a plain-language word for where it sits (like "Standard"), not only a number. These are the defaults for every agent codus runs, and changes apply to the next thing an agent does, with no restart.
Before you start
These four sliders live in the full settings page under Agent behaviour, not in the quick ⚙ dropdown. The lead line at the top of the section reads:
Defaults for every agent codus runs. Each project can override these on its quadrant's ⚙ panel. Changes apply to the next thing the agent does, no restart needed.
The four sliders
Each slider has a heading, a one-line description, and a readout showing the number and the word for the level you picked.
Testing rigor
"How hard the agent tests the work it produces." The scale runs from 0 to 10, shown as Off, Minimal, Light, Standard, Thorough, then Exhaustive at the top. New installs sit at Standard (5). Higher means the agent writes and runs more tests before it calls the work done; lower means it does less checking and moves faster.
Security rigor
"How carefully the agent reviews for security issues." The scale runs from 0 to 10, shown as Off, Basic, Light, Standard, Thorough, then Adversarial at the top. New installs sit at Standard (5). Higher means the agent looks harder for security problems in its own work.
Response style
"How much the agent explains in its replies." The scale runs from 0 to 5: Terse, Brief, Concise, Balanced, Detailed, Exhaustive. New installs sit at Balanced (3). Lower gives you short answers with little explanation; higher gives you fuller write-ups. This changes how much the agent writes in chat, not how carefully it does the work.
Brain chat
"How proactively the agent talks to the Codus Brain. 0 = only reports back on Brain-delegated work." The scale runs from 0 to 5: Delegated only, Blockers, Cross-project, Coordinator, Collaborator, Continuous. New installs sit at Delegated only (0), which means the agent stays quiet unless the Brain gave it a job, and only reports back on that. Higher makes the agent talk to the Brain more often on its own.
Extra instructions
Under each slider is a small toggle (▶ Extra instructions) that expands a list where you can type your own rules for that area. Click + Add instruction, type one rule per line, and remove one with the ✕ next to it. Each box shows an example of the kind of rule that fits, for instance "e.g. always add a regression test for every bug fix" under Testing rigor. These rules are added on top of wherever the slider sits.
How do I know it worked?
There is no Save button. The moment you move a slider or add an instruction, it is stored. The new setting applies to the next thing an agent does, so a running agent picks it up on its next step without a restart.
Common problems
- My agent still ran lots of tests after I turned Testing rigor down. A specific project can override the global default. Check that project's per-project setting. See Do my settings apply to every project or only one?.
- I want a different personality or a different look for what it builds. Those are separate controls in the same section. See How do I change my agent's tone and UI style?.