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CloudThinker agents can operate autonomously, continuously monitoring your infrastructure and taking action without requiring manual prompts. This enables 24/7 optimization, proactive incident response, and automated compliance enforcement.

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How Autonomous Mode Works

1

Configure

Define the scope, schedule, and permissions for autonomous operations. Specify what actions agents can take independently.
2

Monitor

Agents continuously scan your infrastructure based on configured schedules, using the same intelligence as interactive conversations.
3

Analyze

When agents identify issues or opportunities, they analyze the situation and determine appropriate actions.
4

Act or Alert

Based on your approval settings, agents either take action automatically or create recommendations for your review.
5

Report

All autonomous activities are logged and reported, with notifications sent through your configured channels.

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Autonomous Capabilities by Agent

Continuous Cost Optimization
  • Monitor resource utilization and identify right-sizing opportunities
  • Detect unattached volumes and unused resources
  • Track spending anomalies and alert on budget risks
  • Generate daily/weekly cost recommendations
Infrastructure Monitoring
  • Scan for configuration drift
  • Monitor resource health and availability
  • Track infrastructure changes across accounts

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Configuring Autonomous Operations

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Agent Connections

Configure which resources and accounts each agent can access autonomously:
  1. Navigate to Settings > Agent Connections in your workspace
  2. Select the agent to configure
  3. Define the connection scope (accounts, regions, resource types)
  4. Set access level (read-only or read-write)

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Scheduling

Define when autonomous operations run:
Agents monitor in near real-time, checking for issues as they occur:
  • Security violations
  • Resource health changes
  • Cost anomalies
Configure periodic comprehensive scans:
  • Daily: Cost analysis, resource inventory
  • Weekly: Security audit, compliance check
  • Monthly: Well-Architected assessment
Trigger agent actions based on events:
  • New resource creation
  • Configuration changes
  • Alert conditions

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Builtin Tools

Configure which tools agents can use autonomously:
ToolDescriptionDefault
AnalyzeRead and analyze resourcesEnabled
ReportGenerate reports and dashboardsEnabled
RecommendCreate recommendationsEnabled
AlertSend notificationsEnabled
ExecuteMake infrastructure changesRequires approval

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Approval Settings

Control what actions require human approval:

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Approval Levels

Full Autonomy

Agent can take all configured actions without approval

Recommend Only

Agent creates recommendations but doesn’t execute changes

Alert Only

Agent monitors and alerts but takes no action

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Action-Specific Approvals

Configure approval requirements by action type:
  • Read operations: Typically no approval needed
  • Recommendations: Auto-create or require review
  • Configuration changes: Usually require approval
  • Cost-impacting changes: Configurable thresholds
Always start with “Recommend Only” mode and gradually increase autonomy as you build confidence in agent behavior.

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Monitoring Autonomous Activity

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Activity Log

All autonomous agent actions are logged with:
  • Timestamp and duration
  • Agent and action type
  • Resources affected
  • Outcome and any errors

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Dashboard View

Monitor autonomous operations from your workspace dashboard:
  • Active autonomous tasks
  • Recent completions
  • Pending approvals
  • Error alerts

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Notifications

Configure notifications for autonomous activities: 
# Example notification configuration
Notify via Slack when:
- Agent creates a high-priority recommendation
- Agent encounters an error
- Agent completes a scheduled scan
- Agent requests approval for an action

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Background Jobs

CloudThinker runs various background processes to support autonomous operations:

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System Jobs

JobFrequencyPurpose
Cloud SyncConfigurableSync resource inventory from cloud providers
Token RefreshAutomaticMaintain valid credentials for integrations
Quota ResetDailyReset usage quotas for new day
Credit RolloverMonthlyProcess billing credits
CleanupPeriodicArchive old data, clean temporary files

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Agent Jobs

JobFrequencyPurpose
Cost AnalysisDailyAnalyze spending and generate recommendations
Security ScanConfigurableCheck for security issues
Health CheckContinuousMonitor resource health
Report GenerationScheduledGenerate periodic reports

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Best Practices

Begin with read-only operations and recommendation-only mode. Gradually increase autonomy based on agent performance and your comfort level.
Specify exactly which resources and actions are in scope. Use tags and account boundaries to limit agent access.
Periodically review autonomous activity logs and recommendations. Adjust configurations based on patterns.
Set up notifications for important events, errors, and approval requests. Don’t let critical items go unnoticed.
Test autonomous configurations in development/staging environments before applying to production.

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Example Configurations

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Cost-Focused Autonomous Setup

Agent: Alex
Mode: Recommend Only
Schedule:
  - Daily at 6 AM: Full cost analysis
  - Continuous: Spending anomaly detection
Scope: All AWS accounts, production tag
Actions:
  - Generate cost recommendations (auto)
  - Create alerts for budget risks (auto)
  - Execute savings (requires approval)

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Security-Focused Autonomous Setup

Agent: Oliver
Mode: Alert + Recommend
Schedule:
  - Every 6 hours: Security group scan
  - Daily: IAM policy audit
  - Weekly: Full compliance check
Scope: All accounts, all regions
Actions:
  - Alert on critical findings (auto)
  - Create remediation recommendations (auto)
  - Block public access (requires approval)

Configure Approval Workflows

Set up approval workflows for autonomous agent actions