---
title: Skills, knowledge, connections, and permissions
description: Give methods, facts, and permission to act distinct responsibilities.
lastVerified: 2026-09-23
---

# 2.3 Skills, knowledge, connections, and permissions

Skills tell a colleague how to work. Knowledge provides its factual grounding. Connections give it access to external information or tools. Permissions determine whether it may use them for the current task.

## Configure a research task

- **Skill**: List sources first, then separate facts, inferences, and points that need confirmation.
- **Knowledge**: Supply approved product information.
- **Connection**: Connect a read-only reference service if needed.
- **Permissions**: Let the research colleague read only the specified sources, without permission to publish.

## Installation and authorization are different

Importing a resource package makes its resources available for configuration. Installing an MCP service does not give every colleague access to all its tools. You still need to associate resources with the relevant colleague or business area and check the actual permissions.

Labels such as “Read” and “Write” help explain what a connection is for. An MCP tool's safety cannot be judged solely by its self-reported annotations. The current adapter has limitations in passing these annotations through. See [Permission boundaries](https://docs.teloa.ai/markdown/en/develop/permissions.md).

## Where to manage each item

| Content | Management entry |
| --- | --- |
| Documents and reference material | Library |
| Skills, connections, task templates, and extensions | Capabilities and the corresponding configuration source |
| AI colleagues and role permissions | Colleagues |
| Discovering and choosing resources | Market |

Store keys in the dedicated credential settings, never in skills, knowledge, or Market resource packages.