Test Knowledge-Agent Permissions Before Team Rollout

A knowledge agent is useful only when its answers respect the access boundary of the person asking. Correct summaries are an incomplete rollout test. Build a tiny permission matrix using harmless fixtures, then verify observable access behavior before connecting valuable team sources.

Write a matrix of reader roles and allowed sources. Example fixtures: a public handbook with the token PUBLIC-APPLE and a restricted planning note with PRIVATE-PEAR. These are fictional markers, not secrets. Decide which reader may access each fixture using the workspace’s actual permission controls. A prompt that says "keep this private" is not a permission system.

For each role, ask a normal question whose answer is present in an allowed source, then one that requires a restricted source. Record the logged-in role, question, cited source and observed response. A useful allowed answer should cite the handbook. A disallowed answer must not reveal the restricted token or paraphrase its facts. Test direct requests and ordinary follow-up questions.

A copied file may have a different audience from its original. Dust documents Pod files and administration controls, including the option for admins to restrict Pod creation. Inspect the destination’s access rules before adding a source snapshot. Do not assume that a connector automatically reproduces every upstream permission in every agent or shared space.

Fictional matrix: Visitor → public only; Project member → public and project note; Administrator → both. Mark every test pass, fail or not tested. A good record includes the exact safe fixture and question so a teammate can repeat it. If a restricted fact appears, pause that source connection and resolve the access path before rollout.

This is a small acceptance test, not a security certification. Re-run it after connector, role, sharing or agent configuration changes. Review actual product access documentation and enforce permissions outside the model. Keep the initial rollout narrow enough that an unexpected response is easy to trace back to a source and reader role.

Reviewed on 11 October 2026. Worked examples are fictional; these workflows are based on documentation, not product benchmarks.

• Dust Pod administration controls
• Dust Pod files and sharing context