History and access

Darwin AI keeps a record of everything done through it, by the chat, by your agents and by you. This page explains what that record holds and how long it lasts. It also explains who can use Darwin AI, and how incognito mode limits it to the administrators you choose.

What the History records

History is one shared log for the whole site. Every administrator who can use Darwin AI sees the same entries, whoever made them. The heading of the History view shows the total, for example "All administrators · 1,240 events".

It records:

• Every tool call. A tool is one action Darwin AI can take, such as reading a page or updating a menu. Calls from your agents, from the chat and from read-only connections are all recorded.
• Every refused call. If a call is turned down, for example because it needs a higher permission level, or the tool or its settings do not exist, it is still recorded, as a failed entry.
• Handoff events. A handoff is the pass you give an agent (see Passes (handoffs) and access levels). History records when one is created, revoked or expires, with its name, level and lifetime.
• Lease events. A lease is one agent's working session under a handoff. History records when one is opened (minted) and when one is revoked, with the reason when there is one.

Entries outlive the handoff that made them. When a handoff has ended, its entries stay, marked expired.

What each entry shows

Entries are grouped. Each group is one run of activity under the same handoff and lease. The group heading shows:

• the handoff name and the lease name, for example "Fix contact page · main";
• the handoff ID and lease ID;
• the date and time the group started, with "expired" added if the handoff no longer exists.

Handoff events (created, revoked, expired) appear under the handoff's own name. Chat activity is grouped under chatbot. Read-only requests from other AI tools on the site, through WordPress's Abilities API, are grouped under Abilities API.

Each entry inside a group shows:

• the time, in your site's time zone;
• the tool and mode in words, for example "Content read · info";
• the exact tool name, the mode and the target (usually the ID, slug, address or file path the call was about), for example content_read · mode info · target #42;
• a one-line description: the agent's own note on why it made the call, or the result message if it gave no note.

Entries are marked as a read, a write or an error. Failed calls are marked as failed. Click an entry to unfold its details: the Result message and the settings (arguments) the call ran with.

Secrets are hidden

Before anything is saved to History, Darwin AI removes values that look like secrets:

• any setting named like a token, password, secret, API key, authorisation, cookie or key is replaced with [redacted], however deeply it is nested;
• text such as password=… or token: … inside a longer value is redacted too;
• uploaded file data, and any text over 4 KB, is replaced with its size, for example [52311 bytes].

The agent's note is checked in the same way.

Searching and browsing

1. Open the Darwin AI panel from the round button in the bottom-right corner of wp-admin.
2. Switch to Handoff at the top of the panel.
3. Choose History at the bottom.
4. Type in the search box. It searches handoff and lease names and IDs, tool names, modes, targets, result messages and agent notes.

The search runs across the whole stored history, not just the entries on screen, so older matches are found too. The newest entries are at the bottom. To see further back, click Show older at the top of the list. Each click loads 200 more entries, up to 2,000 at a time.

While the History view is open, new entries appear on their own. It checks every few seconds after recent activity, and less often when things are quiet.

How long History is kept

Entries are kept for 90 days. Older entries are deleted once a day by a scheduled task.

Who can use Darwin AI

By default, any user who can manage the site's settings (in practice, every administrator) can use Darwin AI. Other users never see the panel. Nothing loads on the front of your site for visitors.

Each administrator sees and manages only their own handoffs. History is shared between them all.

Incognito mode: choosing which administrators can use it

Incognito mode limits Darwin AI to a list of administrators you choose. It does not change anyone's WordPress role. For administrators who are not on the list:

• the Darwin AI panel does not appear;
• Darwin AI is hidden from their Plugins screen (it stays active and still receives updates);
• any handoffs they created are revoked at once.

Turning incognito mode on

1. Open the Darwin AI panel and click the Settings (cog) button.
2. Choose the Global tab.
3. In the Access section, switch on Enable incognito mode.
4. Under Authorized users, click the arrow to choose administrators. You can type in Search users... to find someone.
5. Tick each administrator who should keep access. You are always included and marked You; the note says "Your account stays authorized."
6. Click Save. The status beside the field changes from "Unsaved changes" to "Saved".

Only existing administrators can be chosen (on a multisite network, super admins too). To remove someone later, click the cross on their name and click Save again. Their handoffs are revoked as soon as you save.

Turning it off

Switch off Enable incognito mode. This saves straight away. Every administrator can then use Darwin AI again.

If nobody on the list can get in

Incognito mode stays on even if every listed administrator has been deleted. To get back in, someone with access to the server adds this line to wp-config.php:

define( 'DAI_INCOGNITO_RECOVERY', true );

This lets every administrator open Darwin AI again. While it is set, the Access section shows "Recovery override is active. Repair the user list, then remove DAI_INCOGNITO_RECOVERY from wp-config.php." Fix the list, save, then remove the line.

When an administrator loses access

Darwin AI watches for changes that take an administrator's access away. When one happens, every handoff that person created is revoked immediately, with all its leases. Any agent using one of those handoffs is stopped on its next call. This happens when:

• their role changes so they can no longer manage the site's settings;
• their user account is deleted (on a multisite network, being removed from the site counts too). They are also taken off the incognito list;
• incognito mode is switched on without them on the list, or they are removed from it.

Their past activity stays in History, marked expired, for the rest of its 90 days.