Agent registry vs. agent inventory
An agent inventory is a list of agents or agent workloads believed to exist. An agent registry is a maintained set of records used to identify and manage agents, often connected to identity, access, and lifecycle controls.
These are working market definitions, not a universal registry standard. Check whether the record helps someone manage the deployed agent. A spreadsheet can be a useful inventory. A registry entry can still be out of date, have no owner, or point to a deployment that no longer exists.
Explore Dome: Agent Registry · Docs: Manage agents.
Connect each record to a deployment
Suppose three teams each have an agent named “support assistant.” One runs in production, one is a development prototype, and one is a purchased service. A list of the three names does not show which credentials and downstream access belong to each.
A useful record gives each agent an identifier and names its purpose, owner, environment, where it runs, and the access it has. It should include a way to confirm that the deployment still exists.
A registry entry may still be awaiting security or business approval. Record that status separately from whether the agent exists or has recently made a request.
Dome's Agent Registry gives registered agents an identity record and management workflow. The organization still needs to compare those records with what teams actually run.
Explore Dome: Agent Registry · Docs: Agent identity.
Compare deployments, identities, and activity
Look for mismatches between what is deployed, which identities exist, and which identities are making requests.
| Observation | Question to resolve |
|---|---|
| Deployment without a registry record | Is this an untracked workload or an approved exception? |
| Registry record without a deployment | Is it retired, dormant, or missing deployment metadata? |
| Activity without a recognized owner | Who can investigate and authorize its continued operation? |
| Multiple workloads sharing one identity | Can you tell which workload acted and retire one without disrupting another? |
Do not automatically delete a record because it is quiet. A monthly reporting job may legitimately produce little traffic. Check how often the agent is expected to run and how long its records need to be kept before treating inactivity as abandonment.
“Shadow AI” commonly describes AI use outside the organization's recognized approval or management processes. An unmatched deployment can be evidence to investigate, but not every mismatch proves deliberate evasion. First establish what is running and who owns it.
Explore Dome: Audit · Docs: Audit events.
Make the record useful during a change
Choose one registered agent and ask another operator to find its owner, identify its permitted connections, and locate the procedure for pausing its access. If they have to find the original developer to answer those questions, the record is missing information they need.
Keep the registry linked to the deployment and policy systems rather than copying every configuration field into a second source of truth. Decide which system owns each fact and how changes are reflected.
A registry does not automatically discover every agent or stop an external runtime. Lifecycle management explains the difference between disabling access and stopping a process. Agentic operations covers the service handoff.
For each unmatched deployment or identity, record who will investigate and what they need to resolve.
Explore Dome: Agent Registry · Docs: Agent lifecycle.