Permissions

August 1, 2026 · View on GitHub

Module: ovos_workshop.permissions

Permission enums control how the converse and fallback systems select which skills may participate.

ConverseMode

Controls which skills are allowed to participate in converse at all.

from ovos_workshop.permissions import ConverseMode
ValueMeaning
ACCEPT_ALLAny skill may converse (default)
WHITELISTOnly explicitly whitelisted skills may converse
BLACKLISTAll skills except blacklisted ones may converse

Configure in mycroft.conf:

{
  "skills": {
    "converse": {
      "converse_mode": "accept_all",
      "converse_whitelist": ["skill-id-1"],
      "converse_blacklist": ["skill-id-2"]
    }
  }
}

ConverseActivationMode

Controls when a skill is allowed to add itself to the active skills list (enabling converse).

from ovos_workshop.permissions import ConverseActivationMode
ValueMeaning
ACCEPT_ALLAny skill may activate itself (default)
PRIORITYSkill may only activate if no higher-priority skill is already active
WHITELISTOnly explicitly whitelisted skills may self-activate
BLACKLISTAll skills except blacklisted ones may self-activate

Configure in mycroft.conf:

{
  "skills": {
    "converse": {
      "converse_activation": "accept_all",
      "converse_activation_whitelist": [],
      "converse_activation_blacklist": []
    }
  }
}

FallbackMode

Controls which skills may register as fallback handlers.

from ovos_workshop.permissions import FallbackMode
ValueMeaning
ACCEPT_ALLAny FallbackSkill may handle utterances (default)
WHITELISTOnly explicitly whitelisted fallback skills may respond
BLACKLISTAll fallback skills except blacklisted ones may respond

Configure in mycroft.conf:

{
  "skills": {
    "fallbacks": {
      "fallback_mode": "accept_all",
      "fallback_whitelist": [],
      "fallback_blacklist": []
    }
  }
}

Utility Functions

from ovos_workshop.permissions import blacklist_skill, whitelist_skill

# Add a skill to the global blacklist in mycroft.conf
blacklist_skill("my-unwanted-skill-id")

# Remove from the blacklist
whitelist_skill("my-unwanted-skill-id")

These functions directly modify mycroft.conf and take effect on the next skill manager reload.


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