Experts in ORIA Reasoner

An Expert is a saved starting point. It keeps a set of nodes, tools, and files together so that every session you start from it begins already configured — no re-selecting the same nodes and tools each time.

Create one with + next to Expert in the left panel.

What an Expert Defines

Field	Purpose
Expert name	How it appears in the Expert list (e.g. Monthly close)
What is it for?	Optional description, shown in the Expert list
Standing instructions	Added to every session in the Expert. Shapes how Oria works — for example, "always reconcile to the general ledger; report in USD"
Opening prompt	Pre-filled in the composer when a session starts here. Nothing is sent until you press send
Reference files	Shared by every session in the project — upload once, and sessions that already exist see them too
Scope	The nodes, tools, MCP collections, and actions selected in the right-hand panel will be retained across all sessions created within this Expert

Set the scope using the right-hand panel while the Expert editor is open. A running summary appears at the bottom of the editor: n nodes · n tools · n MCP · n actions.

Click Save Expert to keep it, Close to leave without saving, or Discard to delete the draft.

Standing Instructions Cannot Widen Scope

This is the most important property of an Expert, and the editor states it directly:

Added to every session in this Expert. It shapes how Oria works — it cannot widen what data or tools a session may use.

Instructions change behavior; the scope panel changes reach. An instruction cannot grant Oria a node, tool, or action that wasn't selected in the scope. That separation is what makes standing instructions safe to write in plain language — a badly phrased instruction can produce a worse answer, but it cannot expand what the session can touch.

Reference Files Apply Retroactively

Files added to an Expert are visible to sessions that already exist, not only to new ones. Adding a file changes the context of past sessions in that Expert as well as future ones.

Useful when a shared reference document is updated. Worth knowing when a session's output needs to be reproducible — the files behind an old session may not be the files that were there when it ran.

When to Use an Expert

Situation	Use
A recurring analysis with the same nodes and tools every time	Expert
A working convention that should apply every time (units, sources, format)	Consider a Space instead (see previous doc)
A one-off question	Just start a session

Tip: Experts work best when the scope is genuinely stable. If you find yourself adding nodes to individual sessions inside an Expert every time, the Expert scope is too narrow — widen it once rather than repeating the work.

Next Steps

Adding Ontology Nodes — Configure your data sources
Session Tools — Enable capabilities for your Expert
Typical Workflow — See how Experts fit into your work