Devin

Devin is a fully autonomous engineering agent — well suited to multi-step remediation work that spans repos, CI, and ticket systems. Unlike the other recipes on this site, Devin owns its own sandbox and integrations; your job is mainly to encode the runbook as a Knowledge entry and trigger sessions at the right moments.

Prerequisites

• Devin team workspace (Cognition)
• API access enabled and a Devin API key issued
• Source repos connected via the Devin GitHub / GitLab integration
• A queue of findings (Jira, Linear, GitHub Issues, etc.)

General onboarding

The public path — what any team can do today using Cognition’s documented flow.

1. Pick a plan. Devin offers Team and Enterprise tiers. API access, Knowledge, and Playbooks are on all paid tiers. See Devin pricing.
2. Sign up at devin.ai and create a workspace.
3. Connect your source host. Install the GitHub / GitLab integration from Workspace → Integrations so Devin can clone repos and open PRs. See Devin Integrations.
4. Document your runbooks as Knowledge entries. Knowledge is Devin’s long-term memory — used at the start of every session. See Devin Knowledge.
5. Author Playbooks for repeatable tasks you can invoke by name. See Devin Playbooks.
6. Mint an API key at Workspace → Settings → API keys and start dispatching sessions via POST /v1/sessions.

Vendor-side reference index:

• Devin docs home
• API: POST /v1/sessions
• API: list sessions
• Knowledge
• Playbooks
• Integrations (GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Linear, Slack)
• Pricing
• Cognition trust & security

API base URL: https://api.devin.ai/v1. Authenticate with a workspace API key as Authorization: Bearer <token>.

Enterprise onboarding

1. Request access. File an IT ticket for a Devin seat on your org’s Cognition workspace. Internal link: Request Devin access.
2. Join the workspace. Accept the invite to your org’s Devin workspace once Security approves. Internal link: Devin workspace.
3. Bind to corporate SSO. Devin Team / Enterprise supports SSO — bind the account to your identity provider per the standard IT guide. Internal link: SSO enrollment.
4. Connect the right repos. Your Devin admin installs the GitHub / GitLab integration and grants it to only the repos this recipe targets — nothing broader. Internal link: Repo connection checklist.
5. Complete internal training. Read the internal rules of engagement for autonomous-agent usage on production repos, including ACU budget caps and the “no auto-merge” policy. Internal link: your org’s AI usage policy.

Recipe steps

1. Document your runbook as a Devin Knowledge entry

Knowledge entries are Devin’s long-term memory for your org. The agent reads relevant entries at the start of every session based on tags + repo. Create one for remediation:

---
title: Security Remediation Runbook
tags: [remediation, security, cve, sde, process]
repos: ["*"]
---

# Security Remediation Runbook

## Branch & commit conventions
- Branch: `fix/<finding-id>` (e.g. `fix/CVE-2026-1234`)
- Commit: Conventional Commits (`fix(sec):`, `fix(deps):`)
- PR title: `fix: <one-line summary>`
- PR description must include:
  - Finding ID (as a link if available)
  - Blast radius (files touched, public APIs affected)
  - Verification steps (tests run, manual checks)

## Stop and ask
Before doing any of the following, pause and message the channel
subscribed to this session:
- Changing a public API contract
- Changing a DB column (name, type, nullability)
- Upgrading across a major version
- Disabling or skipping tests

## Review loop
- Open PRs as DRAFT.
- Tag `@security-reviewers` as reviewer.
- Do not merge. Ever.

## Ecosystem-specific notes

### Node / pnpm
- Respect `pnpm-workspace.yaml` — upgrade at the workspace root,
  not inside a single package, unless the affected dep is only
  used there.
- After any dep change, run `pnpm install --frozen-lockfile` in
  CI before pushing.

### Python
- Prefer `uv add <pkg>@<version>` over hand-editing
  `requirements.txt`. If the repo uses plain pip, re-pin via
  `pip-compile` or regenerate `requirements.txt` from a
  `requirements.in`.

### Go
- Use `go get -u` for the specific module, then `go mod tidy`.
- Run `govulncheck` and confirm the finding is no longer reachable.

Additional Knowledge entries worth creating: one per repo with the build/test commands, one for your PR template, one for per- ecosystem test runners.

2. Configure reproducible setup for each repo

Devin’s sandbox should boot into a known-good state. Under Workspace → Repositories → → Setup, record the exact commands Devin should run on first connect:

# Repository setup — payments-service
corepack enable
pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
pnpm -r build
# Smoke test to prove the sandbox is healthy
pnpm -r test -- --reporter=dot --bail

Devin caches this across sessions, so after the first run these are fast.

3. Mint a scoped Devin API key

In Workspace → Settings → API keys, create a key named remediation-webhook. Scope: “Create sessions only.” Store the key as a secret in the ticket system / CI that will POST to the API.

4. Webhook your backlog into Devin

When a finding enters “ready-for-agent” (a Jira status, a Linear label, a GitHub Issues tag), POST to /v1/sessions. The body becomes Devin’s task brief.

Valid POST /v1/sessions body fields include prompt, idempotent, knowledge_ids, playbook_id, max_acu_limit, secret_ids, snapshot_id, tags, title, and unlisted. The repo Devin operates on is selected via the connected GitHub / GitLab integration (and named inside the prompt), not by a repos body field.

# .github/workflows/devin-dispatch.yml
name: Dispatch to Devin on security label
on:
issues:
  types: [labeled]

jobs:
dispatch:
  if: github.event.label.name == 'ready-for-agent'
  runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  steps:
    - name: Create Devin session
      env:
        DEVIN_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.DEVIN_API_KEY }}
        REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
        ISSUE_NUM: ${{ github.event.issue.number }}
        ISSUE_TITLE: ${{ github.event.issue.title }}
        ISSUE_BODY: ${{ github.event.issue.body }}
      run: |
        BRIEF=$(cat <<EOF
        Remediate GitHub issue #${ISSUE_NUM} in ${REPO}.
        Follow the "Security Remediation Runbook" Knowledge entry.
        Open a DRAFT pull request linked back to the issue.

        Issue title: ${ISSUE_TITLE}

        Issue body:
        ${ISSUE_BODY}
        EOF
        )

        jq -n \
          --arg prompt "$BRIEF" \
          --arg title "Remediate #${ISSUE_NUM} in ${REPO}" \
          '{prompt: $prompt,
            title: $title,
            idempotent: true,
            tags: ["remediation","github-issue"]}' \
        | curl -fsSL -X POST https://api.devin.ai/v1/sessions \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer $DEVIN_API_KEY" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            --data @-

# .github/workflows/devin-webhook.yml
name: Devin dispatch via webhook
on:
repository_dispatch:
  types: [security-finding]

jobs:
dispatch:
  runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  steps:
    - name: Create Devin session from scanner payload
      env:
        DEVIN_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.DEVIN_API_KEY }}
        FINDING_ID: ${{ github.event.client_payload.finding_id }}
        FINDING_BODY: ${{ github.event.client_payload.description }}
      run: |
        jq -n \
          --arg prompt "Remediate finding ${FINDING_ID}. Details:\n${FINDING_BODY}" \
          --arg title "Devin: ${FINDING_ID}" \
          '{prompt: $prompt,
            title: $title,
            idempotent: true,
            tags: ["remediation","webhook"]}' \
        | curl -fsSL -X POST https://api.devin.ai/v1/sessions \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer $DEVIN_API_KEY" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            --data @-

# Jira → Automation → "Send web request"
Method:  POST
URL:     https://api.devin.ai/v1/sessions
Headers: Authorization: Bearer {{DEVIN_API_KEY}}
       Content-Type: application/json

Body:
{
"prompt": "Remediate {{issue.key}} ({{issue.summary}}) in the connected repo. Follow the Security Remediation Runbook. Issue body:\n\n{{issue.description}}",
"title": "Devin: {{issue.key}}",
"idempotent": true,
"tags": ["remediation","jira","{{issue.key}}"]
}

// Cloudflare Worker handling Linear's outbound webhook
export default {
async fetch(request, env) {
  const event = await request.json();
  if (event.type !== "Issue" || event.data.state.name !== "Ready-for-Agent") {
    return new Response("ignored", { status: 204 });
  }
  const body = {
    prompt: `Remediate Linear issue ${event.data.identifier} ` +
            `(${event.data.title}) in the connected repo. Follow ` +
            `the Security Remediation Runbook.\n\n${event.data.description ?? ""}`,
    title: `Devin: ${event.data.identifier}`,
    idempotent: true,
    tags: ["remediation", "linear", event.data.identifier],
  };
  const res = await fetch("https://api.devin.ai/v1/sessions", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Authorization": `Bearer ${env.DEVIN_API_KEY}`,
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    body: JSON.stringify(body),
  });
  return new Response(await res.text(), { status: res.status });
},
};

# .github/workflows/devin-nightly.yml
name: Nightly Devin remediation sweep
on:
schedule:
  - cron: "0 2 * * *"   # 02:00 UTC
workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
sweep:
  runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  steps:
    - name: Create a Devin session per high/critical finding
      env:
        DEVIN_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.DEVIN_API_KEY }}
        SNYK_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SNYK_TOKEN }}
      run: |
        for FINDING_ID in $(./scripts/list-open-findings.sh --severity high,critical | head -5); do
          jq -n --arg id "$FINDING_ID" \
            '{prompt: ("Remediate finding " + $id + " per the Security Remediation Runbook. Open a draft PR."),
              title: ("Devin: " + $id),
              idempotent: true,
              tags: ["remediation","scheduled"]}' \
          | curl -fsSL -X POST https://api.devin.ai/v1/sessions \
              -H "Authorization: Bearer $DEVIN_API_KEY" \
              -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
              --data @-
        done

5. Add a standing guardrail prompt

Include this line in every session brief (append it in the webhook handler):

Stop and ask on Slack before making any change to a public API contract, a database schema, or a file under db/migrations/.

This keeps Devin autonomous on the easy 80% and collaborative on the rest.

6. Wire PR review + finding closure

Devin opens PRs against the configured default branch. Make sure:

• CODEOWNERS routes to a security-reviewer team for remediation PRs.
• The repo’s branch protection requires those reviewers and green CI.
• A small Action closes the source finding when the PR merges:

# .github/workflows/close-on-merge.yml
name: Close finding on merge
on:
  pull_request:
    types: [closed]
jobs:
  close:
    if: github.event.pull_request.merged == true
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Close linked issue
        run: |
          ISSUE=$(echo "${{ github.event.pull_request.body }}" \
                  | grep -oP '#\K[0-9]+' | head -1)
          [ -n "$ISSUE" ] && \
            gh issue close "$ISSUE" --repo ${{ github.repository }}
        env: { GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} }

Verification

Trigger one finding manually. Devin should:

• spin up a session within a minute or two,
• branch the repo,
• attempt a fix,
• run tests,
• open a draft PR linked back to the finding.

Review the session replay in the Devin workspace to confirm the runbook was followed and no unexpected commands were issued. If the replay shows the agent skipped a step, fix the Knowledge entry — don’t patch the symptom in the prompt.

Orchestration: what stays constant, what changes

Devin’s orchestration is unusually simple — your ticket system’s webhook creates a Devin session with a task brief, Devin runs end-to-end in its managed sandbox, and replies with a PR. The webhook + Knowledge entry + PR review gate is the stable spine; everything Devin reads during a session is expected to change over time.

    flowchart LR
    A[Finding queue<br/>Jira / Linear / Issues] --> B[Webhook<br/>ready-for-agent label]
    B --> C[Devin API<br/>create session]
    C -.reads.-> P[Prompt layer<br/>session brief + Knowledge]
    C -.calls.-> M[Model<br/>Devin-managed]
    C -.uses.-> T[Tool layer<br/>integrations: GH, Jira, CI]
    C --> D[Devin sandbox<br/>branch + tests]
    D --> E[Guardrail check<br/>API / schema gate]
    E -->|pass| F[PR + finding link]
    E -->|block| G[Stop + ping humans]
  

What is constant (build once, leave alone):

• The ready-for-agent → webhook → /sessions POST contract.
• The Knowledge entries you treat as authoritative (runbook, commit conventions, PR template).
• The scoped API token, per-session ACU cap, per-day ACU cap, and the review policy (“no auto-merge, ever”).
• The “stop and ask if you’d change a public API contract or a schema” standing instruction.

What evolves (expected to change, often):

• Prompt. The session-brief template is iterated as you learn which framings reduce reviewer pushback. Knowledge entries are added and pruned.
• Model. Devin’s underlying engine changes as Cognition upgrades it — you benefit from better models without touching the webhook plumbing.
• Tools. New integrations (a new ticket system, a new CI platform, a new scanner) slot in as additional sandbox tools. The session lifecycle doesn’t change.

This is why investing in Knowledge entries pays compound interest: they’re the layer that changes, the rest of the orchestration is write-once.

Guardrails

• Scope the repo list. Devin only operates on repos you’ve explicitly connected — keep this list tight.
• Require human review. Treat Devin PRs like any other contributor’s PR: required reviewers, passing CI, no auto-merge.
• Budget caps. Configure per-session and per-day ACU (agent compute unit) caps in the Devin workspace settings.
• Standing “stop” rules. Every session brief includes the API / schema / migrations “stop and ask” clause.

Troubleshooting

• Devin keeps asking for repo setup. The per-repo setup commands didn’t run — check Workspace → Repositories → Setup and re-save them. Verify the first-run output in the session replay.
• Session ignores your runbook. Knowledge entries are retrieved by tag + repo match. Confirm the tags: and repos: frontmatter cover the current session’s context.
• Session opened a PR in the wrong branch. Add an explicit base: to the session brief: “Open the PR against main, not develop.”

See also

• Cognition: Devin docs home
• Devin API: POST /v1/sessions
• Devin docs: Knowledge · Playbooks · Integrations
• MCP Server Access — exposing richer context to agents
• Recipe: Codex — for similar batch flows
• Prompt Library — share your Devin session briefs (see prompt-library/devin/ for live examples)