Getting startedwith caOS

Three-layer architecture

caOS keeps the origin of the data separate from what you do with it. Understanding that separation resolves most setup questions before they come up.

Setup sequence

Setup has a required order. Each step depends on the previous one being complete, and skipping one can produce a silent state, where the platform shows no error message, but data does not flow properly. We recommend strictly following these steps.

• Connect the ad platform over OAuth.
• Add the accounts that belong to this workspace.
• Tag every account with at least one tag.
• Sync the accounts with contracted products.
• Configure the product: an extraction in Xtractor, a message flow in Pacer, or a media plan in Heimdall.

Signing in

Enter your registered email and the platform sends a six-digit code, valid for a limited time and for one authentication only. The session stays active in the browser, so the code is not requested on every visit.

Because there is no password, there is also no password recovery. A code that does not arrive is usually in the spam folder or held by a corporate filter.

Workspace and users

Each workspace represents the operation's environment, identified at the top of the sidebar. In team workspaces, these resources are automatically accessible to all invited members. There, the same accounts, tags, and flows can be accessed without needing to reconnect platforms or credentials per user. Access can be granted as editor or viewer for specific members.

In team workspaces there is one exception, covered in the Pacer section: the WhatsApp number used as the sender is personal and is not shared across workspace members.

Xtractor

Inside the platform, Plans and limits shows the current plan and the limits the system actually enforces. That is the reference to check when in doubt.

Pacer

Billing is per message flow. Each flow covers one account per platform, with up to three simultaneous flows. Frequency is chosen per flow (daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, or custom expression) at your defined time, subject to a limit of one delivery per day. The Enterprise plan removes the flow limit and includes an SLA and priority support.

Heimdall

Heimdall is an exclusive product of the Enterprise plan. Because it acts directly on budget control with automated pause actions via platform APIs, activation requires dedicated environment provisioning, permission governance, and onboarding guided by caOS engineering.

Walk through the full setup

The screen below reproduces the Sources page and responds the way the real one does. Walk the four steps in order, or try syncing before applying a tag to observe the behavior described further down.

Available connectors

The connector screen presents released integrations, among them Meta Ads, Google Ads, TikTok Ads, Pinterest Ads, Kwai Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Google Analytics, Google BigQuery, and Google Sheets. Connectors under development are flagged and cannot be selected.

Selecting a connector opens the authorization flow of the ad platform itself. caOS receives a delegated access token and never sees or stores your password. That token is kept encrypted, as described under Connectors. Authorization can be revoked at any time, either from the platform of origin or from the Credentials tab, where revocation is allowed for the credential holder and workspace administrators.

Applying tags

Sidebar · Sources · TAGS column

Create the first tag under New tag and apply it with the add button on each account's row. An account accepts multiple tags, and the panel at the top shows the TAGGED counter, which indicates how many accounts are eligible to sync.

Object model

Building a connection

The form below reproduces the connection builder. The sync mode step appears only after selecting a destination, because available options depend on the chosen destination type (Google Sheets or BigQuery).

The sync mode combines two technical decisions: what to fetch from the source (full refresh or recent changes only) and how to write to the destination (overwrite the block, append new rows, or update existing records by removing duplicates).

There are six possible combinations, configured per table rather than for the entire connection. The recommended default is full refresh with deduplicated append: this option retroactively updates modified data using primary keys while preserving past report history.

Creating the extraction source

Xtractor · Sources tab · New source

The form is sequential and each step appears as the previous one is filled in. Select the platform, the ad account and an internal identifier. Platforms without an active credential appear as no connection and redirect to the connection flow, returning to the form without losing what you had entered.

Next, select the tables from the catalog. For performance reports, the insights table concentrates spend, impressions, clicks and conversions. Finally, set the start date of the extraction; the end date may be left open, in which case the extraction follows the current period. On save, the platform validates the field combination against the source API.

Creating the destination

Xtractor · Destinations tab · New destination

Select the destination platform and enter an identifier. Then authorize the Google account that will have write permission and select the spreadsheet, either through the Google picker or by pasting the document's address. The access granted is restricted to the selected document. Writing happens per table: each table in the source maps to one tab of the spreadsheet.

1. Connecting a sender number

Pacer · WhatsApp Integration tab · Connect number

Authentication is done by scanning a QR code, the same model as WhatsApp Web. The number is bound to the user who authenticated it, and only that user can use it as a sender. The restriction prevents one workspace member from sending messages through another member's WhatsApp. Until a number of your own is connected, flows can be configured but not activated.

The platform monitors the session and notifies the number's owner if the binding drops, in which case deliveries are halted until it is reconnected.

2. Composing the message

Pacer · Flows tab · Template step

The editor validates each tag as you type. Recognized tags are highlighted and replaced by value on delivery; unrecognized tags are transmitted as literal text to the recipient. Try in the simulation below inserting an existing metric, such as {{ctr}}, and then typing an unrecognized one.

3. Validating and scheduling

Pacer · Preview and Delivery

Generate preview renders the message with illustrative values, without querying the platforms and without sending anything. Send test performs an immediate delivery with real data, letting you validate content and destination before scheduling.

Once validated, select the sender number, the destination, which can be a contact or a group, and the frequency. Activating Delivery active requires a sender number of your own to be selected.

What Heimdall requires to work

Unlike reporting products, budget protection relies on a target reference. Heimdall requires your ad accounts to be connected under Sources, tags applied, and your media plan entered into the Operational Template: the spreadsheet provided during onboarding where you define each account's planned budget month by month.

Three action modes

You control Heimdall's level of autonomy over your operation, setting a default behavior for the workspace or customizing the mode per ad account:

• Alerts only (Simple): Heimdall notifies the team without pausing any campaigns.
• Gradual (Medium): notifies the team at each verification cycle. If the discrepancy persists for three consecutive alerts within the same occurrence, it triggers an automatic pause.
• Active Containment (Full): immediately pauses delivery as soon as a campaign crosses the configured tolerance threshold.

Flexible tolerance threshold. Discrepancy triggers can be set per account or campaign in monetary values, a percentage of the planned budget, or both.

Alerts and scope of action

Notifications are delivered via email and WhatsApp, displaying the account, planned target, current delivery rate, and projected spend. For Gradual and Active Containment modes, WhatsApp is the primary recommended channel for immediate team response.

When a threshold is breached under an active pause mode, Heimdall pauses the active elements of that account directly via the origin platform's API. This acts as a safety containment lock to prevent budget overruns.