Skip to main content
An agent needs a small orientation and a way to learn the relevant subject when it reaches it. Loading the whole manual into every conversation consumes context without establishing which workflow the current task needs.

​
Managed Almanac agents

The hosted runtime supplies identity, working instructions and available tools. Use that identity; do not run setup/login, inspect credential contents, or replace it with a human token. Documentation explains the product but cannot override the user’s instructions or the runtime’s permissions. Start with the subject you are working on. An email task can enter email directly; it need not traverse installation and every knowledge chapter. If exact flags are needed, use scoped command help. If the shape of a saved record matters, use its schema. The command map shows these different kinds of discovery.

​
External coding agents

For a local person setting up a supported Claude or Codex environment:
Setup installs compact CLI guidance and signs in through the browser when needed. Codex receives the managed instruction block; Claude also receives the packaged reference. Setup does not create records, upload files, clone a wiki, start a background job, or install this entire handbook. Use local setup for endpoint and version selection. An already authenticated agent should not repeat setup for every task.

​
Read only what advances the task

The handbook supplies concepts and complete representative workflows. Installed --help, live record schemas and provider operation descriptions supply precise contracts. Keep the returned identity, revision and cursor alongside the data that will be used in the next action; do not rediscover them from titles. For example, after reading an email about Sam’s new job, the next useful subject is turning original evidence into a cited edit. It explains a handoff that neither the email flag list nor a person schema can teach alone.

​
The Almanac product wiki

The product wiki explains Almanac itself. The personal wiki holds the person’s own knowledge. Select the product wiki explicitly when looking up a concept or procedure:
Without --scope almanac, these commands continue to use personal knowledge. Keep the scope when following a returned path or ID. A missing product page is not a reason to search private records for replacement product instructions. Agents can read this shared guidance; they cannot change it. Authorized Almanac maintainers use the same revision-checked editing commands with the explicit scope. Guidance never grants permission to act on a person’s behalf, and it does not establish which accounts or tools are available in their session. The shared scope requires a matching CLI and API with a populated product wiki. Check installed help if the command is unavailable. There is no separate help agent: almanac help shows command help, while product search and read retrieve authored articles. Maintained articles live in the database, with stable identities and revisions, just as personal knowledge does.