Agent reference map

Use this map when you are a CLI session, MCP client, or in-app agent and need to know which ROST guide to retrieve before advising a user.

Public URLs

• Human docs index: /docs
• Manifest: /api/reference/manifest
• Search: /api/reference/search?q=Charter&audience=mcp
• File: /api/reference/files/charter-design-playbook

MCP surfaces

• Search tool: rost_reference_search
• Get tool: rost_reference_get
• Reference resource template: rost://reference/{slug}
• Operation resources (read-only, scope-enforced): rost://tenant/status, rost://graph, rost://seat/{id}/context, rost://compass/current, rost://sync/latest, rost://skills, rost://skills/{slug}, rost://skills/{slug}/files/{path}, rost://seat/{id}/skills, rost://operations/reference-map

Start with rost_reference_search when the user asks a broad question. Use rost_reference_get when a workflow or command metadata already names a guide slug. Read the operation resources to load current tenant/seat facts before mutating; tenant-wide resources need a tenant-admin token and a seat token may read only its own rost://seat/{id}/context.

CLI surface

• List guides: rost reference list
• Search guides: rost reference search "agent tools"
• Print a guide: rost reference get agent-staffing-playbook

Discover a command before calling it

Never guess a command's JSON shape. Before calling a command that changes state, read its exact contract:

• List every callable command: rost command list (CLI) or rost_list_commands (MCP)
• Read one command's exact input/output schema, help pointer, and a worked example: rost command schema <id> (CLI) or rost_describe_command with {"command_id":"<id>"} (MCP)
• List the tool catalog the agent builder reads (id, scope tiers, credential requirement, access policy, and execution-boundary guidance): rost tools list (CLI) or rost_list_tool_catalog (MCP)
• List guided model tiers before choosing --model (recommended default, effort, token prices, cost bands, best-fit work, model id): rost model list (CLI) or rost_list_model_catalog (MCP)
• Show a Compass, Charter, or agent setup as a markdown card to review with your human: rost compass show --markdown, rost charter show --seat-id <id> --markdown, rost agent show --seat-id <id> --markdown

When a command fails, the error returns a machine-readable code, a message, and a help field naming the exact command to run next. Read the help field and run the command it points at — do not retry the same call blindly. A failed precondition (for example a manifest not yet signed, a dry run that has not passed, or the inference budget hard cap reached) returns COMMAND_PRECONDITION_FAILED with a help pointer, not an opaque internal error.

Inference budget

Agents that run on ROST-managed inference draw against a tenant inference budget. A new company starts with a hard cap of $0, so a real managed-inference run is blocked until a human raises the cap with settings.update (rost settings update --hard-cap-usd <amount>). Hitting the cap returns a typed COMMAND_PRECONDITION_FAILED whose details.reason is budget.hard_cap_exceeded, with a help pointer naming that exact next command — not a generic internal error. The sandbox dry run is free and is never blocked by the cap, so an agent can be chartered, dry-run, and taken live before any budget is set; only real runs are gated. See settings-guide.

Standard setup order

1. rost-implementation-method 2. compass-authoring-guide 3. responsibility-graph-playbook 4. charter-design-playbook 5. charter-authoring-deep-dive 6. agent-staffing-playbook 7. add-agents-guide 8. custom-agents-guide 9. agent-builder-guide 10. how-agents-work 11. tool-access-and-vault 12. available-tools-guide 13. mcp-and-cli-guide 14. skill-builder-guide 15. agent-skill-authoring-guide 16. agent-skill-setup-guide 17. ai-model-data-handling-guide 18. cascade-guide 19. signal-guide 20. friction-guide 21. confirmations-guide 22. steward-queue-guide 23. sync-rhythm-playbook

Workflow to guide map

Read the listed guide before recommending or running each workflow. Every workflow ends at a human gate for any authority-changing step (see confirmations-guide).

• Connect a local agent (CLI login, MCP token, client registration): mcp-and-cli-guide, then agent-reference-map.
• Company onboarding (context, Compass draft, finish): rost-implementation-method, then settings-members-and-invites-guide for invites.
• Author a strong Compass directly (attach references, draft, answer gaps, approve): compass-authoring-guide — it shows the full JSON contract, what good vs weak looks like per field, and worked examples. Attaching reference docs (onboarding.attach_reference) is reference-only; you author the Compass, the server does not build it for you.
• Design the graph (create, rename, reparent, set type): responsibility-graph-playbook.
• Write Charters (draft, edit, approve, sign manifest): charter-design-playbook for the narrative, then charter-authoring-deep-dive for the full document contract field by field (decision_authority, escalation_rules, measurables, budget, permission_manifest, seat-type), then tool-access-and-vault for permissions. Submit the finished Charter directly with charter.update_draft or charter.set.
• Add an agent through the app (graph or sidebar, visual journey): add-agents-guide.
• Create an agent from a template: stock-agents-guide, then how-agents-work.
• Create a custom agent (operational answers, Charter Builder, configure tools, dry run, go live): custom-agents-guide, then agent-staffing-playbook and tool-access-and-vault.
• Create, import, review, or publish a reusable Skill: skill-builder-guide for human workflow, then agent-skill-authoring-guide for CLI/MCP authoring rules.
• Assign, dependency-check, enable a catalog Skill, import a GitHub Skill, or sync local Skill files: agent-skill-setup-guide, then mcp-and-cli-guide.
• Explain AI model data handling, BYOK, local agent provider settings, or what data may enter prompts/tool calls: ai-model-data-handling-guide, then security-model-guide.
• Build a controlled agent worker directly on the CLI/MCP path (seat, steward, job, boundaries, tools, credentials, model, schedule, dry-run, go-live): agent-builder-guide — it shows the full setup sequence, the structured model config, the model catalog (model.catalog), the access tiers, how to discover tools (tool.catalog), which connector entries have live execution boundaries, and how to show your human a markdown readout (agent.show_markdown).
• Connect an existing or local agent to a seat: stock-agents-guide (connect section), then mcp-and-cli-guide and runner-guide.
• Run the operating loop as a seat (context, tasks, status, escalate): how-agents-work.
• Track goals: cascade-guide. Track measurables: signal-guide. File and resolve issues, tasks, escalations: friction-guide.
• Steward decisions (read queue, resolve, reject, approve go-live): steward-queue-guide, then confirmations-guide.
• Run the weekly Sync (compile, run, complete, assign): sync-rhythm-playbook.
• Operate local runners and work orders: runner-guide.
• Approve or reject a pending confirmation (human only): confirmations-guide.
• Manage members, settings, and notifications: settings-guide, settings-members-and-invites-guide, notifications-guide.
• Diagnose a failure on any surface: troubleshooting-guide, then security-model-guide.

Stage map

• Company setup: rost-implementation-method, compass-authoring-guide, settings-guide, settings-members-and-invites-guide
• Graph design: responsibility-graph-playbook
• Charter design: charter-design-playbook, charter-authoring-deep-dive
• Staffing: agent-staffing-playbook, add-agents-guide, custom-agents-guide, agent-builder-guide, how-agents-work, tool-access-and-vault, available-tools-guide, skill-builder-guide, agent-skill-authoring-guide, agent-skill-setup-guide, mcp-and-cli-guide, stock-agents-guide
• Operating rhythm: cascade-guide, signal-guide, friction-guide, confirmations-guide, steward-queue-guide, sync-rhythm-playbook, notifications-guide
• Local agents and runners: mcp-and-cli-guide, runner-guide, agent-reference-map
• Security and troubleshooting: ai-model-data-handling-guide, security-model-guide, troubleshooting-guide

Agent behavior

Retrieve the narrowest relevant guide before making a setup recommendation. Prefer ROST terminology. Do not name internal repo paths in user-facing answers. Do not expose raw secrets, credentials, private tenant data, or internal planning documents.