---
title: Folder Is the Agent
description: Understand the Fat-folder model for ThinkWork sub-agents.
---

A ThinkWork agent is not only a database row or a runtime process. It is a
folder of files the runtime composes into behavior. This follows the same core
idea as FOG and FITA: specialization comes from memory and instructions stored
near the work.

The root folder owns the general identity:

| File | Purpose |
| --- | --- |
| `AGENTS.md` | Layer-1 map, routing table, sub-agent names, skill ownership |
| `CONTEXT.md` | Root scope and responsibilities |
| `IDENTITY.md` / `SOUL.md` | Personality and continuity |
| `GUARDRAILS.md` / `PLATFORM.md` / `CAPABILITIES.md` | Policy and platform behavior |
| `ROUTER.md` | Channel-profile file loading only |
| `memory/` | Durable lessons, preferences, and contacts |
| `skills/` | Optional local skills |

A sub-agent is a plain folder named from an `AGENTS.md` routing row:

```text
expenses/
  CONTEXT.md
  memory/
  skills/
```

That folder can be thin. If it only contains `CONTEXT.md`, it still inherits the
root identity, template guardrails, platform defaults, and any applicable pinned
versions. Add local files only where the specialist truly differs.

`memory/` and `skills/` are reserved at every depth. They are resources inside
an agent folder, not sub-agents themselves.

