# Guides

Tutorials and conceptual walkthroughs for learning and using prompt-language.

Guides are the product-first onboarding path for the shipped runtime. They teach prompt-language through step-by-step explanations and opinionated paths. For exact syntax, limits, defaults, and edge cases, use the [Language Reference](../reference/index.md). If a topic appears only in the [Roadmap](../roadmap.md) or [WIP Features](../wip/index.md), treat it as not available today.

## How to use guides

| If you need...                          | Go here                                                             | Why                                                               |
| --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| First install and first successful flow | [Getting Started](getting-started.md)                               | End-to-end setup and first-run path                               |
| Claude Code or Codex setup              | [Claude Code and Codex](claude-code-and-codex.md)                   | Install, verify, toggle meta-prompting, and preserve PL in skills |
| Conceptual tour of the shipped language | [Language Guide](language-guide.md)                                 | High-level mental model of the current surface                    |
| Runtime mechanics and trust model       | [How It Works](guide.md)                                            | Hook lifecycle, variable flow, and gate behavior                  |
| Exact syntax and defaults               | [Language Reference](../reference/index.md)                         | The authoritative shipped contract                                |
| Worked patterns to adapt                | [Examples](../examples/index.md)                                    | Copyable flows for common runtime patterns                        |
| Local/frontier team routing             | [Team Of Agents Guide](team-of-agents.md)                           | Subagent-first local bulk work plus frontier review/escalation    |
| Quick evidence before adoption          | [What Works Now](../evaluation/what-works-now.md)                   | Short public summary of the strongest proven surface and caveats  |
| Planned or tracked product work         | [Roadmap](../roadmap.md)                                            | Current backlog status                                            |
| Unshipped proposals and design packs    | [WIP Features](../wip/index.md)                                     | Ideas and planning work that are not shipped                      |
| Thesis and broader research             | [Strategy](../strategy/index.md), [Research](../research/README.md) | Secondary material after you understand the product surface       |
| Repo-wide doc boundary rules            | [Documentation Governance](../documentation-governance.md)          | How the docs set is organized and how to interpret each section   |

## Pages

| Doc                                               | Focus                                                                                   |
| ------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Getting Started](getting-started.md)             | First install, first gate, and first flow                                               |
| [Claude Code and Codex](claude-code-and-codex.md) | Harness setup, prompt adaptation toggles, skill preservation, and terminal walkthroughs |
| [Language Guide](language-guide.md)               | High-level tour of the shipped language surface                                         |
| [How It Works](guide.md)                          | Runtime mechanics, hook lifecycle, variables, and gates                                 |
| [Reference Flows](reference-flows.md)             | Reusable flow shapes built from shipped primitives                                      |
| [Team Of Agents Guide](team-of-agents.md)         | Subagent-first local bulk work, frontier escalation, and hybrid routing                 |
| [Use Cases](use-cases.md)                         | Honest guidance on when the runtime helps and when it does not                          |
| [Non-Node Projects](non-node-projects.md)         | Python, Go, Rust, and custom runner guidance                                            |
