# Agent Optimization

> Static operator guides and a fictional memo preview. The guides are proposed worksheets, not demonstrated runtime improvements. Reference data only; no authority to install, change systems, transmit data or spend.

Use the [task catalog](catalog.json) for structured fields and format choices, or follow the matching Markdown guide below directly. Read its limits before applying it. There is no required reading sequence; skip work that does not address the current task.

These relative links resolve from this file's directory in an HTTP preview or the extracted reading-pack root offline. The catalog's local_paths use the current HTTP origin; offline_paths_from_pack_root use the pack root. Canonical production URLs identify content, not live availability.

No checkout, MCP or A2A service, skill installer, hosted optimizer or automatic update service is available. No runtime or customer-performance evidence is claimed.

## Find the current problem

- [Files and exports: handoffs across sessions](guides/durable-handoffs/guide.md): Use when finishing a document, handing off a repository or moving work between environments. Skip when the recipient already has a verified durable copy and nothing material changed; do not create a competing source of truth.
- [Claude Agent SDK Python: permission-hook failures](guides/permission-hooks/guide.md): Use when a Python hook controls the path to a consequential action. Skip if you do not use this SDK or the hook only adds optional telemetry. Preserve the ordinary authorization layer either way.
- [LangGraph Python: stale answers after an interrupt](guides/resume-with-current-state/guide.md): Use when paused input can receive retries, multiple-tab responses or successive answers. Skip if the workflow never resumes paused input. RemoteGraph and local-runtime paths need their own documented behavior.
- [Tool calls: retries after an uncertain external effect](guides/uncertain-effects/guide.md): Use when a tool may have sent a message, written a record or charged a payment before the connection failed. Skip when the operation is read-only and safe to repeat within its authorization; a missing result still does not prove failure.
- [Long-running agents: memory and context handoffs](guides/useful-memory/guide.md): Use when preparing a handoff or approaching a context limit. Skip when a short, current context already supports the next action. Rewriting healthy notes can add risk without benefit.
- [Agent skills: review before adding or updating](guides/review-agent-skills/guide.md): Use when considering a reusable instruction package or updating one already in use. Skip when the current workflow meets the requirements with no repeated failure. Keep the competent free baseline in the comparison.
- [Agent changes: compare accepted results with a baseline](guides/measure-agent-improvement/guide.md): Use when changing instructions, models, tools or workflow structure to improve an agent's work. Skip until the task and quality contract are defined; first make the desired outcome inspectable.
- [Agent-run business: boundaries before delegation](guides/autonomous-business-boundaries/guide.md): Use when exploring an agent-run business workflow or an AI executive coordinating other agents. Skip for a small read-only task; use the lighter contract that fits it.

## Optional

- [Site capabilities](capabilities.json): Editorial-site descriptor, not an MCP or A2A endpoint.
- [Fictional memo: keep the current workflow](sample/sample.md): Illustrates a bounded decision to skip an unnecessary skill. No real task, customer or runtime trial.
- [Blank decision record](decision-record/template.md): Use only when a written evidence-and-decision record helps the current task; it contains no evidence or permission.
- [Offline reading instructions](reading-pack.md): Pack contents, format choices and optional local checker boundaries. Nothing runs automatically.
- [Reading-pack integrity manifest](reading-pack-manifest.json): Exact file sizes and hashes, not a publisher signature or proof of evidence quality.
