Agent surface
Use the agent surface to start a task, choose a working mode, and select the active assistant for the current session. This is the main execution-facing page for day-to-day work.
The agent surface should answer three questions clearly:
- Which assistant is active for this task
- Which runtime will execute the task
- Whether the current environment is ready to run
Assistants
Assistants are reusable definitions. An assistant can include instructions, capabilities, preferred tools, and runtime associations. Use assistant management when you want to create, update, or remove these saved definitions.
Changing an assistant should not change the runtime inventory on the machine. Assistant management is configuration work, not runtime administration.
Runtimes
Runtime management is a separate administrative area. Use it to install, repair, detect, or verify supported CLIs.
If a runtime is installed but still requires provider login or API configuration, keep that state visible to the user. Installed does not always mean ready.
Recommended workflow
Use this order when preparing a new machine:
- Confirm a supported runtime is installed and ready.
- Create or select an assistant definition.
- Open the agent surface and start work with that assistant.