Run your first contract
From zero to a rendered receipt: what OpenProse is, how the router picks your path, and the exact execution semantics of prose run.
First 90 Seconds
After activation, choose the narrowest path that matches the user's intent:
| User Intent | Load First | Then Load If Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Explain OpenProse or answer "how do I..." | help.md |
examples/README.md, then one focused example |
| Initialize or compose an OpenProse program | guidance/tenets.md |
guidance/authoring.md, then run std/ops/compose |
Run a .prose.md responsibility or function |
contract-markdown.md |
state/README.md and the selected backend (state/filesystem.md by default); forme.md if responsibilities must be wired (### Requires → ### Maintains); prose.md to execute |
| Inspect or upgrade source layout | changelog.md |
contract-markdown.md, prosescript.md if migration details require them |
Write a new .prose.md responsibility or function |
contract-markdown.md |
guidance/tenets.md, guidance/authoring.md |
| Write pinned choreography | prosescript.md |
contract-markdown.md if inside ### Execution |
Compile or run a .png/.svg brief (a typed image) |
visual-source.md |
forme.md and compiler/index.prose.md to resolve + compile |
| Lint or review a responsibility or function | contract-markdown.md |
forme.md for multi-responsibility wiring; guidance/authoring.md for design review |
| Work on Responsibility Runtime, responsibility-oriented source, the reconciler, compile, or serve semantics | responsibility-runtime.md |
compiler/index.prose.md, compiler/ir-v0.md, concepts/responsibility.md, concepts/reconciler.md, forme.md |
| Install or update dependencies | deps.md |
contract-markdown.md only if dependency references are ambiguous |
| Debug a completed run | prose.md |
state/README.md and the run's backend doc; then std/evals/inspector if available |
Default to Contract Markdown for new authoring. Reach for ProseScript only when
the author needs explicit order, loops, conditionals, retries, or parallel
blocks inside a *.prose.md source file.