Load the Rules and Reasons Before You Act
Flash one Module. Get its declared dependencies, foundations first.Use Cortex when team knowledge can change your next action.
- CLI
Flash one Module.
socra cortex flash <module-name>- MCP
Call context_flash.
context_flash { "target": "<module-name>" }- Returns
Target and declared dependencies, foundations first.
- Then
Verify current state before acting.
Flash the Module, then verify current state
Cortex is pull-based. Call it only when Account knowledge can change the task.
Read the Issue
Use its Module name. For code, confirm the target repository. Issue access does not grant Module access.
Flash the Module
Call Cortex explicitly. Assignment and installation do not preload a session.
Verify current state
Inspect the repository, runtime, tests, and external sources. Cortex cannot inspect them.
Act or expose the gap
Follow the active instructions. Report missing or conflicting knowledge before acting.
Connect through the CLI or hosted MCP
Choose the path your agent supports. Both return the same declared knowledge.
CLI
Requires a terminal, the Socra CLI, an Account login, and a current Cortex license.
socra install cortex
socra account login
socra cortex map
socra cortex flash <module-name>Hosted MCP
Requires a remote HTTP MCP client with OAuth, a Cortex-enabled Cloud Project, and a current license. Follow the resource_metadata URL in Cortex's 401 challenge. Test the host; use CLI if connection fails.
https://cortex.socra.cloud/mcp
context_flash { "target": "<module-name>" }- Identity
- A normal MCP connection acts as the signed-in Account member. It uses a separate Agent principal only when one is created and connected explicitly.
- Write surface
- Hosted MCP can write and delete. Account permissions apply. Review its tools and the client's confirmation policy.
- Empty Account
- A new Account has no Modules. Create the smallest useful Module from one real decision, then have its owner review the exact text before the first flash.
socra cortex module create --name <module-name> --content-file <path>Know what Cortex will do before you call it
These are the current limits that can change whether Cortex is right for the task.
- Scope
- A successful flash returns only the target and its declared dependency closure. It does not find missing knowledge or semantic conflicts. A stored cycle makes a later flash fail.
- Access
- The caller needs access to the target. Included dependencies need no separate access. Inclusion grants no later access.
- Output
- The CLI prints the Flash ID, estimated token total, and Module count. MCP returns the assembled bundle as tool text.
- Record and replay
- Each success creates a durable, metered Flash for the signed-in Account user. It pins exact Module revisions. Reading it later rebuilds the target's current closure, so save the original output for exact replay.
- Meter
- Estimated tokens equal the sum of ceil(Module content characters / 4) across the closure, once per Module. Wrapper text is excluded.
- Repository boundary
- Cortex sees only data sent to its API. It does not inspect a repository or runtime, and it does not infer the target repository.
- Authority
- Cortex output is tool context. The host controls instruction precedence and tool confirmation. The team controls approval, and discovered instruction files still apply.
- Cost
- $20 per human seat each month after a 30-day trial. Agents need no seats. Reasonable first-party use is included. Customer-directed third-party use is measured to the Project. Settlement is inactive, so no overage is charged.
- License lapse and export
- After a license lapses, Cortex retains the knowledge and blocks API, CLI, and MCP access. The current public contract has no export operation.
- Evidence
- No public Cortex benchmark exists yet. Treat performance impact as unproven and run a controlled evaluation.
Test Cortex on one decision that changes the work
Have the owner review one useful Module. Run the same task once with its flash and once without it. Keep the model, settings, tools, and repository revision fixed.