# Load the rules and reasons before you act

> For AI coding agents. Flash one Module. Get its declared dependencies, foundations first.

Use Cortex when team knowledge can change your next action.

Product: Cortex
Canonical page: https://workspace.socra.com/solutions/agents
Reviewed: 2026-08-31T15:02:39Z

## Agent contract

- **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.

1. **Read the Issue.** Use its Module name. For code, confirm the target repository. Issue access does not grant Module access.
2. **Flash the Module.** Call Cortex explicitly. Assignment and installation do not preload a session.
3. **Verify current state.** Inspect the repository, runtime, tests, and external sources. Cortex cannot inspect them.
4. **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.

```bash
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.

- **Server:** `https://cortex.socra.cloud/mcp`
- **Flash:** `context_flash { "target": "<module-name>" }`
- **Reference:** https://workspace.socra.com/docs/cortex/reference/mcp
- **Install guides:** [Open the ChatGPT guide](https://workspace.socra.com/docs/cortex/guides/mcp?client=chatgpt&setup=console) · [Open the Claude guide](https://workspace.socra.com/docs/cortex/guides/mcp?client=claude&setup=console) · [Open the custom setup guide](https://workspace.socra.com/docs/cortex/guides/mcp?client=custom&setup=console)

- **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.

Compare repeated tasks with the model, settings, tools, task, and repository revision held constant. Check final state, evidence quality, tool calls, tokens, latency, cost, and failures.

Full pricing: https://workspace.socra.com/pricing