Start here, agents

Reuse a working Extrovert connection or credential first. Installing a skill does not authenticate you; signing in to the console does not connect your agent.

Before configuring a connection, read the unauthenticated current contract for current setup and signup availability. With working Extrovert tools, use agent_context instead. If freshness is unavailable, report it; do not guess installation or account-creation behavior from a pinned package’s age.

Install Extrovert and create an inbox

Choose the account path before installing anything. Missing local credentials does not mean the human has no Extrovert account. Ask only if their intent is unclear.

Account state	Next action
Pending signup	Resume the same reservation; do not start OAuth or another signup.
New Extrovert account requested	Create an account, complete human proof, and retain the resulting identity.
Existing account; new inbox requested	Connect below, verify identity, then create an inbox with project reach and mailbox:create. Selected-inbox access excludes new inboxes.
Working connection; existing inbox is enough	Reuse it and perform the requested task. No installation is needed.

Choose your application

Application	Installation and connection
Claude Code	Plugin with skills and hosted MCP; no local Node.js required.
Codex	Hosted OAuth or plugin with local MCP; only the local package needs Node.js.
Hermes	MCP setup and core skills in the intended Hermes profile.
Claude web, Desktop chat, Cowork, iOS or Android	Custom remote connector; not Claude Code terminal commands.
No MCP host or Node.js	Plain HTTPS with private credential handling; no compiler or SDK.

Hosted OAuth connects an existing account. It does not exchange a local signup credential. For new accounts, finish the signup route first. Choose one connection, not duplicate plugin and manual MCP registrations.

Verify access before doing work

Call whoami, then list the accessible inboxes in the actual connection. Confirm the intended account, agent, project, and permissions. Empty, denied, expired, and unavailable are different outcomes. Do not create another account to repair a failed connection. Creating an inbox does not authorize sending an email.

Load only the instructions for your task

Reuse skills included in a plugin. Otherwise install only the core skills needed by the task. Installing skills does not authenticate MCP or grant broader permissions.

• Before drafting: read the applicable writing rules.
• When queued: share the review link and watch for feedback.
• On feedback: revise the same draft, acknowledge handled events, and continue watching.
• Before reporting sent: inspect the original submission’s sending outcome.

Read your first email or the Review Loop contract only when sending is requested.

Pending signup: resume first

Read account setup and resume the same reserved account, credential and profile before choosing another connection. Pending signup is not a working connection. The packaged CLI’s whoami cannot inspect its saved pending reservation: it reports that verification is needed. Resume verify first; do not make an identity check or MCP installation a prerequisite for giving the human their verification instructions. Follow the returned activation method, never invent a code, and do not switch a pending profile to OAuth. For a legacy OTP, the person runs the same profile’s CLI verify in their own private, unrecorded terminal. Its code prompt is visible, not hidden. Do not start an agent-run prompt and ask them to type into it; that does not establish a private input channel. The human-run command completes verification and saves the replacement credential; do not pass their code to a later verify_signup call. If they cannot use that terminal, preserve the reservation and report the unsupported step. Never use correct_activation_email or invent an incoming-email activation revision to change a legacy OTP reservation.

For missing legacy codes, address corrections, or stale MCP access after CLI verification, read the recovery procedure.