The 17 kinds of work

Most jobs a small company hands out fit one of 17 shapes: a Filler fills seats, a Chaser gets one answer out of someone, a Researcher turns a question into findings. Each shape comes with a starter plan and rules, so a new agent does not start from a blank page.

At a glance

Where you see it

Not on a screen. The shapes are used when a new agent is set up, and what they hold ends up in its contract and plan.

What powers it

The folders in Resources/Agents/archetypes/, read by the add-resident-agent skill.

When it runs

Once, when a new agent is hired. The running system never reads them.

17 shapes · 5 families

They talk to people

GatekeeperTakes what comes in, sorts it, and answers or passes it on.

InterviewerGets what is in a person's head into a written record.

FacilitatorRuns a live session with a set end, and writes down what was decided.

CoachMoves a person's skill or habit toward a goal over time.

They hold an outcome over time

ChaserMoves one other party toward a fixed result.

NegotiatorReaches a deal with the other side, inside set limits.

FillerFills seats or slots to a target by a date.

BrokerMatches two sides and confirms both.

They keep things true

WatcherWatches a source and speaks only when it changes.

KeeperKeeps a record matching the place it came from.

ReviewerJudges someone else's work against a fact or a written bar.

FixerFinds the cause, repairs it, and proves the repair worked.

They make things

MakerMakes a piece of work to a written standard.

ResearcherTurns a question into ranked findings with sources.

ReporterTurns records into one page for a person, on a schedule.

AdvisorWeighs the options and recommends one, with reasons.

They act on the world

ExecutorCarries out an approved action that cannot be undone, and keeps the receipt.

The 17 shapes, grouped by family.

Where you see it

You do not see a shape on the Office. You see what it produced. When an agent is set up, its shape fills in the first steps of its plan, the kind of number it chases, the lines it must never cross, and how often it wakes. After that, the agent's own contract is what counts.

The shapes

Shape	Family	What it does
Gatekeeper	Talk to people	Takes what comes in, sorts it, and answers or passes it on.
Interviewer	Talk to people	Gets what is in a person's head into a written record.
Facilitator	Talk to people	Runs a live session with a set end, and writes down what was decided.
Coach	Talk to people	Moves a person's skill or habit toward a goal over time.
Chaser	Hold an outcome	Moves one other party toward a fixed result.
Negotiator	Hold an outcome	Reaches a deal with the other side, inside set limits.
Filler	Hold an outcome	Fills seats or slots to a target by a date.
Broker	Hold an outcome	Matches two sides and confirms both.
Watcher	Keep things true	Watches a source and speaks only when it changes.
Keeper	Keep things true	Keeps a record matching the place it came from.
Reviewer	Keep things true	Judges someone else's work against a fact or a written bar.
Fixer	Keep things true	Finds the cause, repairs it, and proves the repair worked.
Maker	Make things	Makes a piece of work to a written standard.
Researcher	Make things	Turns a question into ranked findings with sources.
Reporter	Make things	Turns records into one page for a person, on a schedule.
Advisor	Make things	Weighs the options and recommends one, with reasons.
Executor	Act on the world	Carries out an approved action that cannot be undone, and keeps the receipt.

What happens, step by step

1. The owner describes a job: "keep the baking workshop full."
2. The setup names the one or two shapes the job is made of, with a rough share of time. The workshop job is mostly a Filler, with some Chaser for getting the cafe to confirm the room.
3. Each shape's folder is opened. Its starter plan becomes the agent's first steps, with blanks filled from the owner's answers.
4. The shape's number becomes a key result, and a small measuring script is copied next to where the count lives.
5. The family's safety lines and the shape's own lines are copied into the agent's contract.
6. The shape's wake rhythm sets how often the agent looks. A Filler wakes when the count changes and when the deadline nears.

What powers it

Each shape is a folder of plain files. No code.

Part	What it does
plan.skeleton.md	Starter steps with blanks, written in the owner's words. A Filler's: count, promote, confirm, fill the open spots, report.
number.md, kr.stub.py	The kind of number this shape chases, and a starter script to measure it.
guardrails.md	The lines this shape must never cross, plus the ones it inherits from its family.
wake-policy.md	When this shape should wake, and a default rhythm.
quality-bar.template.md	A starter list of what good looks like, where a judgment is needed.
interview-extras.md	Extra setup questions only this shape needs.
craft.md	What makes a good one of these in general. Later jobs add to it.

Why it works this way

Family keeps you safe; shape sets the plan. The five families share safety rules. Every shape that talks to people gets the same lines, such as "never contact anyone outside the allowed list" and "stop and ask when only the owner can decide." Then each shape adds its own. That way there are five rulebooks, not seventeen.

Set up, never coded. The system that runs agents never asks what shape an agent is. If some piece of code ever had to say "if this is a Filler, do this", the shape would have failed its job. The fix would be a general feature every agent gets. A new kind of project is set up with files and rows, never built with new code.

Steps in plain words. Every starter step is written the way a business owner reads it on a phone: "Draft the first email", "Deliver the list". The exact test for done sits underneath.

Connected to

• Building an agent from parts: how shapes and shared parts become one agent.
• Plans and the Roadmap: where the starter steps end up.
• Example agents: real agents and the jobs they hold.
• Agents vs routines: when a job needs an agent at all.