> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.duckie.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview

> Decision guides for designing effective Duckie agent systems

Concepts explain the design choices behind Duckie systems. Use these pages when you are deciding how to structure agents, workflows, knowledge, tools, guardrails, workspaces, and testing.

If the product docs explain how to configure something, the concept docs explain when to use it and how it fits with the rest of your system.

## Agent System Design

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Choosing an Agent Architecture" icon="sitemap" href="/concepts/choosing-an-agent-architecture">
    Start with the business process, then choose agents, workflows, runbooks, sub-agents, and deployments.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Autonomous Agents vs Workflows vs Runbooks" icon="diagram-project" href="/concepts/autonomous-agents-vs-workflows-vs-runbooks">
    Decide how much structure Duckie should follow for a given support process.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Single Agents vs Sub-Agents" icon="diagram-project" href="/concepts/single-agents-vs-sub-agents">
    Decide when one agent is enough and when to delegate focused work to specialist agents.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Routing and Orchestration Patterns" icon="code-branch" href="/concepts/routing-and-orchestration-patterns">
    Choose where routing should happen: deployments, workflows, autonomous agents, or human review.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Operating Model

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Context, Knowledge, and Memory" icon="database" href="/concepts/context-knowledge-and-memory">
    Understand what Duckie knows now, what it can look up, and what carries forward in a ticket.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Agent Tables" icon="table" href="/concepts/agent-tables">
    Use scoped structured tables as working memory for autonomous agents.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tools, Permissions, and Side Effects" icon="wrench" href="/concepts/tools-permissions-and-side-effects">
    Control what agents can do and how to test actions safely.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Guardrails, Escalation, and Human Review" icon="shield" href="/concepts/guardrails-escalation-and-human-review">
    Know when Duckie should continue, stop, ask for approval, or hand off to a teammate.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Workspaces and System Boundaries" icon="building" href="/concepts/workspaces-and-system-boundaries">
    Separate teams, products, regions, channels, permissions, and analytics with the right boundaries.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Testing, Observability, and Iteration" icon="chart-line" href="/concepts/testing-observability-and-iteration">
    Use testing and analytics to launch safely and improve agent behavior over time.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>