How work gets done

When you ask C5 for something, a lot happens before you get an answer. This page explains it in plain terms, so the system is not a mystery box.

The short version #

1. You ask. One sentence is enough.
2. C5 makes a plan. It works out the steps needed.
3. The work is split up. Big jobs become smaller jobs.
4. Agents do the work. Several can work at the same time.
5. The results are checked. Work is reviewed before you see it.
6. You get the result. Along with a record of how it was made.

Why more than one agent #

One helper doing everything in order is slow, and it is easy for it to lose the thread on a long job.

C5 uses a team instead. One part of the system plans and keeps track. Others do the actual work. Because they work at the same time, a job that would take an hour in a straight line can finish much faster.

It also means each worker has a small, clear job. A worker with one clear job does it better than a worker juggling ten.

Planning #

Before anything happens, C5 works out what the job actually needs. It writes this down as a plan you can read.

You can look at the plan before the work starts. If it is heading the wrong way, say so and it will plan again. This is much cheaper than letting it finish and starting over.

Splitting the work #

Big tasks become smaller ones. Those can become smaller still, if needed.

This is why one sentence from you can turn into twenty items on the Productivity board. Each one is small enough to check and fix on its own.

Checking the work #

Work is reviewed before it reaches you. If something does not hold up, it goes back to be done again rather than being handed over broken.

This is why C5 sometimes takes a little longer than you expect — it is checking. You generally get fewer wrong answers as a result.

When something goes wrong #

Things do go wrong: a website is down, a file moved, a model has a bad moment. C5 is built to expect this.

• A step that fails is retried.
• If it keeps failing, the task is marked blocked and you are told why.
• Nothing half-finished is passed off as done.
• If the whole system stops — even a power cut — work resumes from where it was.

Watching it happen #

You are never locked out. At any point you can:

• Read the plan
• See which step is running
• See what each agent did and what came back
• Stop everything
• Change direction and start again

Nothing is hidden. If you want to know why C5 did something, the record is there.

Where to go next #

• Your agent fleet — running more agents at once.
• Context — giving your agents standing instructions.
• Choosing models — which AI brain does what.