Student field guide
HQ Field Guide
A share-by-link guide for getting yourself productive in HQ Cloud/Pro: setup, company context, workers, projects, verification, and learning.
Success means: A teammate is working inside the synced company context with /startwork, can route a safe task, and knows how to capture what HQ should remember.
Start chapter 01 $ /startwork
The company operating system
Start here
Choose the path that matches your role.
Create the workspace
I’m setting up HQ for a company
A company exists, sync is running, and the first teammate has an invite.
01Install HQ
02Set up HQ
03Set up sync
04Create company
05Invite teammate
Join the workspace
I’m joining an existing company
You accept the invite, sync the company, and run /startwork inside the right context.
01Accept invite
02Install or open HQ
03Sync company
04Run /startwork
Contents
Read it end to end, or jump to the chapter you need.
01What HQ isHQ is a local operating system for company AI work, not another chat window.8 min02Admin setup pathCreate the company foundation in the right order: install, set up HQ, prepare sync, create the company, and invite the first teammate.16 min03Teammate join pathJoin an existing HQ Cloud company by accepting the invite, opening HQ locally, syncing the company, and running /startwork.12 min04Install and local workspaceInstall HQ, understand the local workspace layout, and learn why the folder is the home base for intelligence.14 min05Company creation and isolationCreate a company as a strict boundary for projects, workers, knowledge, policies, settings, credentials, and future sync.13 min06Sync and invite flowConnect HQ Cloud/Pro sync, invite a teammate, and verify both sides see the same company before work begins.15 min07Share files with your teamUse /hq-share to grant teammates access to a narrow vault prefix through a single-use, expiring link instead of copying files around.10 min08Use secrets safelyUse /hq-secrets and schema-driven injection so credentials run your work without ever being pasted into chat or committed.10 min09/startwork daily habitStart each session in the right company, choose the work, and use Plan Mode, review, and state capture as the daily operating loop.9 min10Workers and skillsRoute specialized work to workers with identity, context, skills, and permissions so HQ behaves like a team instead of one generic assistant.12 min11Projects, PRDs, and /run-projectTurn larger goals into a to-do list with acceptance criteria, execute stories with back pressure, and finish with verification.15 min12Deploy and share a resultUse /deploy to host a built web artifact at a *.indigo-hq.com URL and pick the access gate that matches how sensitive it is.11 min13Checkpoints, handoffs, and learningKeep context fresh, move work between sessions, and turn corrections into institutional memory.13 min14Troubleshooting setup and syncRecover from missing commands, wrong-company context, invite confusion, and sync conflicts without making the problem worse.14 min15First-week operating rhythmUse the first week to move from safe starter tasks to worker routing, PRDs, verification, and a power-user daily cadence.12 min
Activation checkpoint
You're activated when two things are true.
01Your company context is synced — the shared company files are on your machine.
02You've run /startwork and you're working inside that company's context.