Essentials

Essentials are the three outcomes that activate a Workspace: put real knowledge in place, connect one AI Client, and verify a grounded answer. Only Essentials count as activation. Repeatable work and automation come after.

Last verified: 2026-07-16

Essentials are the three outcomes that activate a Workspace: put real knowledge in place, connect one AI Client, and verify a grounded answer. Only Essentials count as activation. Repeatable work and automation come after.

The in-app Essentials list is dismissible, but dismissing it does not mark a step complete. CompanyOS records completion from server-observed outcomes only (readable files, a successful MCP Connection, and a real knowledge read).

What a Workspace is

A Workspace is the isolated CompanyOS boundary for your company, department, family, or other group. It has its own Members, Company Files, Personal Files, Integrations, CompanyOS Procedures, and AI Client connections.

  • Owners manage Workspace-wide files, published CompanyOS Procedures, settings, and Workspace-level Integrations.
  • Members use the knowledge visible to them and may add Personal Files of their own.

Create one Workspace for the group that should share the same files. Do not invent a separate product concept for each piece of work. Stay inside the Workspace you already created.

Company Files and Personal Files

Kind Who can see it Typical use
Company File Every Member of the Workspace, and every AI Client connected for that Member Handbooks, process docs, shared notes your team already relies on
Personal File Only the Member who added it (and that Member’s AI Client) Private notes, drafts, or context that should not be shared

Folders group files for navigation. They are not a separate permission boundary.

Owner path: add useful Company Files

  1. Open Company Files in your Workspace.
  2. Upload one real document your team already asks about—not a placeholder.
  3. Confirm the file appears as readable. CompanyOS counts this step when at least one file is readable by AI, not when you only open the upload screen.

Member path: understand what your AI can see

  1. Open Company Files and note what the Workspace already shares.
  2. Optionally add a Personal File for context only you should use.
  3. Remember: your AI Client can search and read Company Files plus your own Personal Files. It cannot see another Member’s Personal Files.

Connect one AI Client (Claude primary, ChatGPT/Codex alternative)

An AI Client is an external assistant that connects to CompanyOS through an MCP Connection. CompanyOS is Claude-first: Claude is the recommended guided path. ChatGPT and Codex are supported alternatives. Connecting one supported client is enough for Essentials.

Connection Link: https://app.companyos.cc/api/mcp

Open AI Clients in the app and copy the Connection Link shown for your Workspace.

Step-by-step setup

The click-by-click paths live in their own how-tos, because third-party connector menus change and those pages carry the date they were last checked:

Setup usually takes 5–10 minutes the first time, mostly inside the AI Client’s own UI.

Claude-ready means CompanyOS has the Connection Link needed for Claude setup. It does not confirm that setup is complete inside Claude.

Knowledge access over MCP is read-only for source files and provider content. Explicitly authorized operations may write or send — see AI Clients for the full scoped action surface.

Verify a grounded answer

Activation completes only after your AI Client performs a real knowledge read against Workspace files—not after you click a tutorial link.

  1. In your connected AI Client, ask something that only your files can answer, for example:

    • Summarize the launch plan and cite the files you used.
    • What do you know about this Workspace? Cite sources.

  2. Confirm the answer is grounded: it should draw on your Company Files or Personal Files and cite or name those sources.

  3. If the answer is empty or generic, add a more relevant file and try again. An empty read means coverage is thin, not that the product is finished for you.

  4. Return to Workspace Home. CompanyOS marks Verify a grounded answer complete when the server observes a successful in-scope read (lastReadByAiClientAt), not when you mark a checkbox yourself.

Owner and Member Essentials at a glance

Owner Essentials

  1. Add useful Company Files: upload one real Company File.
  2. Connect one AI client — Claude recommended; ChatGPT or Codex also work.
  3. Verify a grounded answer — confirm a source-backed reply from your files.

Member Essentials

  1. Understand what your AI can see — Company Files vs Personal Files.
  2. Connect one AI client — same Claude / ChatGPT / Codex paths.
  3. Verify a grounded answer — confirm a source-backed reply from visible knowledge.

After Essentials

  • Repeatable work: Owners should turn one repeated task into a CompanyOS Procedure. Follow Your first Procedure. Members can browse and run published Procedures.
  • Automation: Integrations, routines, email, Records, and HTTP automation stay optional and are not part of activation.
  • Team: Owners can invite Members once the Workspace is grounded.