# Commands to run and to leave

Which vago commands an agent runs on its own, and which it leaves to the human, with the reason for each.

An agent runs the `vago` commands that write a Goal or Ticket the human asked for, or only read. It leaves to the human every command that starts agents, spends money, asks a question, or overwrites or discards their work. Every command works from the Project's root or from inside a Goal's worktree, where it acts on the main checkout's Goals.

## Run them

| Command | When |
|---|---|
| `vago --help`, `vago <command> --help` | Before using a command, for its arguments and flags. |
| [`vago goal new`](/docs/cli-reference/#vago-goal-new) | The human asked for a Goal and agreed on its text and Workflow. |
| [`vago ticket add`](/docs/cli-reference/#vago-ticket-add) | The human approved the split. A Workflow Step may add Tickets when its prompt says to, as the starter's Goal review does. |
| [`vago goal report`](/docs/cli-reference/#vago-goal-report) | To read a Goal's Tickets, Runs, times and costs. It changes nothing. |

Reading `.vago-goals/` and `.vago/` is always fine, and so is editing a Ticket's or Goal's text below its header when the human asks.

## Leave them to the human

| Command | Why |
|---|---|
| [`vago run`](/docs/cli-reference/#vago-run) | It starts agents that work for hours and cost money, and it refuses a Goal another `vago run` is running. Tell the human the command instead. |
| `vago` | The TUI needs a person at the terminal. |
| [`vago init`](/docs/cli-reference/#vago-init) | It asks whether the Workflow goes into git, which is the human's call. |
| [`vago update`](/docs/cli-reference/#vago-update) | It overwrites every starter file that differs, including prompts the human tuned. |
| [`vago ticket reset`](/docs/cli-reference/#vago-ticket-reset) | It makes a stuck Ticket start over from its first Step instead of where it stopped. |
| `vago plan new`, `rename`, `session`, `workflow`, `accept`, `discard` | Planning is the human's conversation with its own agent in the TUI. `discard` removes everything the item holds. |

## Never

- Don't write or edit a Ticket's or Goal's `+++` header. Only Vago writes it; status and Runs there are what `vago run` decides from. The human may change the `workflow` line of a Goal or a Ticket by hand between runs.
- Don't set a Ticket to `done` by any means. A Ticket is done when it reaches the end of its Workflow.
- Don't change `.vago/` from inside a Goal's worktree. Git there won't stage it, and `vago run` reads the main checkout's.
- In a Vago planning chat, run no `vago` command and write no file: the session is read-only, and the proposal block is how the Goal and Tickets reach the human.