Getting Started Guide

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🚀 Getting Started with Tough Day Constitution Manager

Welcome!

The Tough Day Constitution Manager is a system for managing AI assistant constitutions across multiple organizations. This guide will help you get started quickly.

Table of Contents

  1. What is a Constitution?
  2. Key Concepts
  3. Your First Login
  4. Understanding the Interface
  5. Quick Start Tasks
  6. Next Steps

What is a Constitution?

A constitution is a set of instructions and guidelines that define how an AI assistant should behave. Think of it as the AI's "operating manual."

Example Constitution Snippet

# Context
You are a helpful assistant specializing in HR questions.

# Objective
Your primary goal is to help employees with HR-related inquiries
while maintaining confidentiality and professionalism.

# Tone
Be warm, professional, and empathetic.

Why Constitutions Matter

Key Concepts

🏢 Organizations

Organizations are separate entities that each have their own constitution.

Example: - Acme Corp (Sales team) - Acme Corp (HR team) - Justworks (Customer Support)

Each organization can customize their AI's behavior independently.

📚 Modules

Modules are building blocks that make up a constitution. Each module covers a specific aspect:

Module Purpose Example Content
context Who is the AI? "You are a helpful HR assistant"
objective What's the goal? "Help employees with benefits questions"
tone How should it sound? "Be warm and professional"
safety_rules What to avoid? "Never share confidential employee data"
knowledge What does it know? "Company has 500 employees, founded 2010"

🌍 Global vs. Override

Global Modules: - Default templates used by all organizations - Managed by administrators - Located in /modules/core/

Overrides: - Organization-specific customizations - Only apply to one organization - Located in /overrides/<org_id>/

Example:

Global "context" module:
"You are a helpful assistant."

Acme Corp override:
"You are a helpful assistant specializing in sales enablement."

🔄 Constitution Template

The default constitution template (customers/default.json) defines: - Which modules to include - Default variables - Module order

New organizations inherit from this template.

Your First Login

Step 1: Access the Application

Open your browser and go to:

http://your-server-address:8000/

Note: Ask your administrator for the correct URL

Step 2: Sign In

Click "Login" button in the top-right corner.

You'll be redirected to Google OAuth for authentication.

Step 3: Welcome Screen

After login, you'll see the homepage showing: - List of organizations - Quick stats (total orgs, modules) - Recent activity

Understanding the Interface

📸 Screenshot placeholder (Screenshot will be added here)

Menu Items:

Item Purpose
Organizations View and manage all organizations
Modules Edit global module templates
Import Import constitutions from files
Constitution Manage the default constitution template
Help Access documentation (you are here!)
Your Name Logout

Organizations Page

The main page shows all organizations:

📸 Screenshot placeholder (Screenshot will be added here)

Organization Detail Page

When you click an organization, you see:

Header: - Organization name - Version number - Last updated date

Active Modules: - List of modules in use - Badges showing "Custom" or "Stale" status - Actions: Compare, Edit Override, Revert

Organization-Specific Modules: - Modules unique to this org - Not based on global templates

Quick Start Tasks

Task 1: View an Organization (2 minutes)

  1. Click "Organizations" in the navbar
  2. Click on any organization (e.g., "Default Organization")
  3. Review the modules listed
  4. Click "Preview Constitution" to see the full text

What you'll learn: How modules combine to form a complete constitution

Task 2: Create a New Organization (5 minutes)

  1. Go to Organizations page
  2. Click "Add Organization" button
  3. Fill in the form:
  4. Organization ID: my-first-org (lowercase, no spaces)
  5. Display Name: My First Organization
  6. Description: Testing organization for learning
  7. Click "Create Organization"
  8. View your new organization

What you'll learn: How to set up a new organization

Task 3: Customize a Module (10 minutes)

  1. Go to your organization (my-first-org)
  2. Find the "tone" module
  3. Click "Edit Override"
  4. Change the content: ```markdown # Tone

Be friendly, casual, and enthusiastic! Use emojis when appropriate. 😊 ``` 5. Click "Save Override" 6. Notice the "Custom" badge appears

What you'll learn: How to override global modules for specific organizations

Task 4: Build and Preview Constitution (5 minutes)

  1. Stay on your organization page
  2. Click "Rebuild Constitution" button
  3. Wait for success message
  4. Click "Preview Constitution" button
  5. See your complete constitution with your customization

What you'll learn: How the system combines modules into a final constitution

Task 5: Explore Global Modules (5 minutes)

  1. Click "Modules" in the navbar
  2. Browse the list of global modules
  3. Click "View" on the "context" module
  4. See which organizations use this module
  5. See which organizations have overrides

What you'll learn: How global modules work across organizations

Next Steps

For New Users

📖 Read these guides next: 1. Managing Organizations - Deep dive into org management 2. Working with Modules - Understanding modules 3. Managing Stale Overrides - Keep overrides up to date

For Administrators

📖 Advanced topics: 1. Constitution Template Guide - Manage the default template 2. Import/Export Guide - Bulk operations 3. Version Control Guide - Track changes

For Developers

📖 Technical documentation: 1. API Documentation - REST endpoints 2. Module Format Specification - How to write modules 3. Variables Reference - Using template variables

Common Questions

Q: What happens if I make a mistake?

A: Don't worry! You can: - Revert an override - Go back to using the global module - Edit again - Overrides can be modified anytime - View history - See previous versions (if git is enabled)

Q: How do I know if my changes are working?

A: After making changes: 1. Click "Rebuild Constitution" 2. Click "Preview Constitution" 3. Search (Cmd/Ctrl+F) for your changes

Q: Can I break other organizations?

A: No! Overrides only affect the specific organization. Global modules affect all organizations, but you need admin permissions to edit those.

Q: What's the difference between editing a module vs. creating an override?

A: - Edit a module (Modules page) - Changes affect ALL organizations - Create an override (Organization page) - Changes affect ONLY that organization

Tips for Success

✅ Best Practices

  1. Start small - Override one module at a time
  2. Test changes - Always preview after editing
  3. Use descriptive names - Make organization IDs meaningful
  4. Document customizations - Add comments in modules explaining why you made changes
  5. Review stale overrides weekly - Keep your overrides up to date

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

  1. Don't ignore stale badges - They indicate the global module changed
  2. Don't edit global modules casually - They affect all organizations
  3. Don't use spaces in organization IDs - Use hyphens instead: my-org not my org
  4. Don't forget to rebuild - Changes don't take effect until you rebuild

Getting Help

In-App Help

Contact Support

What You've Learned

After completing this guide, you should understand:

Quick Reference Card

Common Actions

I want to... How to do it
Create new organization Organizations → Add Organization
Customize a module Organization → Edit Override
Reset customization Organization → Revert to Original
See all modules Modules (navbar)
Preview constitution Organization → Preview Constitution
Update stale override Organization → Compare → Start from Global

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
Cmd/Ctrl + S Save (in editor)
Cmd/Ctrl + F Find in page
Esc Close modals

Ready to dive deeper? Check out the other guides in the Help menu!

Last Updated: February 7, 2026 Version: 1.0.0