> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.tread.fi/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.tread.fi/agents/starting-and-managing-agents.md).

# Starting and Managing Agents

<figure><img src="/files/QsfxITt9zEPWX71heiey" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Select an agent to run a task.

**To start:**

1. Select agent by clicking the agent card.
2. Send your prompt.

#### Writing a good first prompt

Agents work best when you give them the same details you'd give a human trader. The more of these you include, the less back-and-forth you'll need:

* **Ticker and side** — "buy SOL", "sell BTC perp".
* **Size** — notional ($100,000 worth of BTW) or token count (1BTC).
* **Account** — which whitelisted account to use.
* **Time horizon** — "over the next 2 hours", "by end of day".
* **Constraints** — passive only, don't cross 1%, stop if price moves through X.

Even if the prompt is not complete, the agent will ask clarification questions to gather sufficient information it needs to execute the order.&#x20;

**Reading the chat**

* **Thinking blocks** — the agent's reasoning before it acts. Collapse them if you don't want the detail.
* **Action rows** — discrete actions the agent took or wants to take (e.g. *Place TWAP*, *Cancel order*).&#x20;
* **Chained-order bubbles** — when the agent strings several orders together, they're grouped into one bubble you can expand.
* **Chart bubbles** — inline price charts the agent renders to make a point.

#### Propose Start cards

For anything that puts your money at risk, the agent doesn't just immediately start an order — it builds a **Propose Start** card with the proposed order parameters and waits for your **Start** click. You can edit, reject, or accept.

Some smaller follow-up actions (re-quoting, tightening a spread on a running MM grid) run automatically once the task is live. The mission log records everything so you can audit later.

#### Live status

A small pulse indicator at the top of the chat tells you whether the agent is *Thinking*, *Acting*, *Idle*, or *Paused*. If it goes dark for more than a minute or two while you expected work,&#x20;

### Managing Active Tasks

From any task's chat panel or its row in the left rail:

* **Pause / Resume.** Tells the agent to stop taking new actions without cancelling what's already in flight. Useful when the market just moved and you want a beat to think.
* **Cancel.** Ends the task. If there are no open positions or orders, this is one click.
* **Cancel with positions.** If the task has open exposure, you get the **Cancel With Positions** dialog: choose whether to flatten positions and cancel resting orders, or leave them on the account for you to manage manually. Read this dialog carefully — flattening sends market orders.
* **Edit the brief mid-run.** Just message the agent. "Tighten the spread to 5bps" or "stop after the next fill" — the agent will acknowledge and either act or come back with a Propose Start if the change is material.

#### Review mode

If you see a **Review mode** banner at the top of the chat, the agent has paused itself and is waiting for your input before doing anything else. Common triggers: an unexpected market move, a constraint breach, or a question only you can answer. Reply to clear it.

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