> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sumvin.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How it works

> The four Sumvin nouns, how they connect you to your agent, and the guarantees between them.

Four nouns sit between you and your agent: your **Sigil**, an **agent identity**, a **Stamped Mandate** and an **errand**.

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart LR
  P([You]) -- "verify once" --> S[Sigil]
  S -- "one per connection" --> I[Agent identity]
  A([Your agent]) -- "acts as" --> I
  P -- "sign" --> M[Stamped Mandate]
  M -- "limits" --> I
  A -- "runs" --> E[Errand]
  E -- "within" --> M
  E -- "presents" --> V([Merchant or service])
  V -.->|checks| M
```

## The nouns

| Noun                                          | What it is                                                                                                                       |
| --------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Sigil](/concepts/sigil)                      | Your verified identity. Proof that a real, verified person stands behind your agents.                                            |
| [Agent identity](/concepts/agent-identities)  | The identity one connection uses under your Sigil. Claude, your terminal and any other agent each get their own.                 |
| [Stamped Mandate](/concepts/stamped-mandates) | An authorisation you sign: what one agent may do — share data, prove who it acts for, or spend — and the limits it must keep to. |
| [Errand](/concepts/errands)                   | A standing purchase your agent creates and Envoy runs, within a Stamped Mandate. Payments are coming soon.                       |

## The guarantees

* **A person signs every mandate.** Your agent can ask for a Stamped Mandate. It cannot approve one. You approve it with your passkey, in your own browser, on a page your agent cannot touch.
* **You sign what you see.** The limits on the approval page are the limits your agent gets.
* **Each agent is separate.** Every connection has its own identity, so you can tell your agents apart and revoke one without touching the others.
* **Limits are specific.** A mandate names what it covers, its expiry, and any amount it allows. Your agent cannot act outside them.
* **You can take it back.** Revoke a mandate or disconnect an agent at any time. [Revoke access](/guides/revoke)
* **The other side can check.** A merchant or service can confirm that a verified person stands behind the agent, and that the request is inside what that person signed. [Check a mandate](/guides/check-a-mandate)

For the full picture, read [Trust and safety](/concepts/trust-and-safety) and [Privacy](/concepts/privacy).

## In order

You meet the nouns in the order you use them.

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Connect" icon="plug" href="/get-started/connect">
    Add the Sumvin connector to your agent. Developers can use the CLI.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Verify" icon="badge-check" href="/get-started/first/verify">
    Your phone, then your ID. One trip to the browser.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Your Sigil" icon="fingerprint" href="/get-started/first/sigil">
    What it is and what it proves.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Your first Stamped Mandate" icon="stamp" href="/get-started/first/stamped-mandate">
    Review the limits and sign.
  </Card>
</Columns>

<Tip>**Try asking your agent:** "Explain what a Stamped Mandate lets you do for me."</Tip>