Agents

Read llms.txt for a short task map. It points to installation, the editor manual, the live MCP connection, theme creation, and the code architecture. Read the smallest page that matches the request. For complete text in one fetch, use llms-full.txt. The capability map gives clients a machine-readable routing summary.

For coding work, also read the checked-out repository’s AGENTS.md and the relevant module header. For type design, read the font project’s DESIGN.md and ask the designer for approved references and acceptance criteria. This website explains Runebender; it cannot supply the private design rules of an arbitrary font.

Need	Start here
Install or run the application	Install
Inspect unsaved work in the native editor	MCP
Make a guarded live edit	MCP, then inspect the connected tool schemas
Compare a compiled specimen	MCP proof workflow
Automate saved UFO or Designspace files	Scripting
Work on UI or theme code	Design principles, themes, and architecture
Check source preservation	Source format preservation

Use exact identities and revisions from live reads for geometry changes. Use saved files for repeatable batch work. Use visual inspection for design judgments and report when the client cannot receive proof images.

The repository root .mcp.json declares the client-neutral runebender mcp --live command. The same command can be registered in a client’s own settings. The repository’s .codex/config.toml mirrors it for Codex in a trusted checkout. See MCP for setup, session selection, and a read-only first request.

A live connection reads the unsaved canonical document through the native editor. The browser demo has an in-memory font and does not expose the native Unix endpoint. mcp --font is a separate saved-file workflow. Neither route grants permission to apply a change merely because a tool is available.

Keep source files in version control. Confirm the font, source, glyph name, and any approved reference glyphs before editing. Across masters, check contour structure, point order and types, start points, component structure, and spacing before accepting a change. Proof the result at matching scale and in text, then report what was changed and what remains uncertain.

Glyph Grid mark names have semantic meaning and are stored as simple UFO compatibility colors; the active theme chooses how they appear. Do not infer a designer’s review state from a display hue alone. See themes and file format.

Runebender is alpha software. Live receipts are in memory for one document lifetime, so they do not replace saving or version control. The native editor’s live endpoint is Unix-only. The website’s implementation pages may lag a new commit; for exact API names and parameters, use MCP tools/list in the connected session and inspect the current source. See Known limitations.