Core Concepts

Understanding these core concepts will help you use Shai effectively.

Overview

Shai is built around five key concepts:

1. Cellular Development - Constraining agents to specific components
2. Resource Sets - Defining collections of allowed resources
3. Apply Rules - Mapping workspace paths to resource sets
4. Selective Elevation - Controlled host-side operations
5. How Shai Works - Understanding the architecture

Quick Mental Model

Think of Shai as establishing guardrails for your AI agents:

• Cellular Development: Define which areas agents can modify (they can read all workspace code, but only change specific parts)
• Resource Sets: Define what’s available in each area (network, credentials, host mounts)
• Apply Rules: Decide which areas get which resources
• Selective Elevation: Provide a phone to call outside when needed
• Architecture: How Shai enforces all these rules