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Workspace context is a text document that Guild passes to every agent when it runs in your workspace. Use it to tell agents about your project, team conventions, preferred tools, and anything else they need to do their job well.

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What agents see

When an agent runs, it receives a compiled context made up of three parts:
PartSourceExample
Dynamic infoAutomaticCurrent date, workspace name, active user
Generated contextGuild systemsConnected GitHub repositories
Manual contextYouProject overview, coding conventions, team notes
The manual context is the part you write and maintain.

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Edit context

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Web UI

Open your workspace and click Context in the left sidebar. The editor lets you write in Markdown. Changes are saved as a draft until you publish them.

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CLI

The guild workspace context edit command opens your $EDITOR with the current published context. When you save and exit, a draft is created automatically. 
# Edit the current context
guild workspace context edit <workspace-id>

# Edit from a specific version
guild workspace context edit <workspace-id> --from <context-id>
After editing, publish the draft to make it active: 
guild workspace context publish <workspace-id> <context-id>

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Versions

Every change creates a new version. Versions are either DRAFT or PUBLISHED — only the latest published version is used when agents run. 
# List all versions
guild workspace context list <workspace-id>

# Inspect a version
guild workspace context get <workspace-id> <context-id>

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Writing good context

Context is injected verbatim into the agent’s prompt, so write it as if you’re briefing a capable new team member. Include:
  • What the project does and its tech stack
  • Repository structure and important directories
  • Coding conventions and style preferences
  • Tools and services the team uses
  • Links to relevant internal resources
Keep it focused. Long or noisy context degrades agent performance. Aim for what’s genuinely useful for most tasks in this workspace — not an exhaustive wiki. Example: 
# Acme Platform

A B2B SaaS platform for inventory management. The backend is Python (FastAPI)
and the frontend is React + TypeScript. PostgreSQL is the primary database.

## Repositories

- `acme/api` — FastAPI backend
- `acme/app` — React frontend
- `acme/infra` — Terraform infrastructure

## Conventions

- Python: follow PEP 8, use type hints everywhere, prefer `ruff` for linting
- TypeScript: strict mode, functional components, no `any` types
- Git: conventional commits (`feat:`, `fix:`, `chore:`)
- PRs require at least one review before merging to `main`