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

# Work with Shapes

> Choose whether to reuse, create, publish, update, or fork the record structure for a project.

A Shape tells Penumbra which kinds of records a project can hold, which fields
belong on each record, and how records can connect.

For example, a customer-research Shape might define `participant`, `evidence`,
`finding`, and `open_question`, with a finding linked to the evidence that
supports it.

## Start in Runtime

Before opening the Shapes MCP, [search the Shape catalog](/runtime/choose-shape).
Reuse an existing Shape when it already represents the records and relationships
your job needs.

Open the Shapes MCP when you need to create a model the catalog does not have,
change a published Shape, or make a separate variant from an existing one.

## Choose a task

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Create a Shape" icon="pen-ruler" href="/shapes/create-shape">
    Turn a concrete example and a short domain brief into a compiled draft.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Publish a draft" icon="rocket" href="/shapes/review-and-publish">
    Review the exact change, run a dry run, publish it, and confirm it in Runtime.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Change a published Shape" icon="pen" href="/shapes/change-shape">
    Edit the existing Shape, check the effect on current records, and publish a new version.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Fork a Shape" icon="code-branch" href="/shapes/fork-a-variant">
    Start from an existing Shape while giving the new variant its own future changes.
  </Card>
</Columns>

## What happens before publication

Shape work stays in a draft until you publish it. While it is a draft, the agent
can compile it, show the exact difference from the published version, preview
the fields Runtime will expose, and check whether existing records need a
migration.

Publication itself has a dry-run mode. After the real publish, inspect the Shape
through Runtime; that is the version your other agents will use.

<Card title="Connect the Shapes MCP" icon="plug" href="/shapes/connect">
  Add the Workbench to your MCP-capable agent.
</Card>