# Mpalo’s design principles

This hub translates Mpalo’s mission into shared principles, foundations, and domain-specific rules for interfaces.

HTML page: https://developer.mpalo.com/
Markdown page: https://developer.mpalo.com/index.md

## Navigate sections

- [Purpose and principles](./#purpose)
- [Domain hierarchy](./#domain-hierarchy)
- [What we govern](./#what-we-govern)
- [Use this hub](./#use-this-hub)

Start with the reason

## Human agency is the measure.

Mpalo exists to maximize humanity’s capacity for autonomous, informed, and constructive decision-making. Our design work starts by asking what helps people understand, choose, act, and recover for themselves.

[Read the principles that guide each decision](principles.md)

## One purpose, expressed at different levels

Every Mpalo domain inherits the same mission, truth commitments, and care for human agency. Its audience and work determine how institutional, humanist, or technical its expression becomes.

1. **Public Mpalo** Institutional purpose, humanity, and the natural world. Clear language introduces why Mpalo exists.
2. **API and developer guidance** Technical work explained with human context. Concepts and contracts stay precise and approachable.
3. **Welcome and account access** Institutional, direct, and secure. Each step explains what is happening and gives a clear way forward.
4. **Mind Platform** Dense operational work with clear hierarchy, deliberate controls, and human agency intact.
5. **Terminal and expert tools** Maximum technical precision and verbosity for deliberate, expert work, while remaining truthful and usable.

[See how each domain is calibrated](domains.md)

## Every element needs a job

We can govern the decisions that shape an experience: its structure, spacing, type, surfaces, controls, feedback, assets, and motion. Each decision belongs to one documented category and should have a purpose we can explain.

- Foundations and interface parts [Browse design elements](elements.md)
- Purpose, direction, and current implementation [Explore the system map](map.md)
- Verified behavior and declared gaps [Read what exists today](current-state.md)

## Use the guidance at the right depth

This hub establishes the shared language and design rules. The API documentation owns endpoint contracts and integration steps. Internal operating material remains in the staff environment.

[**API quickstart** Installation, authentication, and your first requests to the Mpalo API. Open API documentation](https://api.mpalo.com/get-started)

[**Our mission** Mpalo’s institutional purpose and the human capacity its work serves. Read Mpalo’s mission](https://mpalo.com/our-mission)

## Related pages

- [How the pieces connect](map.md)
- [Architecture and design intent](architecture.md)
- [What exists today](current-state.md)
- [Choose a path into the system](start.md)

## Authoritative integration reference

- [API quickstart](https://api.mpalo.com/get-started)
- [API reference](https://api.mpalo.com/landing)