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

# Runbooks and Work Modes

> Choose run collaboration posture and goal posture for Managed Research.

Runbooks and work modes control different parts of a launch.

## Runbooks

`runbook` controls collaboration depth and coordination limits. It does not
choose the model.

| Runbook | Use it for                                                    |
| ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `lite`  | Focused, low-overhead work. This is the default.              |
| `heavy` | Longer multi-actor work where intermediate synthesis matters. |

`lite` does not mean a smaller model, and `heavy` does not mean a bigger model.
Model choice is a separate launch field and is still checked by backend
preflight.

## Work modes

`work_mode` controls goal posture. It does not choose the provider.

| Work mode              | Use it for                                                  |
| ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| `directed_effort`      | Scoped, outcome-directed execution with a clear target.     |
| `open_ended_discovery` | Exploratory work where discovery and option-finding matter. |

## Example

```python theme={null}
run = client.research.runs.start(
    "Explore likely causes of flaky benchmark results and summarize evidence.",
    host_kind="daytona",
    work_mode="open_ended_discovery",
    providers=[{"provider": "openrouter"}],
    runbook="heavy",
)
```

Backend preflight validates the final launch.