# Better Filings agent overview

Better Filings finds public companies and filings, retrieves available source documents, and reads selected HTML, PDF, and XBRL artifacts.

## Choose an interface

- Use the CLI when you can run shell commands and save files locally. CLI commands use spaces, such as `betterfilings filing search` and `betterfilings document search`.
- Use hosted MCP when the client cannot run a shell. MCP tool names use underscores, such as `filing_search` and `document_search`.
- Use `betterfilings --help` or MCP `research_help` for the current inputs. Returned IDs, warnings, and continuation calls are authoritative.

## Core workflow

1. Search for the company and choose the intended listing by exchange and country.
2. Search filing metadata with that listing ID or a watchlist.
3. Get the filing inventory and explicitly choose an available artifact.
4. Download or inspect the artifact, then search or read only the needed material.
5. Preserve filing ID, source URL, date, artifact, and page, section, or XBRL context in the answer.

Local document reads do not consume hosted research calls. Network lookups, managed downloads, and hosted processing may consume calls; use the usage and charge information returned by the current CLI or MCP operation as authoritative. Published coverage and an available tool do not guarantee every company, filing, artifact, or period is present.

Do not treat a filing record or URL as proof that document bytes were read. Report partial-source warnings, unavailable artifacts, and extraction gaps plainly.