---
title: Categories
description: The seven kinds of rule in a Vythos Playbook, what belongs in each, and how they rank when two rules touch the same question.
---

<span class="vy-eyebrow">Core concepts</span>

# Categories

Every rule is filed under exactly one of seven categories. The list is fixed —
you can't add your own — because the categories do real work: they decide
ranking, and they decide access. A freelancer can be given *Brand & voice* and
not *Pricing & rates* only because those are different categories.

## The seven

They're listed here strongest first. That ordering is the ranking Vythos uses
when two rules at the same scope touch the same question.

| # | Category | What belongs in it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | **Terms & commitments** | Contracts, NDAs, IP and liability, data protection |
| 2 | **Pricing & rates** | Rate card, day rates, payment terms, minimum fees |
| 3 | **How we work** | Delivery standards, SOPs, quality checks, how work moves |
| 4 | **Brand & voice** | Brand voice, tone, positioning, words to use and avoid |
| 5 | **Who decides** | Who signs off on what, approval stages, escalation paths, spend limits |
| 6 | **Strategy** | Direction, priorities, the plan |
| 7 | **Past decisions** | Decisions already made, and why |

::: info Scope ranks above category
A client rule in *Brand & voice* still beats a house rule in *Terms &
commitments*, because scope is checked first. Category ordering decides between
rules **at the same scope**. See [Clients and scope](/concepts/clients).
:::

## Choosing between two that seem to fit

Most documents are obvious. These are the ones that aren't:

**A rate card with payment terms in it** → *Pricing & rates*. Money and the
terms attached to money live together. Keep *Terms & commitments* for the
contract itself.

**A contract template** → *Terms & commitments*, even though it contains
prices. The document is a commitment; the prices in it are an example of one.

**An approval SOP** → *Who decides* if it's about who signs off, *How we work*
if it's about the stages work passes through. If it's genuinely both, put it in
*Who decides*: sign-off is the part that goes wrong expensively.

**Brand guidelines with a words-to-avoid list** → *Brand & voice*. That list is
also the thing a draft check can test, so it's worth adding properly. See
[Values](/concepts/values).

**A positioning document** → *Brand & voice* if it's about how you sound,
*Strategy* if it's about where the business is going.

**"We decided not to take crypto clients"** → *Past decisions*, once it's
written in a document.

## Why the category matters beyond tidiness

- **Access is per category.** Each teammate gets a level for each one, from
  full access down to none. A category set to *No access* is never sent to that
  person — not in Ask, not to their AI tools.
- **Ranking is per category.** When an AI tool asks for context, rules arrive
  in this order, and the tool is told the order is meaningful.
- **Values are per category.** Vythos only looks for the kinds of figure that
  make sense for the category — payment terms in *Pricing & rates*, banned
  words in *Brand & voice*. See [Values](/concepts/values).

## Changing a rule's category

Add the rule again from the same document and choose the other category. The
old filing stands down and the new one takes over, keeping the rule's history —
one document is always one rule.

## Two rules in the same category

Perfectly normal: a rate card and a "minimum engagement" note can both sit in
*Pricing & rates*. They only conflict if they state the same value differently,
and in that case Vythos refuses to pick a winner and tells your tools the
Playbook disagrees with itself. That's a prompt to retire one of them.

Next: [Clients and scope](/concepts/clients).