---
title: Add a rule
description: Add a document to your Playbook by pasting its link or picking it from a connected source, and what each field on the card means.
---

<span class="vy-eyebrow">Using Vythos</span>

# Add a rule

Open **Playbook** and choose **Add rule**. There are two ways to name a
document, and the rest of the card is the same either way.

## Paste a link

Copy the document's URL from your browser's address bar or its Share button,
and paste it in. Vythos understands:

| Link | Example |
|---|---|
| Google Doc | `https://docs.google.com/document/d/…/edit` |
| Google Sheet | `https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/…/edit#gid=0` |
| Google Slides | `https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/…/edit` |
| A file in Drive | `https://drive.google.com/file/d/…/view` |
| Notion page | `https://www.notion.so/Rate-Card-2026-1a2b3c…` or a `notion.site` link |

You'll need the relevant source connected first, because Vythos reads the
document with your access. A link to a **folder** is refused, with a note
telling you to open the file inside it.

## Choose from your sources

Browse instead of pasting:

- **Google Drive** — *My Drive* and *Shared with me*, with folders, breadcrumbs
  and a search box that looks up files by name. Files already in your Playbook
  are marked, and files in formats Vythos can't read are shown greyed with the
  reason.
- **Notion** — your pages, searchable.
- **Your uploads** — everything you've uploaded, from the Sources page or
  during setup.

Very large folders are listed up to a limit and say so; use search rather than
scrolling.

## The card

Once a document is chosen, Vythos reads it and shows one card.

**What it governs** — the [category](/concepts/categories). Only the categories
you're allowed to add rules to are offered.

**Which client is it for?** — *Every client* for a house rule, or one client.
You can add a new client here without leaving the card. This field is about
whose work the rule governs; it has nothing to do with who may see it. See
[Clients and scope](/concepts/clients).

**The values Vythos read** — any figures it recognised. Tick *These values are
right* only if they are, and only if they mean what their labels say. See
[Values](/concepts/values).

**Replaces** — appears when something else is already in force that this
document might supersede:

- *Also a pricing rule for every client* — both can stay in force. Tick the
  ones this replaces, if this is the newer version.
- *Already a rule with the same name, from another file* — you must decide.
  Vythos won't let a same-named document quietly take over from another file.

**Read the document** — the exact text Vythos took from the file. Worth opening
the first time you add a document of a given kind, particularly a PDF or a
spreadsheet, to check that what matters came through.

Then **Add to Playbook**. The rule appears at version 1.

## Who can add rules

The workspace owner. The Playbook page is the owner's, so a teammate has
nowhere to add one — and the access levels you can give them say as much where
you choose them. If a teammate has a document that should be a rule, they send
it to you and you add it. See
[Your team and their access](/using-vythos/team-and-access).

## When something goes wrong

| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| *That's a folder. Open the file inside it and copy that link.* | You pasted a folder link |
| *Vythos reads links to Google Drive files and Notion pages.* | The link isn't one Vythos recognises — check you copied the whole URL |
| *Google Drive isn't connected. Connect it in Sources first.* | Connect the source, then try again |
| *Vythos can't open that file with your Google account.* | The file isn't shared with the account you connected |
| *'…' is in the bin in Google Drive.* | Restore it, or pick another file |
| *Vythos does not read Google …* / a format refusal | See [File formats](/reference/file-formats) |
| *'…' is empty.* | There's no text to read — a scanned PDF, or an empty document |
| *This document is already a rule.* | The same file is already in your Playbook. To move it to another category, add it again and choose the new one |
| *The document has changed since you checked its values — look again* | Someone edited the file while the card was open. Reopen it so you confirm what it says now |

## After adding

- The rule appears on the Playbook under its category.
- Vythos begins following the document — about every ten minutes. See
  [Update a rule](/using-vythos/update-a-rule).
- Your team and their AI tools get it immediately, within the limits of their
  access.