---
title: "Quick reference"
type: REFERENCE
updated: 2026-09-23
---

# Quick reference

Find answers about results, agent accounts, commits, and troubleshooting while you work.

Last updated 2026-09-23

## What Panolayer does

### What is Architecture?

Architecture is a map parsed from your source. Browse functions, dependencies, and callers to understand which code a change may affect.

### Do living documents update automatically?

No. Generate living documents from Architecture and regenerate them when you want to reflect code changes. They do not update automatically.

## Verification

### What should I do with a failed rule?

Read the expectation, observed behavior, location, and affected callers. Fix the code if it is wrong, or correct the rule if the expectation is wrong, then verify again. You can also choose Fix It to hand the failure to Panolayer Agent.

### Why did verification return nothing?

An empty result does not prove the code is correct. Check parsing and evaluation status, and report an unavailable evaluation if it persists.

## Agents

### Who pays for a third-party agent’s model usage?

You use the vendor’s supported subscription or API key. Panolayer runs the agent but does not cover its model bill.

### Why did an agent not start?

Read the installation or launch error and check the platform and requested permissions. If the CLI opens but asks for sign-in, complete the vendor’s sign-in before giving it work.

## Changes and committing

### What does the risk score not tell me?

It does not prove that the code works or that callers remain correct. A model reads the diff and scores each file and helps you choose what to review; verification is separate.

### Can I commit with failures?

Yes. Your own commit is not gated by verification. Failures remain visible so that you can decide how to handle them.

## Setup and account

### Can I use an Intel Mac?

No. Panolayer needs an Apple silicon Mac running macOS 15 Sequoia or later.

## Limits and troubleshooting

### Why is the gate local?

The approval gate is on your Mac, before your branch and before Git-host review. Its approval gate is not a shared CI check or branch protection rule, so it does not enforce team-wide policy.

### How do I report a bug?

Use the bug reporting tools in the app or the contact page. Include the steps and the error you see, without credentials or private source code.

## Continue learning

- [Resolve setup and agent problems](/docs/troubleshooting)

- [Understand a verification result](/docs/verification-results)