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

# Console User Guide

> Learn how to navigate the signed-in AtlaSent Console, interpret its fields, and complete the core authorization workflow.

The AtlaSent Console is the signed-in control plane for configuring protected actions, reviewing authorization decisions, managing permits and approvals, and exporting evidence. The runtime makes authorization decisions; the Console lets people configure and inspect that activity.

<Note>
  Access to this guide and the Console requires sign-in. The pages, controls, and records you can see depend on your organization, role, plan, and enabled features.
</Note>

## The authorization lifecycle

Use this lifecycle to understand where every Console screen fits:

1. **Intent** — a person, agent, workflow, or service proposes an action.
2. **Authority** — the organization defines who or what may act and under what scope.
3. **Policy** — rules evaluate the exact request and its context.
4. **Evaluation** — the runtime returns `allow`, `deny`, `hold`, or `escalate`.
5. **Permit** — an `allow` may issue a bounded, short-lived authorization artifact.
6. **Verification** — the execution boundary checks the permit before acting.
7. **Execution** — the connected system performs the action; AtlaSent does not perform the underlying business action.
8. **Evidence** — records link the request, decision, policy, permit, verification, and reported outcome.

<Warning>
  An `allow` decision does not prove that execution occurred. Verification proves that a permit check succeeded; execution evidence must come from the execution boundary or connected system.
</Warning>

## Primary navigation

The reduced signed-in workspace contains 13 primary screens.

| Screen | Use it to |
| - | - |
| [Dashboard](/console/screens-and-fields#dashboard) | Review authorization activity, alerts, and coverage at a glance. |
| [Protected Actions](/console/screens-and-fields#protected-actions) | Define the consequential actions that require authorization. |
| [Decisions](/console/screens-and-fields#decisions) | Inspect `allow`, `deny`, `hold`, and `escalate` results. |
| [Permits](/console/screens-and-fields#permits) | Track issued permits, expiry, revocation, and proof linkage. |
| [Verification History](/console/screens-and-fields#verification-history) | Review execution-boundary verification attempts and outcomes. |
| [Holds & Approvals](/console/screens-and-fields#holds-and-approvals) | Resolve requests waiting for authorized human review. |
| [Audit Trail](/console/screens-and-fields#audit-trail) | Follow evidence, proof-chain, and governance events. |
| [Reports & Evidence](/console/screens-and-fields#reports-and-evidence) | Prepare review and audit packages. |
| [Policies](/console/screens-and-fields#policies) | Define, test, bundle, and activate authorization rules. |
| [Protected Systems](/console/screens-and-fields#protected-systems) | Review the systems and connectors whose actions can be governed. |
| [Users & Roles](/console/screens-and-fields#users-and-roles) | Manage membership and role-based access. |
| [API Keys](/console/screens-and-fields#api-keys) | Create scoped credentials for SDKs and integrations. |
| [Settings](/console/screens-and-fields#settings) | Manage your profile, organization, security, billing, and related controls. |

Additional advanced and administrative screens may appear for owners and administrators. They are intentionally outside the primary pilot navigation and should be used only when the relevant feature is enabled.

## A good first session

<Steps>
  <Step title="Confirm who you are acting for">
    Read **Acting for: Organization** in the organization switcher before making changes or interpreting records. Membership, authority, billing, and evidence are tenant-bound.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review Protected Actions">
    Confirm the action type, enforcement mode, and authority scope for the operation you want to govern.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review the active policy bundle">
    A draft policy is not runtime authority. Confirm that the intended bundle and version are active before relying on results.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Inspect Decisions and Permits">
    Open a decision, read the matched policy and reason, then follow its permit and verification links when present.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Export evidence">
    Use Audit Trail or Reports & Evidence to prepare the evidence required for your review process.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Team members and external collaborators

A person can belong to more than one organization. The organization switcher
selects the one authority boundary for the current action; it does not combine
data or authority across organizations.

In **Users & Roles**, invite an internal team member or a time-bounded external
consultant. External access is labeled, requires an end date, and cannot hold
the organization-owner role. The relationship label does not itself grant
authority: roles, policy, delegation, approvals, and per-request evaluation
still apply.

Learn the full model in Organizations and memberships.

## Common controls

| Control | Meaning |
| - | - |
| Search | Matches visible records. A blank result may also reflect your role, organization, filters, or retention window. |
| Filter | Narrows the current list without changing the underlying records. |
| Environment | Separates test activity from live activity. Always confirm it before evaluating an action or creating a key. |
| Status badge | Shows the current lifecycle state, not necessarily the final business outcome. |
| Record ID | Stable identifier used to correlate decisions, permits, verifications, and evidence. |
| Timestamp | Server-recorded event time. Review the displayed time zone before comparing external records. |
| Export | Creates a point-in-time artifact; it does not change the source records. |

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Screen and field reference" icon="table-list" href="/console/screens-and-fields">
    Understand what every primary screen and field means.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Accounting Demo" icon="calculator">
    Run the signed-in access-authorization lab in the isolated demo organization.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

If you are integrating through the API, continue to the [Quickstart](/quickstart/overview) after you understand the Console workflow.


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