diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
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--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 **Contributing to this repository?** Read [memory/PROTOCOL.md](memory/PROTOCOL.md) and follow it.
 
 **Consuming Mercury Composable for Python as a dependency?** Skip the memory protocol — it is
-for repository contributors. Start at [README.md](README.md) — the quick start, function
-contract, configuration, and wire-format guide for writing polyglot functions consistently.
+for repository contributors. Start at [system/AGENTS.md](system/AGENTS.md) — the consumer
+starting point: guide index, key references, and efficient lookup strategy.
diff --git a/memory/sessions/2026-09-01-161208.md b/memory/sessions/2026-09-01-161208.md
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/memory/sessions/2026-09-01-161208.md
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# Session (2026-09-01T16:12:08.000Z)
+
+**Agent:** Claude Code
+**Lightweight:** doc-only changes, no memory-relevant events.
+
+Added `system/AGENTS.md` (consumer starting point — guide index, efficient lookup rule,
+key references) and updated root `AGENTS.md` consumer path to point there.
+Mirrors the `system/AGENTS.md` convention from mercury-composable and mercury (Rust).
+
+## Memory References
+
+(none)
diff --git a/system/AGENTS.md b/system/AGENTS.md
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+++ b/system/AGENTS.md
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+# Mercury Composable for Python — consumer starting point
+
+> **Contributors working in this repository:** follow the root [AGENTS.md](../AGENTS.md)
+> (the agent-memory protocol) first — this file does not replace it. This scoped guide
+> serves AI tools that **consume the Python wrapper as a dependency** and need the fastest
+> correct starting point. It lives at the same path as the engine repos' consumer guide
+> (`system/AGENTS.md`), so one tool convention finds every Mercury repo.
+
+## What this package is
+
+`mercury-python` is a lightweight Event-over-HTTP function host: write decoupled functions
+in Python and let Mercury Composable engines (Java, Rust) orchestrate them from Event Script
+flows and MiniGraph knowledge graphs. Orchestration stays in the engines; this package
+contributes functions plus the engines' operational conventions (configuration, logging,
+trace, actuators).
+
+## Starting point for consumer AI tools
+
+The quickest path to a working function:
+
+1. **`docs/llms.txt`** — the machine-readable map of this documentation site.
+2. **AI Agent Guide** (`docs/guides/ai-agent-guide.md`) — the complete authoring grammar
+   on one page: contract, registration, composition, config keys, error rules.
+3. **Getting Started** (`docs/guides/getting-started.md`) — a running function in five
+   minutes, called from an engine flow.
+
+For Mercury engine questions (Event Script flows, Knowledge Graph models, REST automation,
+Kafka integration), use the engine's `docs/llms.txt` or ai-contract-provider skill — this
+wrapper's docs cover only the Python function surface.
+
+## What lives in this repo
+
+| Path | Role |
+|------|------|
+| `src/` | the `mercury` package — `Platform`, `PostOffice`, `EventEnvelope`, actuator routes |
+| `examples/` | runnable reference functions |
+| `docs/` | the MkDocs guide site source |
+| `tests/` | unit and integration tests |
+
+## Key references (repo-relative)
+
+- `docs/llms.txt` — machine-readable documentation map; start here for keyword lookup
+- `docs/guides/ai-agent-guide.md` — AI agent authoring grammar (the authoritative contract)
+- `docs/guides/function-patterns.md` — (headers, body) contract, async, composition
+- `docs/guides/join-event-script.md` — `yaml.event.over.http`, what the function sees
+- `docs/guides/join-knowledge-graph.md` — `graph.task` to a Python target
+- `docs/guides/configuration-reference.md` — every well-known config key
+- `docs/guides/http-surface-reference.md` — `/api/event` protocol, actuator shapes
+
+## Efficient lookup
+
+**For "how do I write / configure X" questions, start with the guide — not the source.**
+`docs/llms.txt` maps every guide page. Find the right page there first; read only the
+relevant section. Fall back to source only when the guide is genuinely silent on the
+specific behavior or you need to verify a subtle invariant. Guide-first costs 3–5× fewer
+tokens than source discovery.
+
+When source reveals a genuine gap, raise an issue or PR against the upstream OSS project:
+- **Wrapper docs:** github.com/Accenture/mercury-python
+- **Engine guides:** github.com/Accenture/mercury-composable