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

# Briefings overview

> Briefings stitch multiple sources and source groups into a single AI-synthesised dashboard, with a once-a-month PDF snapshot delivered to your destination.

A **Briefing** is a cross-source AI synthesis surface. Where a Pulse delivers analysis for one source (or one source group) at a time, a Briefing combines many of them into a single big-picture view that runs **once per calendar month** and lands as a PDF in your destination.

<Note>Briefings are available on **any paid plan** (Starter, Pro, Enterprise). Limits vary by tier — see [Plan limits](#plan-limits) below.</Note>

## What a Briefing is made of

| Concept            | Description                                                                                                                 |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Briefing**       | The top-level container. Has a name, description, optional cover emoji + colour, a destination, and a monthly schedule.     |
| **Row**            | A horizontal grouping of items the AI cross-analyses together. Think "Acquisition", "Retention", "Finance".                 |
| **Row item**       | One source or source group inside a row. Pulls in the latest chart image + AI summary from that source's most recent Pulse. |
| **Overall review** | The page-level AI synthesis sitting above the rows — the "big picture" across every row.                                    |
| **Snapshot**       | A frozen, versioned PDF of the briefing at a point in time. One snapshot per calendar month.                                |

## How it works at a glance

1. You compose the briefing in `/admin/briefings/[id]` — add rows, drop sources or source groups into each row, give them titles.
2. You press **Save** — the server runs a fresh AI pass: per-row commentary, then an overall summary across all rows.
3. Once committed, you can **send a snapshot** — Chartcastr renders a multi-page PDF and delivers it to your chosen destination.
4. A monthly cron fires the same flow automatically on your scheduled day-of-month + time.

## Pages in this section

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Use cases" icon="book-open" href="/analysis/briefings/use-cases">
    Playbooks for the four jobs Briefings nail first — client reporting, board prep, pitch prep, all-hands.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Briefing rows" icon="grip-lines" href="/analysis/briefings/rows">
    How rows and row items work, what counts toward your per-row item budget, and how source groups expand inside a row.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Overall review" icon="sparkles" href="/analysis/briefings/overall-review">
    The page-level AI summary, per-row commentary, and how AI titles are generated.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Save & commit" icon="floppy-disk" href="/analysis/briefings/save-and-commit">
    The explicit save model, AI regeneration, and why edits are blocked while a commit is in flight.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Snapshots & delivery" icon="file-pdf" href="/analysis/briefings/snapshots">
    Monthly PDF snapshots, the once-per-calendar-month throttle, and destination delivery.
  </Card>

  <Card title="The /admin/briefings page" icon="grid-2" href="/analysis/briefings/admin-page">
    A walkthrough of the list view, composer, settings, and snapshot history pages.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Plan limits

Limits scale with your tier. Active means non-archived.

| Limit             | Free | Starter | Pro | Enterprise |
| ----------------- | ---- | ------- | --- | ---------- |
| Active briefings  | 0    | 2       | 5   | unlimited  |
| Rows per briefing | 0    | 4       | 8   | unlimited  |
| Items per row     | 0    | 4       | 6   | unlimited  |

<Tip>A source group counts toward the **items-per-row** budget by the number of sources inside it, not as one item — this matches how the briefing renders the group's child charts side-by-side.</Tip>

## Why Briefings vs. Pulses?

Pulses are the heartbeat — frequent, single-source, optimised for "is anything moving?". Briefings are the monthly retrospective — wide-angle, cross-source, optimised for "what's the overall picture and what should we do about it?". They share data (Briefings reuse the latest Pulse output for each item) but solve different jobs.