# Guides

This section covers what to do with a running CairnCMS instance. The pages here are organized around the work an operator or content author actually does in the admin app: shaping the data model, managing access, creating content, configuring automation, and so on.

For platform setup and operations (configuration, deployment, security, upgrades) see [Manage](/docs/manage/). For developer-facing customization (extensions, clients, custom migrations) see [Develop](/docs/develop/).

## Pages in this section

- **[Content](/docs/guides/content/)** — working with collection items in the admin app: layouts, filters, import/export, shares, and the activity log.
- **[Data model](/docs/guides/data-model/)** — designing collections, fields, and relationships.
- **[Auth](/docs/guides/auth/)** — login flows, two-factor authentication, sessions, app access, static tokens, and SSO providers.
- **[Users](/docs/guides/users/)** — the user directory, invitations, and account management.
- **[Permissions](/docs/guides/permissions/)** — roles, the permission rule model, and the public role.
- **[Settings](/docs/guides/settings/)** — project settings, branding, themes, and translation strings.
- **[Files](/docs/guides/files/)** — the file library, folders, and storage backends.
- **[Insights](/docs/guides/insights/)** — building dashboards from collection data.
- **[Flows](/docs/guides/flows/)** — flows, triggers, operations, and webhooks.

## Where to go after this section

- [Manage](/docs/manage/) — operating a CairnCMS deployment in production.
- [Develop](/docs/develop/) — building integrations and extensions on top of the platform.
- [API reference](/docs/api/) — REST and GraphQL endpoints for the surfaces covered in these guides.