> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.2501.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Central

> A container for agents that operate a control plane

Central gives an agent a container with the command-line tools it needs to operate an external control plane: a cloud account, a Kubernetes cluster, vCenter. Use a Host for commands on one machine and Central for a control plane, even when a change touches a single resource; [Shell, Central and plugins](/0.18/best-practices/mcp-plugins) walks through the choice.

## Central Configurations

A Central configuration is a versioned manifest: one Kubernetes Pod or Deployment, or one Compose service on Swarm. The engine runs it on its own cluster or on another [cluster](/0.18/core-concepts/clusters), in a namespace or network your operator dedicates to Central. Credentials are mapped to environment variables from saved Secrets or Vault paths, never written into the manifest.

## Agents and Central

An agent can hold a Host and several Centrals from its organization. When a task first runs a command, the engine picks the Host for machine-local work or the Central whose tools fit the request, and that choice holds for the whole task. In the same task, the agent can use its assigned [MCP servers and HTTP APIs](/0.18/core-concepts/plugins). [Central configurations](/0.18/configure/centrals) has the setup steps.

## Central and Clusters

A Central configuration can run on a [cluster's](/0.18/core-concepts/clusters) nodes, to operate a control plane only that network zone can reach; [registering a cluster](/0.18/configure/clusters#registering-a-cluster) has the setup steps.


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