Matter Docs
Cookbook
End-to-end recipes — agent-ready, idempotent, webhook-aware. Each recipe shows the trigger, the call sequence, idempotency, expected webhooks, and error recovery.
Last updated
Cookbook.
Full-fidelity, end-to-end recipes for the operations developers and agents run
most. Composite calls, primitive sequences, and verification flows — each one
runnable against a sk_test_… key in under a minute.
TL;DR. Recipes are end-to-end, not just one call. Each shows the trigger, the call sequence, idempotency, expected webhooks, and error recovery. Drop-in usable by humans and agents.
When to read a cookbook recipe vs the API reference
Cookbook when you want a worked example — the call sequence, the expected webhooks, the failure modes, the agent prompt. API reference when you want the spec for a single endpoint — every parameter, every response field, every error code. Recipes link out to reference pages so you can drill in when you need spec-level detail.
Every recipe is also callable as a single MCP workflow tool, so the same content serves a developer reading this page and an autonomous tier-4 agent firing the call.
How to read a recipe
Every recipe in this section follows the same nine-section spine. Skim them top-to-bottom for context; jump to The call for copy-paste.
The single-sentence outcome — what state the system is in after this completes.
A bullet list of side-effects, plus the exact Token.scope policy required.
Tier-3 vs tier-4, idempotency window, and which sub-resources get touched.
Everything that must already exist before the call — entity registered, webhook
endpoint subscribed, key in test mode, etc. If a prerequisite is missing, the
call returns 409 Conflict.
Three tabs — cURL, TypeScript, Python — with full headers (Authorization,
Matter-Version, Idempotency-Key). Wrapped in a <CodeCard> so you can read
the verb + path at a glance.
The strict per-entity ordering of events the recipe emits. Cross-link to the webhook ordering guarantees page.
Three to five likely failures with concrete remediation. Two to three alternate shapes — different jurisdictions, different scopes, different scale.
Solo founder track
A reading order for the most common shape of an early entity — one founder, sole director, sole stockholder. The recipes thread the three lifecycle phases without splitting the IA; each one lands in its existing Workflow or Pattern slot below.
1. Form a company
Day-0. Certificate of Incorporation, founder common stock, EIN, 83(b), governance docs.
2. Establish your governance baseline
Sole-director organizational consent. Adopt bylaws, ratify formation, appoint officers, authorize the registered agent and bank account.
3. Run a stockholder consent
Solo founder is also the sole stockholder. Ratify the equity plan, approve charter amendments, run a §280G cleansing vote.
4. Triage your registered-agent mail
Branch on category. Escalate service of process to a human, forward tax notices to the CPA, archive junk.
5. Hire your first contractor
Stakeholder + NDA + IP assignment + W-9 + contractor agreement under one envelope.
6. Onboard an advisor
FAST-shaped Advisor Agreement, NSO grant on 24-month monthly vesting, authorizing board consent.
7. Stack multiple SAFEs
Three or four angels at $50K–$125K each. MFN scoping, cap-table projection, retro-vesting workaround.
8. Run your annual compliance cycle
DE annual report + franchise tax (cheaper-of) + BOI confirm + Form 1120, walked end-to-end in test mode.
Workflows
The composite calls. Each wraps a multi-step cascade in one transactional invocation. Use these when you want the marketed happy path.
Day-0 Delaware C-Corp in one API call
Comprehensive formation_packet with every include_* block — entity, EIN,
foreign qualification, bank application, equity plan, and routines under one
Idempotency-Key.
Form a company
Delaware C-Corp, two founders, EIN, 83(b). Working entity in test mode in under 60 seconds.
Establish your governance baseline
Sole-director organizational consent — adopt bylaws, ratify formation, appoint officers, authorize the registered agent and bank account.
Adopt an equity plan
Authorize a stock-incentive plan with board + stockholder approvals (IRC §422). Required precondition for ISO grants.
Grant employee equity
ISO/NSO/RSU/RSA grant against an authorized plan. Document rendered, envelope dispatched, ledger updates on signature. Batch up to 250.
Onboard an advisor
FAST-shaped Advisor Agreement plus a 24-month monthly NSO grant, authorized via board consent.
Hire your first contractor
Stakeholder + NDA + IP assignment + W-9 + contractor agreement under one envelope.
Dissolve an entity
Form 966 → final franchise tax → Certificate of Dissolution → BOI closure. Tier-3 + human signature.
Issue a priced round
Series Seed at $5M post — new ShareClass, charter amendment, grants, 409A refresh, Form D.
Run a board consent
Generate a typed resolution, route the signing envelope, record the signed consent.
Run a stockholder consent
Stockholder-side resolution. Adopting equity plans, charter amendments, §280G cleansing votes.
File all due
Compliance sweep — franchise tax, annual reports, BOI updates due in the next 30 days for a portfolio.
Patterns
Compositions of primitives. Use these when the composite workflows don't quite match — when you need finer control or a less-common shape.
Issue a SAFE
Generate a SAFE, send for signature. No share class change until the SAFE converts.
Triage your registered-agent mail
Subscribe to mail.received, branch on category, escalate service of
process to a human, archive junk.
Refresh a 409A
Engage Matter's appraiser network for a fresh §409A valuation. Annual cadence or material-event triggered.
File foreign qualification
Qualify a Delaware corp to do business in US-NY. Certificate of good standing
- registered agent in the new state.
Build a portfolio dashboard
Roll-up health, statuses, and upcoming filings across every entity in a portfolio.
Verify an incorporator receipt
Verify a receipt offline against Matter's public key. TS + Python.
Conventions used in every recipe
| Header | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Authorization: Bearer … | Always | sk_live_…, sk_test_…, pk_live_…, pk_test_…, or tok_…. |
Matter-Version: YYYY-MM-DD | Always | Pinned at key creation; we use 2026-05-01 throughout. |
Idempotency-Key: <uuid> | POST | Generate one UUID per logical request and cache for retries. |
X-Matter-Test-Speed: instant | Optional | Test mode only. real, fast, or instant. |
Non-2xx responses are RFC 7807 application/problem+json. Every recipe lists
remediations for 3-5 likely failures. The full taxonomy lives at
errors.
Mutations return 202 Accepted. Terminal outcomes arrive via webhook in strict
per-entity sequence order. Subscribe before firing the recipe — see
webhook ordering.
Next steps
Quickstart
Form your first entity in under 60 seconds.
Authentication
Key types and the four-tier agent token model.
MCP server
Hand any recipe to an agent over MCP.