diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 670e90f..9b9a4a0 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -19,6 +19,37 @@
   `client.ts`, and command-level error presentation in `intent-errors.ts`.
 - Add or update the co-located `*.test.ts` file when changing command behavior.
 
+## CLI UX Design Conventions
+
+- **Entity references**: Commands that target a single entity must accept a
+  positional argument in `[kind:][namespace/]name` format (parsed by
+  `parseEntityRef` in `kv.ts`, resolved via `resolveEntityWithAmbiguityCheck`
+  in `helpers.ts` which adds catalog-based ambiguity detection). Do not
+  introduce per-command flags like `--entity-ref`, `--template-ref`, or
+  `--name`/`--kind`/`--namespace` as the primary entity input. Optional
+  `--kind` and `--namespace` flags may be offered to disambiguate short
+  names, but the positional ref is the canonical interface.
+- **Filter and input flags**: Use repeatable `--flag key=value` syntax
+  (accumulated with `collect` and parsed by `resolveJsonInput` in `kv.ts`)
+  instead of JSON string arguments. Example:
+  `--filter kind=Component --filter spec.type=service`, not
+  `--filters '{"kind":"Component"}'`.
+- **Plugin dependencies**: Commands that depend on optional Backstage plugins
+  (e.g., `techdocs-mcp-extras`, `search-backend-module-techdocs`) must detect
+  when the plugin is not configured and exit with a clear error message
+  suggesting how to enable it. Do not surface raw HTTP 400/500 responses.
+- **Exit codes**: Commands must exit with a non-zero code when the requested
+  entity is not found or the operation fails. Use `handleCommandError` from
+  `intent-errors.ts` (which calls `process.exit(1)`) for all error paths.
+  Informational "not found" messages must not exit 0.
+- **Error presentation**: Use `intent-errors.ts` to extract human-readable
+  reasons from Backstage error responses. Do not expose raw JSON schema
+  validation output or full stack traces to the user. The `formatError`
+  helper renders structured `{error, reason, suggestion}` objects in both
+  human and JSON modes.
+- **Help text**: Passthrough commands must surface the underlying tool's
+  flags in `--help` output, not just the wrapper's flags.
+
 ## Architecture
 
 - Intent-based commands invoke the bundled `@backstage/cli` through
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 937bde2..7b47d2e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -127,11 +127,11 @@ rhdh-cli catalog list --kind Component --filter spec.lifecycle=production
 rhdh-cli search "deployment guide" --types '["techdocs"]'
 
 # Get API specification
-rhdh-cli api get-spec --name my-api
+rhdh-cli api get-spec my-api
 
 # Execute a template
 rhdh-cli template execute \
-  --template-ref template:default/nodejs-service \
+  template:default/nodejs-service \
   --value name=my-app \
   --value owner=team-platform
 ```
diff --git a/docs/Intent-Based-CLI.md b/docs/Intent-Based-CLI.md
index 5ca1a1d..b1e7b84 100644
--- a/docs/Intent-Based-CLI.md
+++ b/docs/Intent-Based-CLI.md
@@ -876,7 +876,7 @@ rhdh-cli catalog list \
 rhdh-cli api list --type openapi --output json
 
 # 2. Get the OpenAPI spec
-rhdh-cli api get-spec --name my-api --output json
+rhdh-cli api get-spec my-api --output json
 ```
 
 ### Workflow 3: Search Documentation and Retrieve Content
@@ -886,7 +886,7 @@ rhdh-cli api get-spec --name my-api --output json
 rhdh-cli docs search "deployment" --output json
 
 # 2. Get specific doc page (RHDH only)
-rhdh-cli docs get --entity-ref component:default/my-service --page-path deployment
+rhdh-cli docs get component:default/my-service --page-path deployment
 ```
 
 ### Workflow 4: Validate and Register New Entity
@@ -908,7 +908,7 @@ rhdh-cli template list
 
 # 2. Execute template
 rhdh-cli template execute \
-  --template-ref template:default/nodejs-microservice \
+  template:default/nodejs-microservice \
   --value name=payment-service \
   --value description="Payment processing service" \
   --value owner=team-payments \
@@ -993,11 +993,11 @@ rhdh-cli catalog list \
   --output json | jq '.entities[].metadata.name'
 
 # 4. Get API spec
-rhdh-cli api get-spec --name my-api --output json | jq '.definition'
+rhdh-cli api get-spec my-api --output json | jq '.definition'
 
 # 5. Execute template
 rhdh-cli template execute \
-  --template-ref template:default/service \
+  template:default/service \
   --value name=new-service \
   --value owner=team-a \
   --output json