diff --git a/content/help/@help.toml b/content/help/@help.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4a40e6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/help/@help.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+name = "@help"
+title = "help system administration"
+admin = true
+body = """
+  the help system stores topics as TOML files in content/help/.
+  each topic has a name, title, optional admin flag, and body text.
+
+  commands
+    @help               list all help topics
+    @help create        create a new topic (guided)
+    @help create <name> create a new topic with the given name
+    @help edit <topic>  edit an existing topic
+    @help remove <topic> remove a topic
+
+  creating topics
+    @help create walks you through each field:
+      name        the topic name (what players type after 'help')
+      title       short description shown in listings
+      admin only  whether only admins can view it
+      body        the help text (opens in the editor)
+
+  editing topics
+    @help edit shows current values for each field.
+    press enter to keep the current value.
+    the editor opens with the existing body text.
+
+  files
+    topics are stored in content/help/<name>.toml
+    they can also be edited directly with any text editor.
+    changes are loaded at server startup.
+"""
diff --git a/tests/test_help_topics.py b/tests/test_help_topics.py
index f6611b2..e42ff82 100644
--- a/tests/test_help_topics.py
+++ b/tests/test_help_topics.py
@@ -251,3 +251,13 @@ async def test_at_help_remove_prompts_confirmation(admin_player):
     await commands.dispatch(admin_player, "@help remove combat")
     output = "".join(c[0][0] for c in admin_player.writer.write.call_args_list)
     assert "y/n" in output.lower() or "confirm" in output.lower()
+
+
+def test_at_help_toml_loads_from_content():
+    from pathlib import Path
+
+    help_dir = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1] / "content" / "help"
+    if help_dir.exists():
+        topics = load_help_topics(help_dir)
+        assert "@help" in topics
+        assert topics["@help"].admin is True