We construct a Bousfield–Kan (unstable Adams) spectral sequence based on an arbitrary (and not necessarily connective) ring spectrum $E$ with unit and which is related to the homotopy groups of a certain unstable $E$ completion $X_E^{\wedge}$ of a space $X$. For $E$ an $\mathbb{S}$-algebra this completion agrees with that of the first author and Thompson. We also establish in detail the Hopf algebra structure of the unstable cooperations (the coalgebraic module) $E_*(\underline{E}_*)$ for an arbitrary Landweber exact spectrum $E$, extending work of the second author with Hopkins and with Turner and giving basis-free descriptions of the modules of primitives and indecomposables. Taken together, these results enable us to give a simple description of the $E_2$-page of the $E$-theory Bousfield–Kan spectral sequence when $E$ is any Landweber exact ring spectrum with unit. This extends work of the first author and others and gives a tractable unstable Adams spectral sequence based on a $v_n$-periodic theory for all $n$.

AMS 2000 Mathematics subject classification: Primary 55P60; 55Q51; 55S25; 55T15. Secondary 55P47