Give each agent one job.
An agent does its best work when it knows where its job starts and stops.
The way to tell it is one short file.
The agent reads the file before it does anything.
This guide shows what goes in it.
1. One file per agent
Give every agent its own file. Do not share one file across the crew.
The agent reads it first, every time it starts.
When you want to change how an agent works, you change one file.
2. One job, in one sentence
Write the job as a single sentence a stranger could repeat.
"Draft the weekly post for the blog." That is a job.
If the sentence needs an "and", you may have two jobs. Split them.
3. Name its lead
Put one name in the file: who the agent asks when it is unsure.
It can be a person or another agent.
An agent that knows who to ask does not have to guess.
4. List what it may touch
Write two short lists.
May touch: the folders, tools and accounts the job needs.
May not touch: everything else that matters to you.
A list you can read is a limit you can check. See the approval workflow guide for what needs a person to say yes.
5. Add the small facts of the job
Every job has a few facts only it needs: a style rule, a naming habit, a day of the week.
Put them in the file as plain lines.
Leave out anything the agent does not need to do its job.
6. Keep it short and current
Keep the file to what the job needs.
Update it when the job changes, and the agent follows the change the next time it starts.
See the memory guide for how an agent keeps what it learns.
A file can look like this:
- Job: draft the weekly post for the blog
- Lead: the editor
- May touch: the drafts folder, the style notes
- May not touch: published posts, the billing account
- When unsure: ask the editor, then wait
7. Check it
Hand the file to a person and ask them to do the job from it alone.
If they have a question, the file is missing a line. Add it.
One file. One person. One read.
