Beyond Chatbots · Session 01 of 04

Wake an
agent.

By the end of tonight, something you built will be working while you sleep. That is the entire agenda.

01 / The promise

You leave with a running agent.
Not notes about one.

02 / The reframe

The chatbot is the demo.
The agent is the product.

— why you're here and not watching another prompt tutorial

02 / The reframe

Same brain. Different job description.

CHATBOTWaits for you

Answers when asked. Forgets each session. One window, one thread. Judged by how it talks.

AGENTHolds a job

Works on a schedule or a trigger. Keeps memory. Uses tools: email, calendar, files, browsers. Judged by what it did while you weren't looking.

03 / Live demo · watch the instructor

One instruction. Many moves.

live · instructor's agent
you> check my calendar for tomorrow, find the conflict, propose a fix, and message me the plan
19:02 reading calendar · 6 events found
19:02 conflict: dentist 10:00 overlaps standup 10:00
19:03 checking free slots · standup can move to 9:30
19:03 plan drafted → sent to your phone via Hermes
19:03 done. nothing was moved — that's your call.

Count the steps it chose on its own. Nobody scripted those. That's the difference you're here to learn.

04 / Anatomy

Six parts.
Every agent.

04 / Anatomy · parts 1–3

1 · BRAINThe model

The reasoning engine. You rent it by the token. Interchangeable — the least interesting part, which surprises everyone.

2 · HANDSThe tools

Email, calendar, files, browser, messaging. Connected through MCP connectors — think power outlets for capabilities.

3 · MEMORYWhat survives

Plain files the agent reads at start and writes as it learns. No memory, no employee — just a very smart goldfish.

04 / Anatomy · parts 4–6

4 · JOBThe standing instruction

A written brief: goal, boundaries, what "done" looks like. You'll write one tonight. It's the highest-leverage document you'll ever author.

5 · CLOCKThe trigger

A schedule ("every night at 2 AM") or an event ("when email arrives"). This is what makes it an agent and not an app you forgot to open.

6 · LEASHThe guardrails

Permissions, approval rules, logs. The part amateurs skip and professionals obsess over. Session 04 is entirely this.

04 / Anatomy

Rule zero, tonight and forever:
the agent drafts, holds, and asks.
It does not send, buy, or delete.

— we loosen this deliberately in Session 04, never by accident

Exercise 1 · First contact

Say hello. Watch its hands.

  1. Open the terminal. Run claude — confirm it starts (setup guide got you here before class).
  2. Ask something no chatbot can answer: "what's in my Documents folder?"
  3. Watch the permission prompt appear. Read it out loud. Approve it.
  4. That prompt is the leash. Feel where it sits — you'll adjust it later, on purpose.
Time15 min
ModeSolo
HandoutS01 · Exercise 1
Done whenYou saw a tool call + a permission prompt

05 / Debrief

What just happened, precisely

You saidA goal, in English. Not a command, not a menu choice.
It choseA tool (list files), on its own, because the goal required it.
It askedPermission, because touching your machine is a privilege, not a right.
It reportedWhat it found — and everything it did is in the log.

Goal → plan → tools → report. Every agent run you ever see will have this shape. Learn the shape and no demo will ever fool you again.

Exercise 2 · Give it hands

Connect one real tool.
Do one real thing.

  1. Connect the calendar connector (steps in handout — ~5 min of clicking).
  2. Connect Hermes so the agent can message your phone.
  3. Ask: "read my next three calendar events and send me a one-line summary of each, on my phone."
  4. When your phone buzzes with a message written by your agent — that feeling? Remember it.
Time30 min
ModeSolo, helpers roaming
HandoutS01 · Exercise 2
Done whenYour phone buzzes

06 / The job file

Hire it
in writing.

06 / The job file

JOB.md — five headings, no fluff

GOALOne sentence. "Each night, summarize what arrived on my calendar and email me nothing — message me a brief."
STEPSThe rough shape, not a script. Agents improvise well inside a structure.
BOUNDARIESWhat it may read, what it may write, what it must never touch.
DONE LOOKS LIKEThe exact artifact: "a message on my phone by 6:30 AM with three bullets."
IF STUCKStop and report. Never guess on anything irreversible.

06 / The job file

Vague in, chaos out

BAD BRIEF"Organize my stuff"

No boundary, no artifact, no definition of done. The agent will do something — and you won't like discovering what.

GOOD BRIEF"Every night at 2 AM…"

"…read new calendar invites. Draft (don't send) responses. Message me a 3-bullet brief by 6:30. Touch nothing else." An agent can be held to this.

Writing a good brief for an agent is the same skill as writing a good brief for a person. Most people have never been taught either. Tonight you learn both at once.

Exercise 3 · The standing instruction

Write the job. Run it once, supervised.

  1. Copy JOB-template.md from the handout. Fill all five headings for a real chore of yours.
  2. Keep it read-and-report only tonight: summarize, list, draft. No sending, no deleting.
  3. Run it manually: "read JOB.md and do the job now."
  4. Watch it work. Where it surprises you, your brief was loose. Tighten one line and run again.
Time25 min
ModePairs — critique each other's brief first
HandoutS01 · Exercise 3 + JOB template
Done whenOne clean supervised run

07 / The clock

Set the
alarm.

07 / The clock

A schedule turns a trick into a shift

Exercise 4 · Set the alarm

Schedule tonight's run.
Then close the laptop.

  1. Create the schedule: "run JOB.md every night at 2:00 AM and message me the brief when done."
  2. Confirm the schedule exists — list your scheduled tasks and read it back.
  3. Verify the leash: job is read-and-draft only. Say your never-list out loud to your partner.
  4. Close the laptop. That's the point.
Time15 min
ModeSolo
HandoutS01 · Exercise 4
Done whenSchedule confirmed · laptop shut

08 / Overnight assignment

Sleep. That's the homework.

09 / Recap

What you now know that
most people don't

Next Session 02

Inbox zero,
honestly.

Bring your overnight log, your fumble notes, and the worst inbox you own. Especially the worst inbox.

01 / 22 S01 · Wake an Agent