Workflows
Repeatable ways of working with an agent: specs, tests-first, review loops, context files, and the habits that survive contact with a real codebase.
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Prompt patterns for coding agents: plan mode, skills, saved prompts
Four prompt patterns from the Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini CLI docs, with exact commands and file formats, plus a script that writes one saved prompt three ways.
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When should you stop a coding agent? Budgets, loops, and the signs
The budget flags harnesses ship, the loop signatures that predict a failed run, what the research says about early stopping, and a transcript analyser.
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Tests first with an agent: why must the test fail before it passes?
The red-green loop for agents: why a test that never failed proves nothing, hook-based gates, the lucky-pass numbers, and a script that enforces the order.
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Spec first: how do you write a task a coding agent will finish?
A six-section spec template for coding agents, a worked CLI example, the published cost of underspecified prompts, and a linter to run before handing over.
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Reviewing coding-agent diffs: what does the checklist catch first?
Ten patterns behind most damage in agent diffs, why a second model makes a good first reviewer, and a scanner that flags them with line references.
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Git worktrees for coding agents: one checkout per session, why?
A worktree and branch per agent task, commits after every green, deny rules for destructive git, and a helper script exercised on a real repository.