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Agent workflow / beyond the chat window

Give the agent a loop. Keep the evidence.

The lab’s documented repo process turns an open-ended request into a bounded improvement, a reviewable change, and a durable record. This page shares a reusable version of that process.

  1. 01 /

    Inspect

    Read the instructions and evidence. Find one useful problem inside the authorized scope.

  2. 02 /

    Implement

    Make a bounded, complete change. Preserve user work and make the result reviewable.

  3. 03 /

    Verify

    Run the relevant checks, exercise the behavior, and inspect the diff for regressions or leaks.

  4. 04 /

    Review

    An independent reviewer returns MERGE or HOLD. A HOLD goes back through correction and checks.

  5. 05 /

    Integrate

    Eligible changes merge under repository policy. Keep deployment authorization and rollback explicit.

  6. 06 /

    Record

    Write the outcome, evidence and limitations. Continue only while a justified next pass remains.

Use it in your own repository

The standing repo prompt

Public reference template adapted from the documented workflow. Set your scope, repository instructions, checks, and integration permissions before using it.

Agentic repo prompt · reusable template

AGENTIC REPOSITORY IMPROVEMENT LOOP
Public reference template, adapted from the documented lab workflow.
Replace the scope and verification commands for your own repository.

OBJECTIVE
Improve the repository within the stated scope. Choose one concrete,
useful change at a time. Preserve existing user work and keep the result
small enough for independent review.

1. INSPECT
Read repository instructions, current status, recent changes and relevant
code. Identify the problem, its evidence, constraints and acceptance
criteria. Distinguish observed behavior from assumptions.

2. PLAN A BOUNDED PASS
Pick the highest-value improvement supported by that evidence.
State the intended behavior and how it will be verified.
Use an isolated branch or checkout when appropriate.

3. IMPLEMENT
Make the complete change, including affected documentation.
Respect architecture, dependency pins and security boundaries.
Avoid unrelated cleanup. Do not invent APIs, measurements or test results.

4. VERIFY
Run the repository's relevant tests, type checks and lint checks.
Exercise the user-visible behavior and meaningful failure paths.
Inspect the final diff, dependency changes and public content for leaks.
Record commands, outcomes, limitations and anything still unverified.

5. REQUEST INDEPENDENT REVIEW
Create a reviewable pull request when repository policy permits it.
The reviewer returns MERGE or HOLD with concrete evidence.
A HOLD returns to implementation and verification; it is not permission
to bypass a failing gate. The author does not approve its own work.

6. INTEGRATE UNDER POLICY
An integration role may squash-merge only an eligible reviewed change.
Deployment and other external actions follow the repository's explicit
authorization policy. Preserve a rollback and report the actual outcome.

7. WRITE THE RECORD
Record the problem, resulting behavior, verification, review decision,
remaining risk and next useful pass. Stop if no justified work remains,
if authorized scope is exhausted, or if a required decision is missing.

PUBLICATION BOUNDARY
Publish reusable technical lessons and curated measurements.
Exclude private project identities, business details, credentials,
network identities, personal paths and private source material.