Agent Rules

Stage: Phase 2 — Design the System

Purpose

Use this skill to create project AI rules such as AGENTS.md, .cursorrules, or classroom agent instructions so AI tools work inside the student’s intent, stack, style, and verification expectations.

Shared Principles

These skills are based on two YouTube talks about AI-native software engineering, interpreted through ATL’s own teaching perspective.

• Shift left on intent: clarify goals, users, constraints, tradeoffs, and success before coding.
• Delegate tasks, not judgment: AI may draft, compare, or implement; the student remains responsible for decisions.
• Verification is the bottleneck: every output must include checks, acceptance criteria, or evidence.
• No vibe coding: do not jump from idea directly to generated code without intent, design, and review.
• Small loops beat big guesses: move one step at a time, verify, then continue.
• AI amplifies the system: unclear intent creates faster confusion; clear intent creates faster learning.