Prompting your agent

How to ask your agent for app changes so it gets them right the first time.

Your agent does the building. These habits get you there in fewer rounds. Each one maps to how Outer actually works.

Building it? The agent reads Agents → Quickstart.

Say what, show where

Name the page and the exact change, not the implementation:

On the grocery page, under the input, add a filter row: All / Needed / Bought. Only change that page; leave everything else alone.

“Only change X, leave the rest alone” is the highest-value sentence you can write. Agents default to improving everything they touch.

One change at a time

Outer ships every change through build, review, then deploy in seconds, and rollback undoes exactly one deploy. Small changes keep that loop tight. If a change blocks on moderation, you know which lines caused it.

Start scoped, grow later

First version: one screen, no login, no database you don’t need yet. Add sign-in (User sign-in), schedules (Cron), or uploads (Files and storage) once the core works. The Quickstart prompt shows the shape: name the app, list the pieces, state what is out.

Paste the error back

When something fails, paste the agent’s own report (the URL, the deploy status, the log tail) and ask for the fix, not a theory:

The deploy failed with this log — pasted below. Fix it and redeploy.

The Console’s Errors view groups the same crashes your agent sees via app_errors; either of you can start from there. Common cases: FAQ.

Ask for the link, check it yourself

Always end with “show me the live link” and open it. Agents verify the deploy succeeded; only you can verify it looks right. The Console Overview shows the same deploy your agent just shipped.

Things that never help

• Asking for native mobile apps, branches, or git push: Outer doesn’t have them (Limits).
• Strong profanity anywhere visitors can read, including seed data and the app name. It blocks the deploy; mild words pass (Moderation).
• Telling the agent to work around a refusal. Tool user_messages are written for you. Have the agent relay them word for word.