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.
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 commit through build → review → deploy in seconds, and
rollback undoes exactly one deploy. Small commits 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 auth (Auth), schedules (Cron) or uploads (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.