---
title: Prompting your agent
description: 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](/guides/auth)), schedules ([Cron](/guides/cron)) or uploads
([Storage](/guides/storage)) once the core works. The [Quickstart](/guides/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](/console) view groups the same crashes your agent
sees via `app_errors`; either of you can start from there. Common cases:
[FAQ](/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](/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](/guides/limits)).
- Strong profanity anywhere visitors can read — including seed data and the
  app name. It blocks the deploy; mild words pass ([Moderation](/moderation)).
- Telling the agent to work around a refusal. Tool `user_message`s are
  written for you — have the agent relay them word for word.