Make your first agent-assisted code change

Choose an outcome you can observe

Start with one defect or improvement that has a visible result: for example, a settings form should preserve its draft when a save fails. Write the starting behavior, the desired behavior and two acceptance examples. Name the repository and the exact files or feature area. Give the agent a boundary: local implementation is allowed, but publishing, billing and production access need their own authority. A broad instruction to “improve the app” gives little basis for judging success.

Give context before requesting edits

Ask the agent to inspect the existing implementation and project instructions. Supply the test command, design reference, relevant API contract and any migration rules. Keep passwords and tokens out of prompts. Identify whether the complete source is present. Ordinary source work should use repository search and tracing; binary recovery or runtime reconciliation needs a separate evidence route. Have the agent describe the entry point, state changes and dependency boundaries it found.

Plan a bounded patch

Request a short implementation plan that names the affected files and how the result will be checked. Divide independent work only when ownership and shared interfaces are explicit. One integrator should reconcile interfaces, review the combined patch and run the final relevant checks. A reviewer needs the real diff and the acceptance examples. Asking several agents to edit the same screen creates avoidable conflicts.

Run meaningful verification

For the form example, test a successful save, a failed request, a permission denial and a stale revision. The saved record should change only once; the text entered by the user should remain available after failure. Review the actual desktop and mobile page as well as the source. A compiler pass cannot prove that a button is visible, an error understandable or a field still populated.

Close with evidence and remaining gates

Ask for the changed behavior, test results, the exact revision and any unverified integration. Local mocks, a development database and provider acceptance are different evidence. Preserve the patch in version control after review. Keep a short handover with commands and limitations so the next session does not repeat discovery. If the agent cannot run a check, have it name the missing prerequisite instead of calling the work accepted.