E1 · Design your Jarvis
15 minWrite meu-jarvis.md using the template: name, personality, three musts, three must-nots, and what to remember about you.
Done when: the file fits on one screen and someone else would understand who your assistant is.
Lesson 2 · 20 min
Design your Jarvis before you install it
The assistant becomes yours through text files, not code. Before installing anything, you write who it is, what it should and should never do, and what it needs to remember about you. This design answers the installation questions and becomes the four identity files.
Start lesson
In this lesson, you will
- 1Write the assistant’s design on one screen
- 2What goes in SOUL, AGENTS, USER, and MEMORY
- 3The difference between an effective SOUL and a weak one
- 4Turn a vague idea into a concrete request
Goal: write meu-jarvis.md and turn it into the four identity files: SOUL, AGENTS, USER, and MEMORY.
01From the design to the four files
Click each block.
Click each block in the diagram to see what it does.
With each message, the agent adds SOUL, AGENTS, and USER to the start of the conversation. Editing a text file changes the assistant without touching code.
02How to write each part
Click each tab.
1. The design
Answer five questions: name, speaking style, three things it should do every week, three it should never do, and what it needs to remember about you.
Be specific. “Take care of my email” is vague; “every Monday, list the week’s three priorities based on what I’ve told you” is a request.
Done when
The file fits on one screen, and someone else could understand who your assistant is.
2. The soul
An effective SOUL has clear values, a specific tone with an example, explicit limits, and a defined response style.
A weak SOUL says “be helpful and friendly,” contradicts itself (formal and casual at the same time), or is too long and loses focus.
From the repository example
Direct and concise. Honest: if you don’t know, say so. I want a partner who disagrees, not someone who just agrees.
3. The rules
Separate into ALWAYS and NEVER. The example’s rules: check memory before answering, save what you learn about me, ask when unsure.
For tools: prefer safe, read-only commands, and refuse destructive ones.
The NEVER rule
Never delete a file without my confirmation. Never put a password or key in a response.
4. You and the facts
USER contains what it needs to know about you without asking every time: what you do, how you like answers, and what language you use.
MEMORY contains a few facts that matter from day one. Keep it short: it learns what comes later by talking with you.
Example USER
Prefers practical advice to theory. Values time: be concise. Speaks Portuguese (pt-BR).
03Templates to copy
Fill in meu-jarvis.md first; the others come from it.
meu-jarvis.md
# My Jarvis ## Name and speaking style Name: How it speaks (formal, direct, humorous): ## Must do every week 1. 2. 3. ## Must never do 1. 2. 3. ## What it needs to remember about me - Profession: - Routine: - Preferences:
workspace/SOUL.md
# Soul You are <NAME>, the personal assistant to <YOUR NAME>. ## Personality - <tone, with an example of how you speak> - Honest: if you don’t know, say so. ## Values - Privacy first: never share my data. - <one of your non-negotiable values>
workspace/AGENTS.md
# Rules ## ALWAYS - Check memory before responding. - Save what you learn about me to memory. - Ask when you're unsure instead of guessing. ## NEVER - <the three from your meu-jarvis.md> - Run destructive commands; prefer read-only commands.
workspace/USER.md and MEMORY.md
# USER.md ## About <YOUR NAME> - Profession: - Routine: - How I like responses: - Language: Portuguese (pt-BR) # MEMORY.md ## Facts - <fact they should know from day 1> - <another fact>
Repository example
Personality: direct and concise, no rambling; proactive, makes suggestions when relevant; honest, says when it doesn't know; remembers the context of previous conversations.
Values: privacy first, never share the owner's data; has opinions, because the owner wants a discussion partner, not someone who just agrees.
- Effective: clear, testable values, tone with an example, explicit limits, defined response style.
- Weak: "be helpful and friendly," behaviors only and no values, contradictions, too long.
04Practice: designing your Jarvis
Exercise E1 from sequence 2, expanded.
E1b · The four files
25 minBased on your design, write SOUL.md, AGENTS.md, USER.md, and MEMORY.md in a workspace/ folder.
Done when: each "must not" from the design became a line under NEVER in AGENTS.md, and SOUL doesn't include the phrase "be helpful and friendly".
Original exercise: jornada-agentes/exercicios/02-jarvis.md.
05Test what you learned
The explanation appears after your answer.
Question 1 of 3
Which of these SOUL.md excerpts is the weakest?competency
Correct
"Be helpful and friendly" is too vague: you can't test it, and every model already tries to do that. The others give a concrete tone, value, or limit.Not this one
"Be helpful and friendly" is too vague: you can't test it, and every model already tries to do that. The others give a concrete tone, value, or limit.Review: How to write each partQuestion 2 of 3
"Never delete a file without confirmation" belongs in which file?
Correct
AGENTS.md is the work contract: what to always do and what never to do. SOUL says who it is; USER says who you are.Not this one
AGENTS.md is the work contract: what to always do and what never to do. SOUL says who it is; USER says who you are.Review: From the design to the four filesQuestion 3 of 3
You want a more formal assistant. What should you do?
Correct
Personality is text. The agent rereads the files with each message: edit SOUL, and its way of speaking changes.Not this one
Personality is text. The agent rereads the files with each message: edit SOUL, and its way of speaking changes.Review: From the design to the four filesTest complete
You got {a} out of {n} right. Get them all right to mark the lesson as complete.Choose an option. The explanation appears after your attempt.