Lesson 2 · 12 min
The terminal is just another window. With six commands, you can move through your folders; with an AGENTS.md, the agent knows who you are and what it can do; with Git, you can undo any mistake.
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Objective: set up the agent’s work folder with rules, a safety net, and secrets kept out of the text.
You give the task, the agent works inside the folder, and you review it.
Scroll down: each step below lights up its part of the diagram.
You’re still the one who decides: you ask, review the result, and accept or undo it. Giving the task, reviewing, and deciding is management.
This is how you get to the folder and call the agent. On Windows, use cmd; on Mac and Linux, use the Terminal.
Everything the agent needs to know goes here: the rules in AGENTS.md, the work in the files, the keys in .env (which Git ignores), and the history in .git.
The agent reads AGENTS.md before starting, works on the files in the folder, and, if the rules require it, says what changed and how you can review it.
You ask, the agent works inside the folder following AGENTS.md, and says what changed. You review it. If you like it, commit; if not, use git restore.
The same files work for Claude Code and Codex: both read AGENTS.md.
Click each step.
Inside the folder, run claude or codex and ask for one thing, with the result you expect.
Start by asking it to read AGENTS.md so it follows your rules.
Read AGENTS.md. Create an index.html with a simple page about me, using the information there.
The agent creates and edits files in the folder. It may ask permission before running commands.
Your role here is to read what it proposes, not type for it.
The agent creates index.html and explains what it did.
Open the result (the page in your browser, the summary, or the file) and compare it with what you asked for.
Ask for at least one correction: that’s the habit that separates using from managing.
Change the title to "HR Consulting" and add a contact section.
Like it? git add . and git commit -m "..." save the version.
Don’t like it? git restore index.html restores the saved version. No panic.
Make a commit before asking for a big change.
Copy and use them. Replace the text between the < > signs with your own.
mkdir projetos cd projetos mkdir meu-primeiro-agente cd meu-primeiro-agente dir # Windows (on Mac and Linux: ls)
# Who I am <your name, your profession, who you work for> # Rules for this project - Write in Portuguese, using short sentences. - Don’t delete files without asking. - Before finishing, say what changed and how I can check it. - Never write keys or passwords in a text file; they belong in .env. # What’s here - index.html: my page
git init echo .env> .gitignore git add . git commit -m "primeira versão" # undo an agent's change: git restore index.html # .env must NOT appear here: git status
git status does not show .env.Do them in order. Move on only when the "done when" condition is true.
Create projetos/meu-primeiro-agente, go into it, and list its contents. Open the same folder in File Explorer (or Finder) and compare.
Done when: you can reach the folder using only the terminal, without the mouse, and say which folder you’re in.
Create AGENTS.md with who you are, the project rules, and what’s in the folder.
Done when: the file exists and has at least three rules that you wrote yourself.
Call the agent and ask it to create index.html based on AGENTS.md. Open it in your browser and ask for a change.
Done when: the page opens, and you asked the agent for at least one correction.
Run git init, add, and commit. Ask for a big change, and if you don’t like it, revert it with git restore.
Done when: you undid an agent’s change with one command, no panic.
Create a .env file with a fake key and a .gitignore file with the line .env. Add the rule to AGENTS.md.
Done when: git status does not show .env.
Put three of your own texts in the folder and ask for a resumo.md with 5 decisions and 5 open items, citing the source of each one.
Done when: you found at least two of the quoted sentences in the original.
Complete exercises, including the extra challenge (repeat with the other agent): jornada-agentes/exercicios/01-oswork.md.
Six commands, one AGENTS.md, and the first task.
The explanation appears after your answer.
Question 1 of 3
Where does an API key go in a project?competency
Question 2 of 3
The agent made a big change you didn’t approve. What should you do?
Question 3 of 3
What is AGENTS.md for?
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after your attempt.