Skills and agents · Practical guide
Give an AI agent boundaries before you give it tools
- Tools
- Multi-tool
- Audience
- People getting started with AI
- Topic
- Skills and agents
You’ll finish with: written limits and approval points for an AI agent.
An agent needs a clear job and a clear fence around it. “Be careful” is a mood, not a boundary. Name the folder, the allowed changes and the point where it must hand the work back.
Set up
Allow 20 minutes with a tool-enabled assistant and copied sample files. Use account or tool permission controls as well as written instructions. The available controls depend on the client.
Try this example
FICTIONAL PRACTICE MATERIAL
Task: propose new names for three files: notes-final.txt, notes-final2.txt, notes-actual-final.txt. Allowed: read the copies and create a proposed mapping. Not allowed: rename originals, delete files or share them.Do the task
- Write the scope and success condition before giving the agent tools.
- Ask for a proposed mapping only and inspect the reasoning against file contents.
- Approve a specific next action only after checking the exact files involved.
Your reusable prompt
Read only the three practice copies. Propose a naming table with current name, suggested name and reason. Do not rename or delete anything. Stop if you cannot tell which file is current.
PRACTICE INPUT
Task: propose new names for three files: notes-final.txt, notes-final2.txt, notes-actual-final.txt. Allowed: read the copies and create a proposed mapping. Not allowed: rename originals, delete files or share them.Refine your result
List any uncertainty about versions. Do not infer that a file is newest just because its name says actual-final.Check the result
The first result must be a proposal, with no file changes. The task requires evidence about versions; the funniest filename is not evidence.
Save and reuse
Save the proposed mapping and your approval decision. Keep originals unchanged until the mapping has been verified.
Sources and notes
- Tool permission controls in Claude Code Checked 2026-10-05
- The practice input and teaching prompt are original 5HO material. Examples are fictional; they are not screenshots or claims of a completed real-world task.
- Official documentation supports the relevant product concepts. Setup availability depends on your account; where a guide offers a fallback, it does not prove the connected capability worked.