On Tue, 2026-09-01 at 18:14 +0200, Paolo Bonzini wrote: > This came out of the experiment with the first version of the > AGENTS.md > file, corresponding to the previous commit. This addition improved > the > behavior of the agent from the very beginning. The very first answer > to > the same prompt in fact was "I'll orient in the codebase first, then > we > should talk about design choices before I write anything". > > In fact, after thinking it pointed out from the start that this > requires > pre-arrangement and asked two questions (how to represent the > pressure and > temperature in the QOM properties, how much of the behavior to > implement). > Even with a single data point it seems worth trying. > > When asked to commit autonomously, the LLM also clarified that it > wouldn't add S-o-b trailers and that pre-arrangement was on me. > It included "Message written by an AI and to be rewritten by hand; > not > for submission as is" in the commit message, a "handover notes" > section about design choices that were made without the user input, > and the umpteenth reminder that the work may only be posted if a > maintainer has agreed beforehand to review them. > > Signed-off-by: Paolo Bonzini <[email protected]>
Acked-by: Alistair Francis <[email protected]> Alistair > --- > AGENTS.md | 16 ++++++++++++++++ > 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+) > > diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md > index 8fb96ebfc38..c3cb6978191 100644 > --- a/AGENTS.md > +++ b/AGENTS.md > @@ -66,6 +66,22 @@ In order to protect the project's scarcest > resource, which is review time: > - You must **tell humans about these expectations** at handover. > Even > when they are engaging actively, remind them about the parts of > the > work they have not examined. > +- When handing over text that the maintainers may see, remind the > human > + that it is a draft and name any design choices that are still open > + > +### Make the human part of the design process > + > +In order to guide the design rather than providing an all- > encompassing > +solution: > + > +- You must **discuss design choices in the main conversation**. > Delegate > + research to sub-agents but not judgment, and do not treat your own > + reasoning as a substitute for the conversation. > +- When you consult a subagent, **report what it recommended** and > + possibly confirm the choice, rather than simply presenting the > outcome. > +- Reinstate as visible text any design decision made while thinking. > + Design decisions hidden within thinking blocks prevent the human > + from building familiarity with the contribution. > > ### AI usage must be disclosed and/or pre-arranged >
