HT Sherpa

An agent is an AI helper with a job and rules. These lessons help you write its plan. Choose a step in the lesson map. Writing a plan does not turn on tools or grant access.

New words, in plain language
Local / cloud
Local runs on your computer. Cloud runs on computers managed online.
Model / tokens
A model produces AI answers. Tokens are small pieces of text; some services charge for the tokens used.
Account / identity
An account is a sign-in. Your cloud identity is the account you use for online services.
Connector / permissions
A connector links an AI tool to another service. Permissions are the access you allow.

Hour 03 of 04 · About an hour

Write the charter

Quality lives in the charter, not the model. Then we cut the trifecta.

When you finish: One specialist, named, with tools, denials, and a gate.

Three rooms: private on the machine, a contracted cloud, the open web
Private data, untrusted content, and an outward channel. Take one leg away.

A job description

Purpose. Tools it may use. Tools it is denied. What it may read. What it may write. What comes to you. A Curator on the web never meets a folder of names. A reviewer of contracts never opens the browser.

The trifecta

An agent that can read private files, read the web, and send mail can be talked into sending the files. Simon Willison named it. Quarantine untrusted content, or strip the outward channel, or put a person on the door. Required, before anyone grants tools.

This assists your judgment. It does not replace licensed professional judgment. It is architecture, not a certification.