Chapter 3 — Your First Task: Say What You Mean

4 min read · 800 words · 12 sections

What You Will Learn

• Describe a task with four elements: goal, input, constraints, acceptance;
• Ask for a plan before execution;
• Inspect tool calls and file changes;
• Give useful feedback;
• Use present to deliver a file.

3.1 Four Elements of a Good Task

Most "the Agent is bad at this" experiences come from vague requests.

A good task contains:[1]

Bad

Organize my notes.

Better

Read the three Markdown files under notes/ and combine them into notes/summary.md.
Requirements:
1. Keep each original title and source link;
2. Write 3–5 sentences per article;
3. Do not modify the original files;
4. Give me a plan first, then wait for my confirmation;
5. After writing, verify that summary.md exists and tell me which files you read.

The difference is not length. It is completeness.

3.2 Plan Before You Execute

For anything beyond a trivial task, ask for a plan:

Do not change files yet. Give me a 3–5 step plan:
what you will read, what you will write, and how you will verify the result.

Check whether the plan:

• Covers every input;
• States the output location;
• Includes verification;
• Does not quietly expand the scope.

If the plan is wrong, fix the plan first.

3.3 Watch the Tool Calls

While the Agent works, inspect the tool cards:

A useful habit:

When you see write, delete, overwrite, reset, push, or upload, pause.

3.4 Iterate with Specific Feedback

First drafts are rarely perfect. Good feedback is specific.

Vague

Not good. Rewrite it.

Specific

The second paragraph is too long. Cut it to three sentences.
Keep the three subheadings.
Move each source link to the end of its paragraph.
Do not change the other paragraphs.

Specific feedback = location + problem + standard.

3.5 Verify — Do Not Trust "done"

"Done" is not the same as "correct." Check:

• Does the file exist?
• Does the content meet the requirements?
• Were the originals modified?
• Do the links work?
• Was any input missed?
• Did it invent facts?

Ask for evidence:

List the files you actually read, the files you wrote, and the checks you ran.
Do not just say "done".

3.6 Delivering a File: What present Means

When the output is a file, the Agent may call present.

present means:

Declare an existing file as a final deliverable so the interface can show a file card that opens the current file.

It does not:

• Create the file;
• Upload the file;
• Copy the file contents;
• Put the contents into the model context.

It records paths and optional descriptions.

3.7 A Complete First Task

Prepare

Create:

notes/
  a.md
  b.md
  c.md

Ask

Read the three articles under notes/ and combine them into notes/summary.md.
Requirements:
1. Keep each title and source link;
2. Write 3–5 sentences per article;
3. Do not modify the originals;
4. Give me a plan first;
5. After writing, verify that summary.md exists and tell me which files you read.

Review the plan

Make sure it covers all three inputs and does not modify originals.

Approve and watch

You should see three reads and one write.

Verify

Open summary.md; check titles, links, and length.

Iterate

If the second summary is too short:

Expand the second summary to four sentences, keep its link, and leave everything else unchanged.

Common Pitfalls

• Task too large: do one verifiable thing at a time.
• No acceptance criteria: the Agent cannot know what "good" means.
• Ignoring tool calls: it may edit the wrong file.
• Saying only "rewrite": give location and standard.
• Treating "done" as "correct": ask for evidence.

Summary

• A good task = goal + input + constraints + acceptance.
• Plan before executing.
• Watch write, delete, and command calls.
• Feedback must be specific; verification must be evidence-based.
• present is a delivery declaration, not an upload.

Part I Exercises

1. Rewrite a recent request using goal + input + constraints + acceptance.
2. In a test folder, ask the Agent to list files read-only and report the tools it used.
3. Ask it to produce summary.md, then check whether the originals changed.
4. Give one specific revision instruction instead of "redo it".

References

1. DeepSeek Harness quickstart
2. DeepSeek Harness GitHub repository

All links are public sources; product behavior may change between versions.