# Write a task spec with clear checks for an AI agent

Turn a vague task into a precise spec, a way to verify the output, and the standing context an AI agent needs, before you hand it off.

- Topic: Working with AI
- Framework: RTF
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Write, Fill-in Template, Interactive
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/write-a-task-spec-with-clear-checks-for-an-ai-agent

## Prompt

```text
Help me write a task specification for an AI agent or assistant, including how I'll verify its work.

**The task:** [WHAT I want done, in my own rough words]
**Why it matters / who uses the result:** [CONTEXT]
**Tools or access the agent has:** [e.g. codebase, files, browser, spreadsheet]
**What I already know about doing this well:** [preferences, past mistakes, standards]
**Deadline or size limits:** [DETAILS]

First, ask me up to 5 questions about anything that would change the result. Then produce three parts:

1. **Spec** - goal in one sentence; scope (in and out); inputs; constraints; required output format; decisions the agent may make alone vs. must ask me about.
2. **Verifier** - how we will know the output is right: concrete acceptance checks (tests to run, numbers that must reconcile, examples that must pass), known failure modes to look for, and what evidence the agent must show (not just a claim that it's done). Mark which checks the agent can run itself and which need my judgment.
3. **Environment** - standing context worth saving for next time: glossary, conventions, source files to read first, guardrails (things never to do).

Keep the spec tight - only what changes the result. Point out any part of my request that is still ambiguous and where the agent would be guessing.
```

## What to fill in

- WHAT I want done, in my own rough words
- CONTEXT
- e.g. codebase, files, browser, spreadsheet
- preferences, past mistakes, standards
- DETAILS

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.