> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.augent.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Building Your First Agent

> Step-by-step: capture expert knowledge, create instruction files, and run your first agentic workflow.

You're building a research workflow. It ingests expert content, extracts key insights, and produces weekly briefings. About 30 minutes from start to finish.

```mermaid theme={null}
%%{init: {'theme': 'dark'}}%%
flowchart TD
    A["Pick 3-5 expert videos or podcasts in your field"]
    A --> B["Run take_notes on each one and tag with a consistent topic"]
    B --> C["Use search_memory to find patterns across your sources"]
    C --> D["Write instruction files: process steps, rules, quality checks"]
    D --> E["Test it: tell your MCP client to read instructions and execute"]
    E --> F["Review the output and refine your instruction files"]
    F --> G["Run again until the output is consistently solid"]
    G --> H["Save the working pipeline as a /slash-command"]
    H --> I["Keep feeding it more expert content over time"]
    I -->|"Knowledge compounds"| B

    style A fill:#1a1a1a,stroke:#00F060,color:#fff
    style B fill:#1a1a1a,stroke:#00F060,color:#fff
    style C fill:#1a1a1a,stroke:#00F060,color:#fff
    style D fill:#1a1a1a,stroke:#00F060,color:#fff
    style E fill:#1a1a1a,stroke:#00F060,color:#fff
    style F fill:#1a1a1a,stroke:#00F060,color:#fff
    style G fill:#1a1a1a,stroke:#00F060,color:#fff
    style H fill:#1a1a1a,stroke:#00F060,color:#fff
    style I fill:#1a1a1a,stroke:#00F060,color:#fff
```

## Step 1: Capture expert knowledge

Pick 3-5 videos or podcasts from experts in your field. Run augent on each:

```
take_notes with url: "https://youtube.com/watch?v=example1"
```

Tag each transcription with a consistent topic:

```
tag with cache_key: "example1:tiny" and tags: ["your-topic"]
```

Consistent tagging is what makes the rest of the pipeline work.

## Step 2: Find patterns across sources

```
search_memory with query: "best practices for [your topic]" and mode: "semantic"
```

Semantic search surfaces connections keyword search would miss. You can also ask Claude to read the notes directly and pull out recurring frameworks.

## Step 3: Create instruction files

Create `agents/research-agent/` in your vault with two files.

**instructions.md:**

```markdown theme={null}
# Research Agent

## Process
1. Find new transcriptions tagged [topic] from the past 7 days
2. Extract key claims, frameworks, actionable techniques, and contradictions
3. Cross-reference with previous briefings to avoid repetition
4. Write briefing: Key Insights, New Frameworks, Action Items, Open Questions
5. Save as "Weekly Briefing - [date].md"

## Style
- Direct, no filler
- Cite the source transcription for each insight
- Flag contradictions explicitly
```

**rules.md:**

```markdown theme={null}
# Rules
- Every insight must trace to a specific transcription. Never fabricate.
- Fewer than 2 new sources? Skip the briefing, report why.
- Under 800 words. Headers and bullets. No prose paragraphs over 3 sentences.
- Contradictions: present both positions, label the conflict.
```

These are plain markdown. Edit them anytime and the workflow's behavior changes on the next run.

## Step 4: Test and iterate

Tell Claude:

```
Read the files in agents/research-agent/ and follow the instructions.
Use my transcriptions tagged [topic] from the last 7 days.
```

Review the output. Fix what's wrong:

| Problem            | Fix                                                |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Too verbose        | Tighten word limit in rules.md                     |
| Missing citations  | Add explicit rule requiring source file names      |
| Redundant insights | Strengthen cross-reference step in instructions.md |

Two or three passes gets you to a solid baseline.

## Step 5: Save as a slash command

Create `~/.claude/commands/research-briefing.md`:

```markdown theme={null}
Read the files in agents/research-agent/ and follow the instructions.
Use transcriptions tagged [topic] from the last 7 days.
Save the briefing to the vault.
```

Now `/research-briefing` runs the entire pipeline in one command.

## Step 6: Keep feeding it

Each new `take_notes` call adds to the knowledge base. Week 4 briefings are better than week 1 because the context is deeper. Update the instruction files as your needs evolve. The knowledge compounds.

<CardGroup cols={1}>
  <Card title="More examples" icon="grid-2" href="/agents/examples">
    Content, copywriting, scriptwriting, and operations workflow templates.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>