Phase 0 · Lesson 00

Mental model

Before code: know what an agentic system is, and what your repo already approximates.

Time · ~½ day No code required
Learn
  • Cognition vs authority
  • Agent loop vs chatbot
  • Why HITL exists
  • Why a single harness (e.g. Hermes-only) is optional if MCP + orchestrator exist
Build / do
  1. Sketch the architecture from Architecture map on paper.
  2. Open the repo: mark what exists (server/, skills, MCP, React demo) vs missing (runs, LM Studio adapter, real OAuth).
  3. Write one sentence: “In my system the LLM is allowed to ___ and never ___.”
Checkpoint

You can explain in one minute why the LLM must not call Instagram publish directly.

Four notes
  • What problem does this layer solve?
  • What is allowed to call it?
  • What must it never do?
  • How do I observe and test it?

For Phase 0, answer for the system as a whole.