Agent task briefing checklist — 10 anti-patterns (free)

A developer published a checklist of 10 anti-patterns that cause AI agent tasks to fail, arguing that most breakdowns trace back to the task brief rather than the model. The list pairs each failure mode — such as vague goals like "make it better," unbounded repo write access, and pasted API keys — with a one-line fix, including naming the artifact and acceptance test, allowlisting directories, and pointing to a secret manager instead of embedding credentials. The checklist is offered as a free excerpt from a set of paid briefing templates.

If you hand work to an AI agent Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, custom agents , most failures trace back to the brief, not the model. Here are 10 anti-patterns I keep seeing, each with a one-line fix. Copy freely. Smell these in your briefs. Each wastes tokens, time, or trust. “Make it better.” / “Clean this up.” / “Explore options.” Fix: Name the artifact and the acceptance test. Tools say “repo write: Y” with no path limits. Fix: Allowlist directories; forbid .env , secrets, infra by default. “Research the market” with no table, memo, or decision. Fix: Definition of Done = files a human will open in a meeting. “Be exhaustive” + “max 10 minutes” + “cite everything.” Fix: Rank constraints; mark Hard vs Soft. API keys in the brief “for convenience.” Fix: Point to a secret manager / env name; never paste values. “Whatever you need to get it done.” Fix: Escalation table; stop conditions. No human owner → agent invents product policy. Fix: Owner field required; acceptance is a human step. “Write in our voice” with no voice doc or samples. Fix: Link 2 good examples or a 10-line voice sheet. “Confidence must be 95%.” Fix: Ask for source grades and assumption tags instead. Out of scope empty → agent expands forever. Fix: At least two explicit non-goals. This is a free excerpt from a small set of briefing templates I sell. If you want the full fill-in-the-blank packs briefing, eval, digest, research, incident , they're at https://briefstack.surge.sh/ https://briefstack.surge.sh/ — the list above is useful on its own either way.