the first mini-build

the task

Build a one-page introduction website – about yourself, your dog, a made-up café, anything – that you can open in the browser. No framework needed: a single HTML file is a full-value build, if it's done and it works.

The goal is not a pretty website. The goal is to complete the full circle for the first time: goal → prompt → agent work → review → fix → done.

preparation

mkdir mini-build && cd mini-build
git init
claude

Git is the first step, not the last – this way every change is traceable from the starting point.

the first prompt

Write it in your own words, but this structure works well:

Build a one-page introduction website in a single index.html file.
Topic: [your topic]. It should contain: a title, three paragraphs of
text, one list. Style: dark background, one typeface, no framework,
no external dependency. Write the copy in my language, based on
[your topic].

Notice the properties of the prompt: concrete scope (one file), concrete content (title + three paragraphs + list), concrete constraints (no dependency). A good prompt isn't long – it's bounded.

review – this is your job

When the agent is done, don't accept it sight unseen:

1. Open the file in the browser (click it, or open index.html / xdg-open index.html).
2. Read the copy. Text written by the agent is your responsibility – have it fix whatever isn't your voice.
3. Look at the code too: with git diff or in the editor. You don't have to understand all of it – watch how much code was produced, and whether there's anything in it you didn't ask for.

the fix loop

Now comes the point: ask for a change. For example:

The second paragraph is too long, cut it in half. Put a ❯ mark in
front of each list item. Make the title smaller on mobile.

This loop – you look, you articulate what you want differently, the agent fixes – is the fundamental move of agentic work. You will do this a thousand times, at ever higher stakes.

closing

If you're satisfied:

git add -A && git commit -m "first mini-build done"

Congratulations – you handed over a task, reviewed it, had it fixed and shipped it. This is exactly the workflow this site was built with, only smaller. From Module 1 on we do the same in real genres: real product, real specification, real quality bar.

the module's closing checklist

❯ exercise — the first full circle

Tick off what's done. This list is the definition of "done": if all six hold, you have completed module 0.

• ○the mini-build folder exists and git init ran in it
• ○the agent built index.html and it opens in the browser
• ○you read all the copy and had it fix whatever isn't your voice
• ○you looked at how much and what kind of code was produced, with git diff
• ○at least one fix loop ran (request → fix → re-review)
• ○you committed: git add -A && git commit

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