Give an agent a job. Not the keys to everything.
An agent workflow can combine interpretation with tool use. Make the job specific, the evidence visible, and the execution boundary smaller than the operator’s full environment.
Start with a bounded task
Try a redacted configuration review, a release checklist, or a proposed change summary. Describe completion and the information required. Do not grant broad production access merely to avoid thinking through the input contract.
Review tools by their consequences
Reading a file, running a test, and executing a shell command can expose different capabilities. Inspect indirect behavior as well as friendly labels. Keep production secrets unavailable to tasks that do not need them and validate targets outside the model’s explanation.
Make stopping part of success
Define duration, tool-call, and resource budgets. Test cancellation, including child processes or queued work. A run that stops with a clear incomplete record is preferable to one that continues changing systems without a reliable completion condition.