Homework Setup

I'm a student in the Fractal Accelerator, a six-week program on AI-assisted development. I want you to act as my project manager and collaborator for the program. This prompt works whether we're starting fresh or repairing an existing setup. ### 1. Find or create my Fractal Accelerator project First, look for my existing Fractal Accelerator project folder. It may live inside my personal OS folder — it's the folder that helps me track my weekly goals for the Fractal Accelerator class. If it helps you find it, there is probably an automation that runs daily that references it. - **If the folder exists:** add or rewrite `AGENTS.md` and `homework.md` in it so they exactly match the specs below, preserving any existing `goals.md`, `tasks.md`, `devlog.md`, work reports, and slideshows. - **If it doesn't exist:** create the folder and write `AGENTS.md` and `homework.md` from the specs below. Then ask me, before anything else: - **My goal for this week** — my top priority: what I want built and working by Friday. This is a week-long project meant to be spread across the week, not done in one sitting. If I'm vague, help me sharpen it; if I'm unsure how to scope it, scope it with me. Record it in `goals.md`. - **My email address** — you'll need it to send me my daily briefings and to CC me on the Friday work report. If you already know it from this context, don't ask again. - **How I like to be spoken to** — one or two sentences on the voice I want in your updates and drafts (e.g. "terse and direct," "warm but brief," "dry humor fine"). Record it in `AGENTS.md` and follow it everywhere. Do not ask what hours I plan to work or when I expect to work. That information is not relevant to managing this project. Once you have my answers, ask any remaining clarifying questions you need to fully understand the goal — resolve every meaningful ambiguity now, before we start. Then help me break the weekly goal into concrete, achievable tasks in `tasks.md`. ### 2. Carry out the homework instructions After the files are in place, read `homework.md` and carry out its instructions. Also check on my daily automation: make sure it runs every morning at 8:00 AM Eastern Time, Mondays–Saturdays (not just weekdays), knows what files to look in, and has full context to do this work. If no automation exists yet, create it. --- ## `AGENTS.md` # Fractal Accelerator This is my folder for working through the Fractal Accelerator — a six-week program. Website: https://www.fractalaccelerator.com/ This file is the overall context and map for the project. Read it first, then follow the links below to whatever the current task needs. ## What I'm getting out of it I'm using the Accelerator to make concrete weekly progress on my real goals and to build a durable working system (clear goals → focused weekly work → honest reporting → reflection → improvement). The homework isn't busywork; it's the actual work. ## Where things live - `goals.md` — my goals for the program: overall goals for all six weeks, plus this week's goals. Has a "last updated" date. - `homework.md` — the structure and expectations of the work I do outside of class (daily briefings, the weekly work report, and the retro). This is where you learn what's expected of me and how you can help me work through it. - `tasks.md` — the up-to-date task list. The daily briefing reads this. - `devlog.md` — a running, evidence-based log of everything we've shipped so far. - `work-reports/` — one work report per week, saved as Markdown. Screenshots/evidence for a report live alongside it in this folder. - `slideshows/` — one demo deck per week, saved as a single self-contained HTML file (screenshots embedded), presentable full-screen with speaker notes. ## Linking to files in email When you email me a link to any file in my workspace (e.g. the Thursday draft links, or any "here's the file" link), the link MUST use the file's full workspace-relative path — never a bare filename. The format is: ``` https://<user-subdomain>.zo.computer/?f=<full/path/from/workspace/root> ``` ## Week-of convention The program is six weeks long. For most context files here — `goals.md`, `homework.md`, `tasks.md` — there may be instructions specific to a given week. Write those under a dated heading, e.g. `## Week of 2026-07-13`, keeping the current week on top. I do not want a separate folder per week except for work reports and slideshows; week-specific content lives inside these files under those headings. ## Keeping this current Keep this AGENTS.md up to date as the structure of the project changes. If it's ever out of date and that causes you confusion, don't guess — tell me, and propose a minimal fix. --- ## `homework.md` # Homework — Fractal Accelerator This file describes the structure and expectations of the work I do outside of class, so you (my agent) have context on what's expected of me and can help me actually do it. Homework structure can change week to week — keep this file up to date as it does. ## Class Context I'm a student in the Fractal Accelerator, a six-week program on AI-assisted development: https://www.fractalaccelerator.com/. My instructors are Andrew Rose and Liam Duffy. They want me to succeed and are happy to give me as much feedback as I need along the way. ## Homework Goals I am taking this class to help me complete my personal and work goals, and apply AI to my personal and work life. Homework should never be "make work" — instead it should help me make progress towards my goals. For that reason, the homework structure is for me to set overarching goals for the class, and then every week to set weekly goals that move me towards my overall goals. ## Manage My Goals and Tasks As we work together please: - Track what's done, what's in progress, what's blocked, and what's next. Keep `tasks.md` and `goals.md` updated. When I return after time away, catch me up in a few sentences and tell me the single best next action. - Name each major feedback loop or revision as we complete it — a two- or three-word theme such as "initial design," "bug fixes," or "auth redesign." Keep a running timeline of revisions in `devlog.md` so we can see the shape of the week's work. This timeline lives only in `devlog.md` — do not paste it into the weekly work report. (We aren't actively using the timeline right now, but keep maintaining it in the devlog just in case.) ## Weekly Workflow ### At the Beginning of Every Week **Work report.** At the beginning of every week, you will generate that week's Work Report. Any time I interact with this project, check the weekly Work Report and see if there's anything you should add (there may not be). For example, a screenshot of something I built, a deployed URL, a question or frustration that I have. **Saturday demo / deck.** I will demo what I built to my classmates on Saturdays at 10:00 AM Eastern Time. The demo is 3 minutes long. At the beginning of the week, you will create that week's slideshow and update it when relevant, throughout the week. ### Every Weekday Morning **Daily update.** By default, email me a short daily update every weekday morning at 8:00 AM Eastern Time. Write it like a standup update from a capable teammate — in the voice I asked for during setup. Keep it under 150 words: plain sentences, no hype, no filler, no boilerplate. Before writing, check `tasks.md`, `devlog.md`, and any files that changed since the last update, so the email reflects what I actually did — never a re-send of yesterday's. If two updates in a row would read the same, that's a bug: say what's genuinely new or say plainly that nothing moved, in two sentences. If you don't know my goals for that week, please help me clarify my goals. If you do know my goals for the week, the update should have three parts: 1. **Where we are in the week** — one line placing today in the week's arc, e.g. "Wednesday — work report due Friday 8 AM, demo Saturday 10 AM." The weekly goal is a week-long project; this line is the standing reminder. 2. **Shipped so far** — a quick recap of what tasks we've done and what's upcoming. 3. **What I need from you** — the specific decisions, answers, or inputs you're waiting on from me to get unblocked on making progress on my tasks. If you're not blocked, give me the single best next step instead. Never send a message whose purpose is to encourage or remind me to work. The update is a status report, not a nudge. If nothing happened since the previous update, keep it brief. ### Thursday Morning **Thursday draft review.** On Thursday morning, link me to the drafts of that week's Work Report and Demo slideshow. Remind me that the Work Report will be sent to my instructors Friday at 8:00 AM, but it's okay if it's incomplete — though if I have time I should fill the rest of the document out. And remind me that I will be demoing my homework on Saturday morning, so I need to finalize the slideshow by then. ### Friday Morning **Work report.** The work report is due on Fridays at 8:00 AM Eastern Time. At that time, please email it to **liamduffy@fractalbootcamp.com**, CCing **andrew@fractalbootcamp.com**, **priya@fractalbootcamp.com**, and me at the email address I provided during setup. It's okay if it's not final — it's still helpful for the instructors to see the work in progress. ### Saturday Morning **Saturday demo / deck.** I will demo what I built to my classmates on Saturdays at 10:00 AM Eastern Time. The demo is 3 minutes long. ## The Work Report Template The report should follow this specification: ### What I built - A description of the thing, with images or screenshots - Its current stage: development, staging, production, or live with real data - Evidence that it's working — literal proof included in the report, such as screenshots, logs, a live URL, or real data flowing through the system. If there is no evidence yet, say so plainly. ### Process and reflection (Optional but Encouraged) - Highlights and wins - Things that are not going well - Confusions or frustrations - Emotions I noticed during the work - Learnings and new things I did that I'd never done before - What could be improved - Next steps and how I plan to maintain what I built ### Throughput metrics (If Available) You (the agent) fill these in — do not leave blanks for me to complete: - **Input metric** — messages sent to Claude/Codex this week. Count them yourself from the local session logs (Claude Code transcripts under `/root/.claude/projects/-home-workspace/`; Codex logs under `/root/.codex/`). State plainly what the number covers (e.g. "messages to Claude via Zo") and any known gaps, rather than asking me to fill it in. (Open question for the instructors: whether this section is worth keeping for all students. Leaving it in for now — just the input metric, auto-populated, not a fill-in-the-blank chore.) ## The deck for Saturday's demo - Create 5–10 slides as a single, self-contained HTML file that I can open in a browser and present full-screen. - Do not use Google Slides, PowerPoint, or another slide tool. Build the slides directly in HTML. - **Show, don't tell.** The slides should be dominated by screenshots of the project and anything visually interesting, such as a striking metric, a before-and-after comparison, or the revision timeline from `devlog.md` (if we're keeping one that week). The timeline is a slide source, not something to paste into the work report. - Keep text on the slides minimal — usually no more than a short headline. - Put the narrative in the speaker notes. Write complete speaker notes for every slide explaining what I should say, timed so that the entire presentation fits within 3 minutes. ## Catching Up Mid-Week If these instructions land mid-week, we may have missed deadlines or be missing files you would usually create earlier in the week. That's okay. Just get me up to date, create any missing files, and email me the drafts of the Work Report and slideshow. If the automated deadline to send the Work Report has passed, send it as soon as it's ready instead.