| name | x402-smol-agent-workflow |
| description | Use when working on the x402 challenge, `smol-agent`, or adjacent agent-economics demos where the task involves turning a small agent system into a credible product or challenge submission. Guides repo mapping, milestone shaping, demo-path prioritization, and what should become a reusable skill versus local glue. |
X402 Smol Agent Workflow
Overview
Treat x402 and smol-agent work as a product-and-demo system, not just a codebase.
Prioritize the shortest path to a convincing end-to-end story:
- what the agent does
- why it matters
- how it gets paid or gated
- what the demo path looks like
Default Workflow
1. Map the repo before editing
Identify:
- runtime entrypoints
- challenge-specific surfaces
- payment or access control points
- evaluation or demo scripts
- local glue that should stay local
- repeated patterns that should become reusable skills
2. Shape work as milestones
Break work into:
- demo-path critical
- infrastructure support
- polish
- reusable skill extraction
If a task does not improve the demo path, remove it or defer it.
3. Prefer reusable abstractions only when repeated
Promote work into a shared skill when:
- the pattern appears outside x402
- the pattern is not challenge-specific
- another repo would benefit from the same instructions
Otherwise keep it local to smol-agent.
4. Preserve the challenge story
Every major change should make at least one of these clearer:
- onboarding
- challenge objective
- payment or x402 mechanism
- agent behavior
- proof of success
Quick Reference
| Need | Default action |
|---|
| unclear repo shape | map entrypoints and demo surfaces first |
| too many ideas | rank by demo impact |
| repeated pattern | consider a public skill |
| challenge-specific glue | keep local |
Common Mistakes
- optimizing internals before the demo path works
- extracting public skills too early
- conflating challenge-specific rules with general-purpose workflows
- shipping a clever system without a legible story
Example
If the task is:
help us make smol-agent stronger for the x402 challenge
start by:
- mapping the runtime and demo path
- identifying the critical payment or access flow
- ranking the smallest set of improvements that make the challenge story stronger
- listing any repeated patterns that should later become public skills
