# For agents: Contract engineering

The ideal OpenProse · board 1 of 17 · 2026-10-09.
This deck describes a proposed experience.

State the result and the requirements, then leave the agent room to choose an approach.

## On the slide

**OpenProse**

Set goals. State what matters. Leave room for judgment.

*The ideal we are working toward.*

## Explanation

Working well with a capable colleague involves a learned skill: communicate the result you need, the conditions that matter, and the decisions you are leaving to them. As agents become more capable, that skill becomes increasingly valuable. OpenProse applies it to a library of readable, reusable contracts. You express what the work must satisfy; the executor chooses an approach within those requirements. This presentation describes the experience we want to make possible. Some of its foundations exist; the complete experience remains an ambition.

## Whiteboard sequence

Open only the frames useful to the question. Later frames add to the same board;
the final frame contains the complete drawing.

- [Frame 1 — black core](https://prose.md/visual-guide/2026-10-09/ideal/slide-01-layer-01.png)
- [Frame 2 — cumulative reveal](https://prose.md/visual-guide/2026-10-09/ideal/slide-01-layer-02.png)
- [Frame 3 — final](https://prose.md/visual-guide/2026-10-09/ideal/slide-01-layer-03.png)

These explanations add no normative requirements. Read the
[selected kernel 0.3.0-rc.3](https://pkg.prose.md/releases/0.3.0-rc.3/core/README.md) for language rules.

[Next: What the author controls](https://prose.md/visual-guide/ideal/02.md)

[All The ideal OpenProse boards](https://prose.md/visual-guide/ideal.md) · [Guide index](https://prose.md/visual-guide.md) · [Agent entry](https://prose.md/agents.md)