BBC MICRO · AGENT HANDBOOKALPHA · USE AT YOUR OWN RISK

Use your own coding agent

Install through Beeb-dev

Open the BBC project folder containing beeb-dev.ini in a trusted VS Code workspace. Beeb-dev installs/refreshes this startup handbook when the extension activates or the root config is created. You can also run Beeb-dev: Install AI Skills Into Workspace. In multi-root workspaces, automatic installation covers each workspace root containing its own beeb-dev.ini; the explicit command uses the first workspace root.

The installer creates:

Keep these project files in version control: the instructions travel with the project. Automatic installation requires workspace trust. It does not run build scripts, start an agent or change agent permissions. Unmodified managed files/sections can be refreshed. Locally edited ones are reported as conflicts and retained. Keep personal rules outside the marked block; review/merge conflicts yourself rather than deleting custom instructions.

Kilo Code

Kilo's documented startup entrypoint is root AGENTS.md; skills under .kilo/skills/ are loaded on demand. The bootstrap therefore explicitly asks the agent to read the handbook before BBC work, whether or not a skill is chosen. Start a fresh conversation after installation and ask the agent to identify the handbook revision and its target/BASIC/memory checklist. An already-running conversation may retain old context.

No Kilo configuration change is needed. User-supplied higher-priority instructions can override project instructions.

Claude and other agents

Claude-compatible hosts receive CLAUDE.md plus the skill directory. For a host that reads AGENTS.md, use that entrypoint. For another host, add the short BOOTSTRAP text to its documented project-instruction facility and verify that it reads docs/beeb-dev-agent/START-HERE.md in a fresh session.

Manual installation / website authoring

Download the handbook bundle from this wiki page and extract it to a temporary folder, not over an existing project. Inspect its contents. Copy docs/beeb-dev-agent/ and the relevant skill directory into your project; merge the supplied AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md sections into existing files without replacing your own rules. Preserve and merge existing handbook/skill edits too. The manual bundle has no ownership manifest; a later automatic install adopts only byte-identical files and otherwise reports a conflict for review.

You can install the same guidance in a website repository when it contains BBC listings. Point the agent's build/MCP work at the actual configured BBC project, not an arbitrary current directory. No global agent settings need changing.

Connect tools separately and verify

Beeb-dev's Copy MCP Server Config command supplies the installed server path. Use the BBC project root as the server argument and adapt the config to your host's documented MCP format; discover the connected tools before using them. Ask the agent to report which tools it can actually call and which baseline command it will run.

A useful first-session check: “Read the BBC handbook; report the selected target, BASIC dialect and memory budget. Explain whether INSTALL GFXLIB is valid here. Do not change code yet.” A correct stock BASIC II/IV answer rejects INSTALL and resolves missing configuration rather than assuming a machine.

Sources

• Kilo AGENTS.md discovery and instruction precedence.
• Kilo skill discovery and on-demand loading.
• Kilo project instructions.
• Claude project memory instructions.

Client documentation checked 18 October 2026. Consult your installed client's current documentation if discovery/precedence differs.