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Build an agent

On Vibes DIY an agent is an app that keeps working for you: it runs on a schedule, reacts when something changes, thinks with AI on the server, and tells the right person. Three shapes, the pages behind each, and a list of agent ideas to start from.

An agent on Vibes DIY is an app that keeps working for you. It holds its own records, runs on a schedule or the moment something changes, thinks with AI on the server, and tells the right person when there is something to do. You describe it in plain words, the same way you describe any app, and it is ready to share from step one.

Agents come in three shapes, and many good ones combine two of them.

1. An app that runs on its own

Every vibe can ship a backend.js next to its interface. That file runs on the platform's servers, next to your data, whether or not anybody has the app open:

  • On a schedule. A scheduled handler wakes on a timer: check the week's availability, add up the budget, sweep for anything still waiting.
  • When something changes. An onChange handler runs after a write commits: a new signup, a changed plan, a photo someone just added.
  • With AI on the server. ctx.callAI reads the messy part (free-text availability, a photo of a notice, a description of a leak) and writes back clean records. No API key to hold.
  • Telling one person. ctx.notify reaches one participant's bell, inbox and push, and their email when they asked for it.

The guide is Your app has a backend, the full contract is the backend reference, and the patterns cookbook has worked shapes, including scheduled self-maintenance and telling one person vs. telling everyone.

2. An app your assistant works in

Connect Claude or ChatGPT to your account and your assistant can read and update the same records you see in the app, under your permissions. The app becomes the shared memory: you both work from one task board, one reading list, one plan, and every new conversation picks up where the last one left off.

Start with Connect Claude or ChatGPT, then read A to-do list you share with your agent for a board one maker runs with their assistant, including the short rules that keep it tidy.

3. An app an outside agent asks to join

Some work belongs to an agent that isn't yours: a helper a friend runs, an analyst bot, a service. It brings its own Vibes identity and asks for a seat. Your access function decides exactly what it may read and write, the server enforces that, and you approve the seat and can take it back. The agent sees the slice the job needs and nothing else.

Have your agent talk to my vibe walks the pattern end to end, and the access model maps the pieces it uses.

Agent ideas to start from

Each idea is a sentence you can paste into the box on vibes.diy and then make your own.

Idea What it does Shape
Weekly plan for the group Reads everyone's availability each week, proposes a time, and remembers what you did last time. Runs on its own
Potluck runner Takes each dish in people's own words, tracks servings and allergens, flags gaps, and tells everyone when plans change. Runs on its own
Volunteer shift cover Collects availability however people send it, shows open shifts, and invites the volunteers who fit. A shift is assigned once someone accepts. Runs on its own
Rental repair tracker Tenants send a photo and a description, it asks for anything missing, tracks progress, and reminds you what's open. Each tenant sees their own requests. Runs on its own
Morning topic digest Checks the public accounts and topics you choose every morning and saves the conversations worth reading, with links. Runs on its own
Weekly budget check Adds up the week's expenses by category and marks the ones past their limit, keeping a dated summary you can open later. Runs on its own
Task board you share with your assistant You and your assistant work from the same Inbox, Today, Waiting and Needs me lists, and a weekly review surfaces what's waiting on you. Your assistant works in it
Suggestions you approve An outside agent proposes changes to a small set of records, and you review and approve each one in the app. An outside agent joins

Some sentences to copy:

Run our potluck. Accept everyone's contributions in their own words, track servings and declared allergens, flag gaps, and notify participants when plans change.

Keep our volunteer shifts covered. Let people submit availability however they like, show unfilled shifts, and notify eligible volunteers. Assign someone once they accept.

Make a recurring game-night planner for my friends. Remember our group and preferences. Everyone enters availability. Every week, propose a shared time for us to review.

Describing an agent well

The same plain words work, with three extra details that make an agent dependable:

  1. When it runs. "Every Monday morning", "when someone adds a dish", "when a tenant sends a photo".
  2. Who hears about it. "Notify the volunteers who fit", "tell me what's still open", "let the group know the plan changed".
  3. What waits for a person. "Assign someone once they accept", "I approve each suggestion", "I choose when to send". The agent prepares the work and a person makes the call.

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