Your first workflow

This tutorial uses a check-in reward to walk through writing your first intent, checking or implementing it, and recording a new decision. You will learn to judge whether a requirement is met using the project's actual code and verification results.

You need Noea with an Agent marked Ready and a local project you want to work on. If your project has no check-in feature, substitute another equally specific rule.

Open the code project

Choose Open Folder… in the workbench, or File → Open Implementation Folder…, and select the folder containing your code.

The first time you open that folder, Noea creates a linked project. It opens an existing project directly, or asks you to choose if several are linked. See Open and manage projects for other ways to open a project.

Write your first intent

Click New Intent in the sidebar and name it “Daily check-ins.” Noea adds the .noea.md extension and opens the document. Write:

# Daily check-ins

Users can check in once a day. Give the user a reward after 7 consecutive days of check-ins.

Save with ⌘S on macOS or Ctrl+S on Windows / Linux. Start with what you have decided; you do not need to enumerate every edge case yet.

Choose investigation or implementation

Explain checks content across the project whose explanations need attention. A paragraph's Investigation action checks just that piece of content. Both inspect the implementation and generate or update explanations; they do not change the code.

If check-ins already exist, click Explain in the sidebar. To check only this paragraph, hover over it and choose Investigation on the left.

If the rule still needs implementing, start a new chat, type @ in the input to select the intent document, and send:

Implement the check-in reward in this project according to the referenced intent. Inspect the existing code first, follow the project's structure, and verify both a 7-day streak and a missed check-in.

You can also use the sidebar's Realize button when available; see Work with an Agent on implementation. The chat shows replies, tool calls, and file changes while the Agent works.

After implementation, click Explain if it has not started automatically. Not every code change in a regular chat triggers an explanation update.

Read an implementation explanation

Return to the intent document and click the blank space inside the paragraph, outside its text, to open the margin note. Read these sections:

• Realization: how the code counts consecutive days and issues rewards.
• Evidence: the code, command output, or test material cited by the explanation.
• Attention: gaps, implementation choices, risks, or suggestions that need your judgment.

For example, you may discover that the implementation defines calendar days using the device's time zone. Check what the project actually does and whether that matches your requirements. Open the references to see how far the evidence supports the explanation.

A completed explanation does not mean tests were rerun. Distinguish test code, historical results, and verification performed in this run; see Read explanations and evidence. If the implementation fails the original requirement, fix it rather than rewriting the rule to fit the code.

Ask a question and record a decision

Hover over the paragraph and choose Ask about this on the left. Noea inserts a reference into the chat input. Add your question and send:

How does the current implementation handle travel across time zones? Can checking in from two locations affect the streak? Explain using the code.

Once you understand the behavior, decide whether you want to constrain the calculation. If so, send:

Add “A day follows the calendar date in the user's current location” to this intent. Propose the intent change for me to review first.

When the Agent submits a proposal, click View Changes and read the inserted and replacement text. Edit the new wording if necessary, then choose Accept My Edits, or choose Accept if no edits are needed.

If the proposal needs implementation work, accepting it continues that work in the same chat. If the existing implementation already meets it, no new implementation run is needed. Check the explanation task's results afterward, or investigate manually when needed.

Check what you learned

Before finishing, save the document and confirm that its explanation covers the current wording. Try answering four questions in your own words:

1. How is this requirement implemented, and what evidence supports that conclusion?
2. What important choice did the Agent make that was not specified in the intent?
3. Do I understand and accept that choice? Should it become a lasting constraint?
4. Which sentence would I change next time I want this behavior to change?

For example, you should be able to explain how a day is defined, find the supporting evidence, and point to “7 consecutive days” as the reward condition. If an answer is unclear, ask about the relevant paragraph.

You do not have to capture every rule on your first visit. Add the next decision worth keeping when you encounter it.

Next, read Write intent that matters and Read explanations and evidence.