Agentic Coding 03: Point, Don't Paraphrase

Most AI errors don't come from bad prompts — they come from descriptions that replace the real thing. This lesson teaches you to hand the model actual artifacts — files, paths, raw errors — instead of your summary of them, eliminating the silent guessing that causes downstream failures. Master the four sub-moves of pointing and make every session more accurate from the first message.

Where you'll use it

• Handing a file to an AI agent without losing structural details
• Preventing models from blending stale and current data sources
• Debugging AI sessions by pasting raw console errors instead of describing them
• Pointing at a requirements document so the model reads ground truth on every session
• Protecting context window budget by fencing off irrelevant directories