By Teresa Torres · producttalk.org · @ttorres on X · LinkedIn
Teresa Torres describes a personal 'team of agents' built on Claude that works for her while she is away from the computer: a podcast manager, a sales admin, and a coding manager. Each agent prepares tasks, reports, or next steps in her to-do list, so she starts each day with work already organized. She was inspired by OpenClaw but wanted a safer, cheaper way to get similar benefits, avoiding broad machine access and runaway usage bills. The architecture rests on four parts: an agent identity file, a macOS scheduler, markdown task files, and per-agent scripts, all stored in Obsidian rather than as Claude Code skills. The approach makes the system portable across devices and across AI coding tools. The article is a partial preview, with the full setup instructions behind a paywall.
01Key takeaways
- Give each agent a clear identity file that states its role, task folder, and context so its outputs stay focused.
- Use your OS's built-in scheduler to run agents under your own user permissions and existing AI subscriptions.
- Store agent instructions, tasks, and scripts in plain markdown files so you can swap AI tools without rebuilding the system.
- Automate recurring prep and follow-up work, such as meeting briefs and next-step tasks, before automating complex decisions.
- Have an agent review past work weekly to surface recurring mistakes and dead ends you can fix.
- Weigh the security and cost risks of broad agent access before granting machine, browser, or credential permissions.
02Key sections
- A daily routine run by agents
- Torres shows how agents add prep tasks before podcast recordings and sales calls, and how a weekly coding report offers retrospective tips. These outputs appear directly in her to-do list.
- Why she built it
- The OpenClaw agent harness inspired her, but its broad permissions, third-party skills, and high usage costs pushed her to look for a safer alternative.
- Four core components
- The system uses an agent identity file, a macOS LaunchAgents scheduler, markdown task files with frontmatter, and per-agent scripts folders.
- Storage and portability
- Identity, tasks, and scripts live in Obsidian and run on an always-on Mac Mini, so the setup works across devices and can switch between Claude Code, Codex, or other CLIs.
- Disclosure and paywall
- She notes she has no compensation from Anthropic for the series, and the detailed step-by-step setup is reserved for paid subscribers.
03From the post
“Every morning I wake up and Claude has already added several tasks to my to-do list. If I have a podcast recording on the calendar, my podcast-manager agent (powered by Claude) prepares a podcast-interview-prep task with a summary of who I'm interviewing and what they”
04Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.