First Agent
Every interaction in Snippbot is mediated by an agent — an AI identity with a name, personality, avatar, voice, and its own workspace. This guide covers what agents are and how to customize them.
What is an agent?
Section titled “What is an agent?”An agent is a persistent AI identity. Each agent has:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Display name shown in chat and the agent list |
| Avatar | Profile image (256×256px, uploadable with crop tool) |
| Archetypes | Personality templates selected during creation (Researcher, Creative Partner, etc.) |
| Workspace | A set of markdown files that define the agent’s personality and behavior |
| Voice | Optional TTS voice for spoken responses (ElevenLabs, browser TTS) |
Create an agent
Section titled “Create an agent”See Quickstart → Step 3 for the full Awakening walkthrough.
The short version: click Create Snippbot in the sidebar → follow the guided flow (name → avatar → archetypes → questions → done).
Edit an agent
Section titled “Edit an agent”From the Snippbots page (click Snippbots in the sidebar), click any agent to open the Agent Editor.
The Agent Editor
Section titled “The Agent Editor”The Agent Editor is a two-panel layout:
- Left sidebar — Lists the agent’s workspace files with short descriptions
- Right panel — Markdown editor with Edit / Preview toggle and a Save button
Each agent has 6 workspace files that control its identity and behavior:
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| PERSONA.md | Core identity and philosophy — who the agent is |
| PROFILE.md | Role, communication style, and display name |
| USER.md | Information about you (the human) that the agent should know |
| BEHAVIORS.md | How the agent acts, memory rules, and response patterns |
| SKILLS.md | Available capabilities and tool preferences |
| IDLE.md | Proactive behavior directives — what the agent does when not prompted |
Click any file in the sidebar to open it. The editor starts in Preview mode (rendered markdown). Click Edit or the pencil icon to switch to the raw markdown editor.
Change the display name
Section titled “Change the display name”Click the agent’s name in the header to edit it inline. The name is stored in PROFILE.md and updated automatically when you press Enter.
Change the avatar
Section titled “Change the avatar”Click the avatar image in the header to upload a new one. Snippbot opens a crop modal where you can adjust the image to a square 256×256px crop before saving.
Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP.
Set a voice
Section titled “Set a voice”The Voice selector in the header lets you choose a TTS voice for the agent. Options depend on which voice providers you’ve configured in Settings:
- Default (global) — uses whatever voice is set in global settings
- ElevenLabs voices — high-quality AI voices (requires ElevenLabs API key)
- Browser TTS — uses your browser’s built-in speech synthesis
Delete an agent
Section titled “Delete an agent”Click the trash icon in the header. A slide-to-confirm dialog appears to prevent accidental deletion. Deleting an agent removes its workspace files and all associated data.
Agent personality tips
Section titled “Agent personality tips”The workspace files are regular markdown — you can write anything. Here are some tips:
- PERSONA.md is the most important file. It defines the agent’s core identity, philosophy, and voice. Be specific: “You are direct and concise” vs. “You are helpful.”
- USER.md helps the agent understand your context. Include your role, projects, preferences, and communication style.
- BEHAVIORS.md sets rules for how the agent operates. For example: “Always ask clarifying questions before starting multi-step tasks.”
- SKILLS.md describes what tools and capabilities the agent should prefer. For example: “Prefer web search over assumptions. Always cite sources.”
- IDLE.md controls proactive behavior. If you want the agent to check in periodically or monitor things, describe that here.
Use your agent in chat
Section titled “Use your agent in chat”Switch to Chat (click it in the sidebar), then click the agent selector at the top of the chat panel to choose which agent handles your messages. Each agent uses its own personality files and conversation memory.
You can also select which model to use (next to the agent selector) — this overrides the default model for the current conversation.
Next steps
Section titled “Next steps”- Core Concepts: Agents — deep dive into agent architecture
- Core Concepts: Memory — understand episodic and vector memory
- Schedule a job — let your agent run tasks on a schedule
