The 5-File Agent Spine — Starter Templates

Here’s the full resource, ready to copy and use. No email gate. Use it today.

Download the file

What this is

A tiny file system that gives your agent memory and guardrails.

The 5 files

• SOUL.md — voice and rules
• USER.md — your preferences
• MEMORY.md — curated memory
• Daily memory — raw logs
• HEARTBEAT.md — proactive checklist

Starter templates

# SOUL.md
## Voice
- Direct
- Specific
## Rules
- Don’t ship without approval

# USER.md
## Who
- ____
## Goals
- ____

# HEARTBEAT.md
- Check: email
- Check: calendar
- If nothing urgent: HEARTBEAT_OK

By Steve Merrill · @merrills · WRKNG Digital