API — will developers adopt it?
Brief 112

SDK Ergonomics Audit

The client libraries developers use to call this product — how fast they reach a first successful call, and how the SDK behaves when things go wrong.

SDK.md4 phases7 lenses~2.8k chars

Free & open · no signup · read-only — it ends by asking · nothing leaves your machine

What it does

You are working inside this repo. Mission: judge the client library a developer installs to use this product — whether it gets them to a working call quickly, reads the way they think, and fails in ways they can handle.

This judges the SDK itself — the library in the developer's editor. For the docs-and-portal first hour around it, run 115.

Read-only pass. Read the SDK surface, its examples, and its error handling; try the quickstart if you can. Change nothing but the report file.

What it looks for

7 lenses it looks through

Phase 2 sweeps the codebase through every one of these, citing file and line for each finding.

1

Time to first call

steps from install to a working request; whether the quickstart is honest

2

Surface & naming

methods that match how developers think; discoverable, consistent

3

Defaults

sensible defaults, minimal required config, safe-by-default behavior

4

Error handling

typed, catchable errors with context, not opaque failures

5

Types & autocomplete

typed surfaces that let the editor teach the API

6

Built-in resilience

retry, timeout, and pagination handled so every user isn't reinventing them

7

Consistency & docs

consistent patterns across methods; examples that actually run

The deliverable

What lands in your repo

One structured report at the repo root — or in reports/, if you keep one — the same shape every time, ready for a teammate — or the optional Studio — to act on.

SDK.md
1
First call, walked
the path from install to success, with every snag
2
Findings
each: lens · location · what a developer feels · the fix
3
Time-to-first-call
the count today and the achievable minimum
4
Highest leverage
the handful of changes that most improve adoption and cut support
One file. Evidence-backed. It ends by asking before touching anything.
How it works

What it makes the agent do

Every Goal Prompt follows the same four steps, so results are consistent and repeatable — no matter which one you run.

1
Phase 1

Take the first call

Follow the quickstart from install to a first successful request.

2
Phase 2

Audit through 7 lenses

Time to first call — steps from install to a working request.

3
Phase 3

Curate

Rank by how many developers hit each and how early.

4
Phase 4

Report

Create SDK.md at repo root.

Get started

Three ways to run this Goal Prompt

01 · COPY

Paste it in

Copy it and paste it into your agent inside the repo you want checked.

02 · INSTALL

As a slash command

Install the goal plugin once — two commands — then just type /goal:sdk-ergonomics.

1/plugin marketplace add GhostlyGawd/goal-prompts
2/plugin install goal@goal-prompts

Or install only this Goal Prompt as /goal-sdk-ergonomics:

curl -fsSL https://goal-prompts.vercel.app/install | BRIEF=112 sh
03 · AGENT

From an agent (MCP)

Let an agent fetch it mid-conversation, or pull the raw Goal Prompt by URL.

https://goal-prompts.vercel.app/raw/112.md
Transparency

The exact prompt

Nothing hidden — this is the whole Goal Prompt, verbatim. Read it in a minute, edit it, or copy it as-is.

Read the full brief (2,755 characters)
# Goal: SDK Ergonomics Audit

You are working inside this repo. Mission: judge the client library a developer installs to use this product — whether it gets them to a working call quickly, reads the way they think, and fails in ways they can handle.

This judges the SDK itself — the library in the developer's editor. For the docs-and-portal first hour around it, run 115.

Read-only pass. Read the SDK surface, its examples, and its error handling; try the quickstart if you can. Change nothing but the report file.

## Phase 1 — Take the first call
- Follow the quickstart from install to a first successful request; time it and note every snag.
- Read the public surface: the methods, their names, and their shapes.
- Trigger an error and see what the SDK gives you back.

## Phase 2 — Audit through 7 lenses
1. **Time to first call** — steps from install to a working request; whether the quickstart is honest
2. **Surface & naming** — methods that match how developers think; discoverable, consistent
3. **Defaults** — sensible defaults, minimal required config, safe-by-default behavior
4. **Error handling** — typed, catchable errors with context, not opaque failures
5. **Types & autocomplete** — typed surfaces that let the editor teach the API
6. **Built-in resilience** — retry, timeout, and pagination handled so every user isn't reinventing them
7. **Consistency & docs** — consistent patterns across methods; examples that actually run

## Phase 3 — Curate
- Rank by how many developers hit each and how early: a confusing first call outranks a rare edge method.
- For each, name the change — a clearer name, a default, a typed error, a retry built in.
- Note where a small ergonomic fix would cut real support load.

## Phase 4 — Report
Create `SDK.md` at repo root:
1. **First call, walked** — the path from install to success, with every snag
2. **Findings** — each: lens · location · what a developer feels · the fix
3. **Time-to-first-call** — the count today and the achievable minimum
4. **Highest leverage** — the handful of changes that most improve adoption and cut support

Start the report with today's date. If `SDK.md` already exists from a previous run, read it first and lead with what changed since.

## Rules
- The SDK is the API's user interface; judge it as a product, not a wrapper
- A good default removes a decision; a typed error removes a support ticket
- No SDK or client library in this repo? Say so in a one-paragraph null report and stop — a null result is a valid finding.
- If a `reports/` directory exists at the repo root, write the report there instead of the root.
- Before asking, present the top findings as a ranked list in plain words
- Report only — end by asking which SDK improvements to make first

House rules for this Goal Prompt

  • The SDK is the API's user interface; judge it as a product, not a wrapper
  • A good default removes a decision; a typed error removes a support ticket
  • No SDK or client library in this repo? Say so in a one-paragraph null report and stop — a null result is a valid finding.
  • If a reports/ directory exists at the repo root, write the report there instead of the root.
  • Before asking, present the top findings as a ranked list in plain words
  • Report only — end by asking which SDK improvements to make first
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