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Setup guide

Budget Variance Agent for Instinct

The $19 Budget Variance Agent runs on Instinct as three plain-text files: set it up once in Instinct, approve a sample-data test, then trigger each run with the usage prompt and this run's inputs.

Get the Budget Variance Agent - $19Instinct overview

What the Budget Variance Agent does

Instinct is built for standing work like this - set it once, then it runs on your word. It maintains your approved budget sheet and explains budget-to-actual variance with the source row linked: account, budget, actual, variance, source, explanation.

Explaining variances means hunting through the ledger for what moved, then writing the same overspend paragraph for the fifth month running.

Where the three files go in Instinct

Hand the three files (skill.md, setup-prompt.txt, usage-prompt.txt) to Instinct in chat. It keeps the context across sessions, so the setup survives: run the setup prompt once, approve the fictional-data test, and the agent becomes a standing workflow you trigger with one line. This is the closest fit to how the agents are designed to run.

What a run looks like on Instinct

A run looks like this: you tell Instinct to run budget-variance with this run's inputs, and it works through the saved skill. The output - it maintains your approved budget sheet and explains budget-to-actual variance with the source row linked: account, budget, actual, variance, source, explanation - is prepared for your review, and Instinct asks before anything is sent, spent or committed.

Setup, step by step

  1. Hand skill.md, setup-prompt.txt and usage-prompt.txt to Instinct in chat and ask it to keep them for the job (for example: budget variance).
  2. Run the setup prompt once; the agent runs budget-variance on fictional sample data first - approve that test before real work.
  3. Instinct keeps the context across sessions, so the setup survives as a standing workflow.
  4. Trigger each real run with one line and this run's inputs; Instinct asks before it sends, spends or commits - the same gates the agent is designed around.

Honest limits on Instinct

Instinct is in early access and its capabilities are expanding; always approve the sample-data test before pointing the agent at real work.

Questions people ask

Does the Budget Variance Agent work on Instinct?

Yes - the agent is three plain-text files, and on Instinct they live in Instinct. The four setup steps below are the whole job: Hand skill.md, setup-prompt.txt and usage-prompt.txt to Instinct in chat and ask it to keep them for the job (for example: budget variance). Then run the setup prompt once; the agent runs budget-variance on fictional sample data first - approve that test before real work.

What does the Budget Variance Agent produce on Instinct?

It maintains your approved budget sheet and explains budget-to-actual variance with the source row linked: account, budget, actual, variance, source, explanation.. Instinct prepares it and asks before anything leaves your approval. Every run waits for your approval before anything is sent, spent, published or scheduled.

Is this affiliated with Instinct?

No. AI Agent Skills is an independent store. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Instinct or its makers. Platform names belong to their owners; capabilities change, so check Instinct's current documentation.

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AI Agent Skills is an independent store, not affiliated with Instinct or its makers. Platform names belong to their owners.