Six practical lessons from working with Astra
Covers computer-use habits, Codex usage differences, rework risk when mixing models, and advice on splitting coding and 3D work.
I've gathered a few things that helped when working with Astra: - Astra is a beast at computer use & will usually find a way to get the information it needs. But keep an eye on whether it opens the browser to read docs when a CLI command could get the same information. If you notice that, add a line to your `AGENTS.md` or check whether you've installed a skill that's changing its behavior. - I often use GPT-6 Pro in ChatGPT for brainstorming, working out the details & putting together a handoff prompt. Remember: regular GPT chats don't count toward your Codex usage limits, but GPT Work does. - Before you add a skill or another library to your pipeline, ask it: "Don't just agree with me. Check whether my idea actually helps or just adds extra work & tell me when a simpler option or no change would be better." Also read erics post about cleaning up your skills. But be careful some skills still could be useful for gpt sol. - Be careful when mixing different models. In one of my runs, Astra threw away DeepSeek's 3D result & rebuilt it itself without telling me first. And yeah, I wasn't even mad. Something similar happened with Luna as the worker. That's why I wouldn't mix models just to save money. The cheaper worker can finish its part, then the stronger model may just do the work again. More routing doesn't automatically give you better quality at a lower cost. - For coding. I'm currently using Sol for implementation, with a handful of carefully picked skills & Astra as an advisor. For visual work like 3D or design, I only use Astra. I don't mix other coding models into it. - Astra loves to write a 2000 LOC CSS file without any respect for human-readable code. But the result speaks for itself. So it's basically a choice between accepting minified code that might still outperform what you had in mind, or just not using it for coding. - If you're reworking a landing page or UI, you can tell Codex something like: "Use GPT Image to create a mockup with <CRITERIA> based on the current design system." This gives you a preview of the design direction before you start implementing the change. (new GPT Image is really good) - Give Astra a max budget or time limit (if its difficult to form a specific goal), especially for visual work. It can also check your remaining Codex usage if you allow it. In some cases, I tell it something like: "<TASK>. Stop immediately if you have any questions for me, because I'm the lead designer/producer." or "Proceed until we hit the next milestone X for manual testing".