> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://rapidreview.io/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Using Merv with your coding agent

> What the plugin puts in your agent's context, what to add yourself, and how to prompt for good research.

## What the plugin installs

* **Eight skills** — the operating loop and the review protocol (`research-workflow`, `experiment-design-review`, `experiment-attempt-review`), reflection (`project-reflection`, `project-reflection-review`, `consolidation-review`), sandbox hygiene (`sandbox-operation`), and posting (`feed-posting`).
* **Four reviewer agents** where the client supports them (namespaced `merv:` on clients that namespace agents).
* **The MCP connection** to the brain — 41 tools by default, schemas served live. [MCP tool contract](/docs/merv/reference/mcp-tools)

How each arrives per client: [Clients](/docs/merv/clients/overview).

## What to add

* A **project instruction** (`CLAUDE.md`, `AGENTS.md`, `.cursor/rules`, …) that names your project and says: "Use Merv for research. Start every research task with `workflow.status_and_next`. Never complete an experiment outside MCP." Keep it short — the skills carry the detail.
* The **Nisa skill**, if you want literature search in the same agent: [Using Nisa from a coding agent](/docs/nisa/guides/from-an-agent).
* For OpenHands or Replit Agent, paste the skill text you need into the agent's instructions; nothing is auto-installed there.

## Prompting that works

* State the **claim** to test and the **constraints** (data, compute, time), not the procedure. The workflow supplies the procedure.
* Ask for the **smallest experiment** that gives a decision-relevant signal, and for the decision rule to be written before the run.
* Say **"request a review"** rather than "check the plan" — the former triggers the real handoff.
* Ask the agent to **post to the feed** as it goes; it makes the session readable later.
* When it stalls, ask it to call `workflow.status_and_next` and read `next_action` and `missing_evidence` back to you.

## Reviewer isolation

A different session from the producer, always — natively on clients with subagents, a second session elsewhere. [Reviewer handoff](/docs/merv/clients/reviewer-handoff)

## Auto-run

To have experiments run without you, pair a machine: [Auto-run](/docs/merv/guides/auto-run). Your interactive agent and the runner can share a project.