Research the agent users of your developer tool
Your newest developer may not open the dashboard or file a ticket. It can still tell you exactly where the CLI, SDK, or docs made the job harder.
- For
- Teams building CLIs, SDKs, coding tools, and developer platforms
- Question
- Run user research with AI agents using a developer tool
- Start with
- Choose the single command or SDK operation coding agents run most often, and study that entry point alone.
- Updated
“The deploy completed, but the command returned before the preview URL was ready. I polled status six times without guidance.”
Requested changeReturn the preview URL or a recommended polling interval.
{
"tool": "submit_agent_feedback",
"arguments": {
"feedback_type": "friction",
"tool_or_endpoint": "deploy",
"summary": "The deploy completed, but the command returned before the preview URL was ready. I polled status six times without guidance.",
"outcome": "success",
"satisfaction": 3,
"suggested_fix": "Return the preview URL or a recommended polling interval."
}
}A synthetic example in the shape a real report takes. Emic never manufactures a report from observed behavior.
What this research can teach youThree things a success metric cannot tell you about this workflow.
Commands that need hidden knowledge
Find flags, defaults, output formats, and asynchronous states that force agents to inspect help or poll blindly.
Abstractions that leak
Learn where the SDK omits a capability, changes a type, or requires a lower-level escape hatch.
Examples agents can actually apply
Direct reports distinguish a missing example from a missing product primitive.
Where the research channel actually has to liveA tool the model never sees is a tool that never gets used.
Catalog presence is not model visibility
Project instructions are a more reliable rail than assuming every tool description reaches model context.
From one question to a product decision5 moves, in order. Each one produces something you can point at.
Choose the agent entry point
Select the CLI command, SDK operation, or coding-agent tool you want to understand.
One coherent task surfaceAdd a visible feedback path
Expose direct filing and support tools in the same instructions the agent already reads.
Research access in contextLet the task finish
Feedback happens after the work, so it does not block the command or alter the original result.
Zero hot-path latencySeparate product, docs, and support
Use the report lane to route a schema problem differently from a docs gap or human escalation.
A usable research queueRepeat what worked
Positive reports reveal output shapes and examples that reduce agent effort.
Design principles grounded in useWhat the direct channel records, and what it never touchesThe default install is additive. It adds two tools and changes nothing else.
The research submission
- The agent report and selected lane
- The command, tool, or SDK operation named by the agent
- Outcome, satisfaction, and optional requested change
- Direct answers to a short exit survey
Everything else
- Terminal history and arbitrary shell output
- Source code and repository contents
- Existing tool calls and coding-agent messages
- Performance monitoring and error capture
One paste, then verify a real reportA healthy endpoint is not an active study. The inbox record is the proof.
Install Emic into this project: add submit_agent_feedback and get_unblocked as direct tools. Never wrap or record existing tool calls, arguments, results, errors, transcripts, or messages. Additive only, plain HTTP, zero dependencies. Full instructions: https://emic.sh/llms-full.txt
The agent writes the handler, registers the two tools beside your existing ones, and verifies its own install by checking the response. Nothing is placed in front of the tools you already ship.
- Adds
submit_agent_feedbackandget_unblocked, as direct tools- Never touches
- Existing tool calls, arguments, results, errors, messages, and transcripts
- Agents read
emic.sh/llms-full.txt- Start with
- Choose the single command or SDK operation coding agents run most often, and study that entry point alone.
The method, without collapsing the evidence
Agents read interfaces as instructions
A human can infer intent from layout, convention, and a quick search. An agent works from tool descriptions, schemas, examples, command output, and the context it has been given.
That makes description quality, stable output, explicit recovery, and token-efficient results part of the product experience.
Route the report without flattening it
A support need, a product bug, workflow friction, a feature request, and praise are different research signals. Keep the agent wording while giving each signal a clear destination.
Questions teams ask before starting
Can this work with a CLI?
Yes. Give the coding agent or automation a direct plain-HTTP feedback tool in the project instructions it already reads.
Does Emic read the repository?
No. The default integration receives only the feedback the agent intentionally files and any direct survey answer it submits.
What counts as positive feedback?
Anything the agent says made the task unusually clear, fast, compact, or reliable. Those reports are patterns worth repeating.
Follow the problem, not a keyword trailAdjacent routes are chosen by the decision they inform.
MCP server feedback
Your server can return valid JSON and still make an agent guess through five calls. Emic gives that agent a direct research channel after the work is done.
Read next Use cases · DocumentationAgent docs feedback
An agent can complete the task and still tell you that the docs made it expensive. Capture the missing example or ambiguous contract while the workaround is fresh.
Read next Guides · Implementation guideCollect feedback from agents
Add a direct tool, make the filing norm visible, verify one real report, and keep the research channel separate from the product path it studies.
Read nextGive your developer tool a research channel
Start with the command or API surface agents already use and learn where the experience differs from the happy path.
The assisted 14-day pilot costs nothing. Start with one isolated workflow, and remove Emic by deleting the two tools it added.
- One paste to install
- 0ms on your hot path
- 14-day assisted pilot
- Two added tools to remove