human-editable-ai-artifacts
Ask agents for rich output, but keep the source and the manual editing surface close enough for the human final pass.
Show Us Your Agent Skills / EP 05 / guest dossier
ISAAC FLATH
RAW2DRAFT
CODEX
WRITING-STYLE
VOICE REVIEW
ISAAC FLATH
Isaac built Raw2Draft as a local writing and communication workbench powered by his own skills: editable HTML reports, markdown-to-presentation builds, D3/D2/Mermaid diagram generation, visual critique, transcription, voice review, and writing-style passes all feed back into the active file. AI gets the artifact close while preserving the handles Isaac needs for taste, judgment, and the last ten percent.
EP 05 · ISAAC FLATH · Raw2Draft, editable artifacts, voice review, and writing style
"I can have it create HTML, I can have it create this nice interface, but I can also manually edit it."
The generated artifact still has handles. Isaac can double-click text, change it, save it back to HTML, and keep moving. 01:15:10
THE ARTIFACT STAYS EDITABLE
the human-editable-ai-artifacts workflow
Raw2Draft is Isaac's local writing and communication app. It knows the active file, runs Codex with project skills, renders rich outputs, and keeps the source nearby. It is a text editor, a preview surface, and an agent workbench in one place.
A generated HTML report can be polished without asking the agent to regenerate everything. A markdown presentation can hold talking points, code, links, and diagrams while still building into a shareable page. The model helps make the object; Isaac keeps the human handles.
"It's ninety percent of the way there. Let me do the last ten percent manually."
That last ten percent needs layers, text, labels, handles, and a surface the human can still enter. A flat image or locked render loses the part Isaac wants to finish. 01:25:52
FROM MARKDOWN TO RICH OUTPUT
plain source, rendered diagrams, local checks, voice critique
Start in markdownIsaac keeps the everyday source readable while Raw2Draft renders presentations, links, code blocks, and talking points. 01:16:35
Build the artifactA presentation build skill turns markdown into a deployable HTML presentation without hiding the source. 01:18:19
Let the agent write the visual codeHe uses D3, D2, and Mermaid because Codex can write the code and Raw2Draft can render the result locally. 01:19:46
Check the rendered imageA visual critique pass looks for overlapping labels and other diagram problems before Isaac spends attention on it. 01:20:37
Point and talkHighlight the text, record the critique, transcribe it, and write the review into markdown for the agent to apply. 01:26:50
Cut before tasteThe writing skill pushes the model toward plainness and deletion, so Isaac can add judgment after the bloat is gone. 01:52:02
"It's like a point and talk interface."
Voice review turns a highlighted passage and a spoken critique into a markdown review the agent can apply to the active file. 01:26:50
"Instead of just returning a chat, it returns like a widget."
Isaac's frustration is agent-app UX: a booking flow wants a calendar button, a writing flow wants editable text, and a diagram flow wants a rendered object the human can inspect. 01:11:58
PERSONAL SOFTWARE, PRODUCT LATER
why Raw2Draft works for Isaac before it becomes something anyone else can use
Raw2Draft is powerful because it is allowed to be specific. It knows Isaac's blog folders, presentation folders, environment variables, fonts, and local habits. A blog post and a community presentation can open in the same app and reveal different affordances because the directory already tells Raw2Draft what Isaac is doing.
That same specificity is the product gap. A public version would need explicit permissions for local files and secrets, a discoverable voice-review interface, setup for transcription keys, and enough configuration to support other people's writing and publishing structures.
"I don't need my tutorial to sound like poetry."
Isaac does not ask the model to become him. He asks it to cut, simplify, and stop before it starts inventing clever titles that do no work. 01:52:26
THE HANDOFF KIT
one workflow, one skill, and the checks Isaac uses before taking the final pass
writing-style
Zinsser-first plain writing, deletion, critique, and clean starts before the human adds taste.
presentation build
Turns markdown with slides, diagrams, links, and talking points into a presentation artifact that can be shared.
transcription
AssemblyAI word-level timestamps support voice review and precise cuts to filler words in video or prose workflows.
visual critique
Screenshots and diagrams go to Gemini for feedback on overlaps, clutter, and visual problems before Isaac reviews them.
semantic color
His diagram skill tells the agent that color should carry meaning, with small scripts checking common failures instead of relying only on prose.
skill skepticism
He reads broad public skills before trusting them, especially when they give one design recipe for invoices, landing pages, dashboards, and tools.
read the prompt
Isaac's rule for public skills is blunt: if you are going to use a prompt or skill, read it first.
Marimo Pair
A broadly useful skill took real notebook use to get good: live environment access, back-and-forth communication, and repeated iteration.
ISAAC'S STACK
the pieces Raw2Draft leans on
Codexagent running with skills and local context
D3code-backed presentation visuals
D2diagram source inside markdown
Mermaidrendered diagram blocks
AssemblyAIvoice review and word timing
Geminivisual critique on screenshots
Marimo Pairexample of a skill that improved through use
skills.shpublic skills worth reading before trusting