Setup and context — From "Using" AI to "Collaborating" With It
When developers first pick up Antigravity, most treat it like an advanced autocomplete tool. But after a few weeks, the real value becomes clear: Antigravity works best as a partner that helps you think through problems before you write a single line of code.
This article walks through a concrete workflow for weaving Antigravity into every phase of your development process — planning, implementation, and verification. It's aimed at developers who have been using Antigravity for one to three months and want to get noticeably more out of it.
Phase 1: Plan — The 15 Minutes Before You Write Code
Start by Explaining Your Task to Antigravity
Before opening a file, describe today's task in the Agent panel. This serves two purposes: it forces you to clarify your own thinking, and it gives Antigravity the context it needs to make useful suggestions throughout the session.
// Example input to the Agent panel
Today's task: Add a "Following" list to the user profile screen.
Current state: UserProfile.tsx exists. The follow API is at /api/users/:id/following.
Follower/following counts are already fetched via the useSocialStats hook.
Open questions: Infinite scroll is not implemented yet. Need to handle the
"is this user followed by me?" state.
Antigravity will respond with a suggested implementation outline. The goal isn't a perfect plan — it's to surface misunderstandings before any code is written.
Planning Checklist
Running through these questions with Antigravity before coding cuts rework dramatically.
On data flow: where does the new component get its data from? On side effects: does this change affect any existing features? On error cases: what does the UI show when the API fails or the list is empty? On testing: what's the unit of work you'll test?
Phase 2: Implement — Building Through Dialogue
Iterative Development with Inline Commands
The most effective technique during implementation is the "try small, fix fast" cycle using Cmd+K (Mac) / Ctrl+K (Windows) inline commands.
// Step 1: Write the skeleton, let Antigravity fill in the body
// Cmd+K → "Implement this function using useInfiniteQuery"
export function useFollowingList(userId: string) {
// ← place cursor here and press Cmd+K
}When Antigravity generates code, get in the habit of asking why:
// Agent panel: "Why did you choose cursor-based pagination over offset-based?"
// Generated code with explanation
export function useFollowingList(userId: string) {
return useInfiniteQuery({
queryKey: ["following", userId],
queryFn: async ({ pageParam }) => {
// Cursor-based pagination: if users are added or removed frequently,
// offset-based pagination causes duplicate entries or skipped items
// at page boundaries. Cursor-based avoids this entirely.
const res = await fetch(
`/api/users/${userId}/following?cursor=${pageParam ?? ""}&limit=20`
);
if (!res.ok) throw new Error("Failed to fetch following list");
return res.json() as Promise<{
users: FollowingUser[];
nextCursor: string | null;
}>;
},
getNextPageParam: (lastPage) => lastPage.nextCursor,
initialPageParam: "",
});
}
// Expected behavior:
// - First load: fetches first 20 with no cursor
// - Load more: passes nextCursor from previous page
// - When nextCursor is null, pagination is completeUnblocking Yourself
When you get stuck, most developers instinctively reach for Google. But asking Antigravity first is often faster.
// Stuck pattern 1: Confusing error message
"I'm getting 'TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'map')'
when consuming useFollowingList. What are the most likely causes and fixes?"
// Stuck pattern 2: Architecture decision
"Should 'is this user followed by me?' be global Zustand state, or is
component-local state fine? This is a small social app, ~5,000 MAU."
// Stuck pattern 3: Performance concern
"The FollowingList could grow past 1,000 items. How do I improve
rendering performance? Currently rendering everything without virtualization."
Phase 3: Verify — Getting Your Code Reviewed
Request a Review Before Human Review
After finishing an implementation, run an Antigravity review before sending it to teammates. This isn't just about catching embarrassing mistakes — it's about finding design issues you didn't know were there.
// Example review request in the Agent panel
"Review the FollowingList component I just wrote. Focus on:
1. Memory leaks and infinite re-render risks
2. Missing error handling
3. Accessibility (screen reader support)
4. TypeScript type safety"
// Example issue flagged by Antigravity and the fix
// ❌ Problem: IntersectionObserver not cleaned up
useEffect(() => {
const observer = new IntersectionObserver(handleIntersect);
if (loadMoreRef.current) observer.observe(loadMoreRef.current);
// No cleanup → memory leak
}, []);
// ✅ Fix: Add cleanup function
useEffect(() => {
const observer = new IntersectionObserver(handleIntersect);
const element = loadMoreRef.current;
if (element) observer.observe(element);
return () => {
if (element) observer.unobserve(element);
observer.disconnect();
};
}, [handleIntersect]); // handleIntersect added to depsMapping Out Test Cases
Antigravity is particularly good at generating exhaustive test case lists.
// "List test cases for the useFollowingList hook" generates:
describe("useFollowingList", () => {
const futureDate = new Date(Date.now() + 86400000);
const pastDate = new Date(Date.now() - 86400000);
// Happy path
it("returns first 20 items on initial load");
it("appends next page when loadMore is called");
it("sets hasNextPage to false when nextCursor is null");
// Error cases
it("enters error state when API returns 401");
it("enters error state when API returns 500");
it("enters error state on network failure");
// Edge cases
it("returns empty array when following count is 0");
it("does not duplicate requests when mounted multiple times with same userId");
it("does not update state after component unmounts");
});Building the Habit
Morning Session Ritual
When you open Antigravity each morning, send a short message to rebuild context from the previous day.
"Continuing UserProfile work today. Yesterday I finished the useFollowingList hook.
Today I'm building the FollowingList UI component and adding follow/unfollow buttons."
This gets Antigravity up to speed instantly and sharpens suggestion quality from the first prompt.
End-of-Session Handoff Note
Before wrapping up, spend five minutes having Antigravity write a context note for tomorrow.
"Summarize what I did today and any unfinished tasks or deferred decisions,
in a format I can paste into AGENTS.md."
Common Failure Patterns
Pattern 1: Asking for Too Much at Once
Large, vague requests degrade output quality significantly.
// ❌ Too broad
"Refactor the entire profile page, improve performance,
write tests, and add Storybook stories."
// ✅ Focused scope
"Optimize rendering in UserProfile.tsx only.
Find places where useMemo and useCallback are missing and add them."
Pattern 2: Accepting Generated Code Without Reading It
Treat Antigravity's output as a first draft, not a final answer. For anything touching security, auth, or payments, always review the code yourself before committing.
Summary
Getting the most out of Antigravity as an AI partner requires deliberately building collaboration into each phase: planning before you code, iterating through dialogue while you build, and requesting a review when you're done.
The single highest-leverage change you can make today: start each session with a two-to-three sentence description of what you're building. That small habit compounds into noticeably better suggestions within a week.
For more, see Antigravity Best Practices and the Custom Agent Creation Guide.