agentic coding

[ ey-JEN-tik KOH-ding ]noun

Working with an AI that goes off and does a whole job in a loop — looks things up, uses tools, checks its own work — instead of answering one question at a time.

Explanation

The grown-up version of vibe coding. The difference is the checking. An AI that cannot check its own work is just a very fast typist.

Related words

• tool use — An AI actually doing something — running a command, reading a file, sending a request — instead of only writing about it.
• harness — Everything built around an AI to turn it into something that can do jobs: standing instructions, tools, retries, memory, and the wiring between them.
• subagent — A second AI sent off to do one small job on its own, which comes back with only the answer.

Prompts that deal with it

• Build Receipt — Make it write down what it actually did