Coding agents are a new infrastructure primitive

Recent developments in AI have positioned coding agents like Claude Code and OpenCode as foundational infrastructure, rather than mere end-user tools. These modern coding agents can operate programmatically and headlessly, shifting the focus from direct user interaction to orchestration within broader workflows. Products such as Claude Cowork and Clawdbot illustrate this shift, treating coding agents as backend services while the user interface becomes the orchestrator. This transition marks a significant evolution in how agentic products are designed, suggesting a move towards an execution layer that manages context, executes tasks, and maintains state.

As coding agents stabilize and mature, the quest for differentiating by rebuilding agent harnesses becomes increasingly outdated. Traditional approaches that involved building planners and execution logic are being rendered less significant as a small number of teams develop well-crafted, general-purpose agent harnesses capable of context management and tool execution. The value now lies in defining workflows, supervising agent interactions, and designing how agents execute tasks rather than the agents themselves. This paradigm shift indicates that the AI community must now focus on building products that leverage existing agent infrastructure, thus allowing for more refined and effective applications of AI in real-world scenarios.