Articles / Foundations
Topic
How AI agents actually work. Frameworks, orchestration, workflows, guardrails, observability — the concepts you need before picking a platform.
17 articles
Jul 3, 2026 · 5 min read
Four ways to check Claude Code usage: the /status and /cost commands, transcript files under ~/.claude, and a free dashboard that rolls up all your history.
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Jun 23, 2026 · 8 min read
Claude Opus 4.8 costs 1.6x more than Sonnet 4.6 but isn't always 1.6x better. The 70/20/10 routing pattern and cost math at production volume.
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Jun 22, 2026 · 9 min read
Patterns that let builders use Claude 3-5x more without hitting limits. Prompt caching, model routing, subagents, hooks, and when to use the API.
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Jun 17, 2026 · 7 min read
Evals are becoming the new PRD for AI agents — quantifiable tests that define 'done' for coding agents. Frameworks, patterns, failure modes.
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Jun 17, 2026 · 10 min read
How to create an AI agent in 2026: four paths from no-code to fully custom, with our platform pick, time to first agent, and real cost.
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Jun 17, 2026 · 9 min read
Loop engineering — four patterns that turn AI agents into autonomous systems. Heartbeats, crons, hooks, goals, and platforms that ship each.
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Jun 17, 2026 · 8 min read
Multi-agent AI compared honestly, the three patterns that work in production, the four that don't, and the cost math that decides which is right.
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May 17, 2026 · 6 min read
AI agent task selection made simple. The ARR framework — Autonomous, Recurring, Reviewable — decides which tasks belong with an AI agent and which don't.
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May 17, 2026 · 8 min read
Stop prompting. Start directing. The mindset change builders need to make once they move from chatbots to agents, and the practices that come with it.
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May 17, 2026 · 8 min read
Three capabilities safe alone, catastrophic combined: private data, internet access, untrusted input. How the AI agent security trap works and how to break it.
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Mar 25, 2026 · 5 min read
Brain-and-muscle model routing: use expensive models for planning, cheap models for execution. Real cost breakdowns and the routing logic that makes it work.
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Mar 20, 2026 · 13 min read
Best AI agent observability tools and what to instrument. LangSmith, Paperclip, OpenTelemetry, Datadog, the four metrics every production agent needs.
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Mar 17, 2026 · 13 min read
Seven AI agent guardrails every production deployment needs — approval gates, action boundaries, budget caps, blast radius. Why 9 seconds ended Pocket OS.
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Mar 12, 2026 · 15 min read
The 8 best AI agent orchestration platforms in 2026 — Paperclip, n8n, LangGraph, CrewAI, Lindy, AutoGen, Azure, Vertex. Ranked with decision rules.
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Mar 9, 2026 · 9 min read
AI agent workflow design, the eight patterns that ship in production, the three that don't, and the decision tree for picking the right one for your job.
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Mar 4, 2026 · 11 min read
The best AI agent frameworks compared — LangGraph, CrewAI, AutoGen, Semantic Kernel. Which fits which workflow, and when to skip them entirely.
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Mar 2, 2026 · 10 min read
Skills files, context management, and routines turn a one-trick agent into a system that improves. The architecture behind agents that compound over time.
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Other topics
Use Cases
Where agents are doing real work. Email, support, finance, small-business operations — by job-to-be-done, not by tool.
Comparisons
Head-to-head reviews and editorial picks. When two tools answer the same question, here's how to choose.
Cost & Pricing
What agents actually cost in production, and where the savings really are.
Strategy
Broader market analysis and contrarian takes on where the AI agent space is going.
Claude Skills
Deep coverage of Claude's agentic capabilities — what Skills are, how they relate to MCP, and how to build them.