# Coding agent

Concept · [Building with AI](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ai)

Also called: AI coding assistant, coding assistant, AI coding tool, AI pair programmer, AI developer

An [AI agent](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ai-agent) that writes and changes code. It reads the project's files, makes edits, runs the code to see if it works and fixes errors, following your [instructions](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/prompt).

**For example:** A [developer](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/software-engineer) tells a coding agent, 'Add a forgot-[password](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/authentication) link to the login page.' The [agent](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ai-agent) finds the right files, writes the change and runs the tests.

## Connects to (21)

- [AI agent](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ai-agent): An AI tool that does more than answer a question.
- [Vibe coding](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/vibe-coding): Building software by describing what you want to an AI tool and accepting the code it writes, often without reading that code closely.
- [Repository](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/repository): The folder where a project's code lives, together with the full history of every change made to it.
- [Terminal](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/terminal): A text window where a person types commands to a computer and reads its replies.
- [Vibe coding vs software engineering](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/vibe-coding-vs-software-engineering): Two ways to build software with AI.
- [Claude Code](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/claude-code): An AI coding agent made by Anthropic.
- [Codex](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/codex): OpenAI's AI coding agent.
- [GitHub Copilot](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/github-copilot): An AI coding assistant made by GitHub.
- [Cursor](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/cursor): An AI code editor and coding agent made by the company Anysphere.
- [Harness](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/harness): The software wrapped around an AI model that turns it into a working agent.
- [Agent mode](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/agent-mode): A named setting in a coding agent that changes how freely it acts.
- [AGENTS.md](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/agents-md): A plain text file in a project that many coding agents read automatically at the start of every session.
- [AX](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ax): Agent experience: how well a project is set up for an AI agent to do good work, with a clear structure, automated checks that catch…
- [Automated review](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/automated-review): Having an AI model read and critique work, usually code, before a person does.
- [Pair programming](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/pair-programming): Two people writing code together at one screen, one typing and one reviewing and thinking ahead, switching roles often.
- [Google Antigravity](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/google-antigravity): Google's coding tool built around AI agents.
- [Amazon Q](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/amazon-q): Amazon Web Services' AI assistant, now focused on developers: it helps write, review and run code on AWS.
- [Replit](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/replit): An online platform for writing, running and hosting code in a browser, with an AI agent that can build an app from a description.
- [T3 Code](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/t3-code): An open-source desktop app for running and managing several AI coding agents, such as Codex and Claude Code, from one place.
- [Codex Ambassadors](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/openai-codex-ambassador): An OpenAI volunteer program for people who build communities around Codex, its coding agent.
- [Frontend Masters](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/frontend-masters): An online learning platform for software developers, now called Master.dev, with in-depth courses, learning paths and live workshops on…

Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/coding-agent