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I like the term "asynchronous coding agent", which I define as the category of coding agent which runs in a container somewhere and files a PR when it's done.
by simonw 9mo ago
I like the term "asynchronous coding agent", which I define as the category of coding agent which runs in a container somewhere and files a PR when it's done.
OpenAI Codex Cloud, Claude Code for the web, Gemini Jules and I think Devin (which I've not tried) are four examples.
I like that "asynchronous coding agent" is more specific than "asynchronous agent" - I don't have a firm idea of what an "asynchronous agent" is.
One catch though is that the asynchronous coding agents are getting less asynchronous. Claude Code for the web lets you prompt it while it's running which makes it feel much more like regular Claude Code.
- kmansm27 9mo agoAn example of a non-coding "asynchronous agent" in my mind is something like deep research. It runs for a while in ChatGPT or Gemini, and when it's done, it produces a markdown file or google doc with its findings. The parallel with your definition of "asynchronous coding agent" is that I'm not watching it work or involved in the process. But your last point highlights exactly why the sync/async distinction doesn't hold up as a binary classification. Even with deep research, I go back and forth on a plan synchronously before sending it off to run async. Any good asynchronous coding agent should work the same way.