Scott Fryxell describes an AI coding harness that lets Cursor, Claude, and Pi share instructions, skills, and an AGENTS.md file across terminal-based interfaces. He argues that this shared operating environment matters more than any individual model and says it has reduced his concern about switching from Cursor to Codex. His current setup uses two $20 subscriptions, Cursor and Claude, with Pi added for other models. Fryxell uses DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731 for maintenance and simpler work, reserving frontier models and Anthropic API budget for complex features, refactors, and promotion tasks. His workflow separates work into explorer, planner, worker, critic, and promoter roles. Planning produces an explicit directed acyclic graph of tasks; a worker implements nodes, a critic reviews and may send work back for revision, and a promoter prepares communications about completed work. He says this cut his use of Fable by 75 percent in intensive work. The harness contains scripts, prompts, plans, skills, extensions, artifacts, and checked-out work repositories. It can control his poster-making web app through headless Chrome, including an npm command that generates an animation from an MP4. Fryxell says a government ban on Fable and signals of industry control made diversifying model access urgent, leading him to rely more heavily on Pi and Chinese models.

Large pull requests (PRs) can complicate the review process, making it difficult for maintainers to manage code changes effectively. Smaller PRs are preferred for their ease of review, benefiting both the reviewer and the overall development workflow.

Creating software involves significant challenges, including extensive coding and troubleshooting. Many developers face the struggle of transforming an idea into a functional program, often spending considerable time on development.

Cooking a steak requires minimal skill, involving basic steps like placing it in a hot pan, flipping, and waiting. Achieving a consistently good steak, with proper browning and seasoning, demands more expertise and attention.

Software development has become highly accessible, allowing users to describe ideas in plain English and receive a working prototype within minutes. These prototypes feature user interfaces, database connections, and functionality as envisioned, although they may not perform reliably under heavy load.

Refactoring can lead to significant economic benefits in software development by improving code quality and maintainability. A sophisticated application was developed to support agentic engineering, featuring a high-quality web UI, dynamic updates, external system integrations, and machine learning capabilities.

Micro-SaaS is being replaced by service-oriented software that focuses on private tools designed for specific tasks. These tools can outperform paid alternatives without the intention of being sold or generating recurring revenue.

Programming remains a cognitively demanding task, relying on memory and complex mental models. AI-powered coding assistants are altering the nature of these challenges rather than simplifying programming.

The "Bikeshed" column originated nearly 20 years ago from a casual email inquiry about writing on flash memory. It has since become an infrequent publication, appearing approximately once a year.

Vibecoded software experiences unexpected changes, leading to reflections on the themes of unity and chaos in Bruegel’s “The Tower of Babel.” The narrative connects technological progress with the importance of communication and collaboration.