How does a coding agent (SWE-agent, Aider, Cursor) actually work?

hard

Answer

$(1) Repository indexing: chunked embeddings + symbol maps + git blame for the codebase.$
$(2) Task decomposition: LLM parses the user goal, identifies affected files.$
$\mathrm{read}_{\mathrm{file}}$
$(4) Iteration loop: LLM proposes edits, runs tests, reads errors, refines.$
$(5) Guardrails: cap edits per turn, require confirmation for destructive ops, sandbox execution.$
$Best-in-class: Cursor Agent, Devin, SWE-agent, Aider, Claude Code.$
$Evaluated on SWE-bench Verified (~50-70% for top systems in 2026).$

Check yourself — multiple choice

Just prompt-based
Repo indexing + file/tests/git tools + iterative edit-run-refine loop + guardrails — SWE-bench ~50-70% for frontier
Same as chat
Impossible

Coding agent: repo index + file/tests/git tools + edit-run-refine loop + guardrails.

#agents#tools

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