Agent Engineering: Harness Patterns, IMPACT Framework & Coding Agent Architecture
Original excerpt
2025 proved coding agents could work. 2026 is about making them work reliably. The model is the brain. The harness is the body. Meta acquired Manus for $2B, not for the model, but for the harness. This guide covers the frameworks, patterns, and architecture behind every serious coding agent shipping today.
Agent engineering is the discipline of building reliable systems around language models. swyx coined the term at the 2025 AI Engineer Summit. His core argument: a minimal agent definition of "LLM + tools + loop" is too simplistic to be useful. It leaves out memory, planning, and authority, which are exactly the components that separate agents that ship from agents that demo well.
Simon Willi…
Frequently asked questions
What is "Agent Engineering: Harness Patterns, IMPACT Framework & Coding Agent Architecture" about?
This article by Context Engineering is part of the Context Engineering reading list on Burn 451, covering prompts · mcp · agent context.
Who wrote "Agent Engineering: Harness Patterns, IMPACT Framework & Coding Agent Architecture"?
This piece is part of the Context Engineering vault on Burn 451, covering prompts · mcp · agent context. The original author is attributed at the source link.
How can I read more content from Context Engineering?
The complete Context Engineering reading list is available at burn451.cloud/vault/context-engineering. Each article includes an AI-generated summary so you can decide what to read in seconds. Connect the Burn 451 MCP server to Claude or Cursor to query all Context Engineering articles as live AI context.
Can I use "Agent Engineering: Harness Patterns, IMPACT Framework & Coding Agent Architecture" with Claude or Cursor?
Yes. Install the burn-mcp-server npm package and connect it to Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or Cursor. Once connected, your AI can search and reference this article and the full Context Engineering vault in real time — no manual copy-paste required.
20 more articles in this vault.
Import the full Context Engineering vault to Burn 451 and build your own knowledge base.
Content attributed to the original author. Burn 451 curates publicly available writing as a reading index. For removal requests, contact @hawking520.