What is agentic coding?

Updated Oct 26, 2026 · Sources listed at the end

Agentic coding means handing an AI agent a task and letting it work through the steps itself: reading the codebase, editing several files, running commands and tests, and iterating until the task is done. You review the outcome rather than typing each change.

What an agentic coding tool does

Anthropic’s description of Claude Code is a good reference: it “reads your codebase, edits files, runs commands, and integrates with your development tools”, and is available in the terminal, IDE, desktop app and browser.¹ Other tools in our AI coding agents list work the same way in a terminal, an editor or the cloud.

Keeping an agent on track

Claude Code’s best-practices guide lists the levers you control: instructions in files such as CLAUDE.md, what the agent is allowed to touch (permission modes, deny rules, a sandbox), and how it proves it is done (tests, type checks, hooks, CI).² Cursor offers the same kind of persistent instructions through rules.³

Agentic coding vs autocomplete

Autocomplete predicts the next lines while you type. An agent takes a goal and performs multiple steps. Many products now offer both; see AI code completion tools and background coding agents.

Tools mentioned

• Claude Code: paid from $20/mo
• OpenAI Codex: free plan, paid from $8/mo
• Gemini CLI: free plan, paid from Free
• Cursor: free plan, paid from $8/mo
• Cline: free plan, paid from Free

Sources

1. Claude Code docs: Overview
2. Claude Code docs: Best practices
3. Cursor docs: Rules