Entering 2025, I decided to spend some time exploring the topic of agents.
I started reading Anthropic’s Building effective agents,
followed by Chip Huyen’s AI Engineering.
I kicked off a major workstream at work on using agents, and I also decided to do a personal experiment of sorts.
This is a general commentary on building that project.
What I wanted to build was a simple chat interface where I could write prompts, select models,
and have the model use tools as appropriate.
My side goal was to build this using Cursor and generally avoid writing code directly as much
as possible, but I found that generally slower than writing code in emacs while relying
on 4o-mini to provide working examples to pull from.

Lethain, authored by Will Larson, offers a unique perspective on engineering management, leadership, and organizational dynamics. Developers and engineering leaders can explore topics such as team building, career growth, and organizational design, gaining insights into building high-impact engineering organizations. With thoughtful reflections and actionable advice, Lethain serves as a resource for those navigating the complexities of engineering leadership.

Irrational Exuberance

In 2025, the author explores building AI agents with tools for personal and work purposes. Starting with a chat interface, they shifted from TypeScript to a Python stack, using FastAPI, PostgreSQL, and SQLAlchemy. They developed tools allowing models to fetch weather data and webpage content. These trivial tools demonstrate the potential for enhancing daily tasks when used with tool-aware agents. While these innovations can transform daily experiences, their broader application is still under consideration.

Our own agents with their own tools.