# AI Coding Agents Explained (With a Real Example)

> Source: <https://dev.to/devlearningtools/ai-coding-agents-explained-with-a-real-example-12k2>
> Published: 2026-09-09 17:48:16+00:00

AI coding agents have moved past autocomplete: they can read an entire codebase, plan a multi-file change, write it, verify it, and ship it, mostly without step-by-step approval.

I wrote up how that actually looks day to day, since this exact site (devlearningtools.com) is built entirely through a terminal agent (Claude Code): request comes in as plain language, agent reads the existing code first, plans the change, writes it, verifies with a real build, then commits and confirms it's live.

Also compares Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Copilot, and Windsurf, plus a Common Mistakes section from real experience.

Full writeup: [https://www.devlearningtools.com/blog/ai-coding-agents-explained](https://www.devlearningtools.com/blog/ai-coding-agents-explained)

Curious what everyone else's actual workflow looks like.