Harness Engineering? Loop Engineering?

A developer clarifies the meanings of Harness Engineering and Loop Engineering in AI. Harness Engineering involves preparing the ecosystem of tools and connections an AI agent needs, while Loop Engineering refers to designing automated workflows where AI acts in response to events. The post provides a practical example of a loop that automatically fixes code errors.

In the world of AI , a new concept appears every week. It's nonstop The reality is that we're constantly bombarded with new technical words, sometimes a repackaged concept and idea with a new, viral name. Many of these concepts even become outdated or are renamed within few weeks. How do you avoid getting frustrated along the way? The key is not to blindly follow the hype, but to understand what's behind it. Two terms that have generated the most confusion lately are Harness Engineering and Loop Engineering. Here's an explanation of their meanings: Harness Engineering The tools : This involves preparing the entire ecosystem that an artificial intelligence agent needs to perform its job. In other words, it's when you implement skills, tools, and connections like MCPs for the AI so it can interact with your system. Loop Engineering The automation : This refers to the orchestration and design of workflows loops . Instead of working in the traditional way by typing a prompt in a chat for the AI to do something on a one-off basis what's called an "open loop" , you design a cycle where the AI acts automatically in response to certain events. A practical example: Imagine you configure a loop where, if a system detects an error in your code, an AI agent is automatically triggered, analyzes the error, writes a test, fixes it, and sends you the proposed change ready for review. Hope it helps to clarify Cheers