# You lead, the agent builds: agentic engineering in plain words

> Agentic engineering is a structured way to build real software where you set the goal, agree on a written spec and plan, and direct a coding agent to build one small step at a time while you inspect and approve every result.

## Analogy

Imagine directing a film: you don't hold every camera or sew every costume yourself, yet every scene exists because you approved the script, the storyboard, and the final cut. Without your direction, the crew would just shoot random footage.

## How it works

In February 2026, AI researcher Andrej Karpathy proposed the term agentic-engineering to distinguish serious software building from “prompt and pray” (often called vibe coding). A quick-experiment where you accept whatever the AI outputs is fine for a throwaway test, but real apps need a clear structure.

Instead of asking your coding-agent to build an entire app in one giant leap, you follow sdd: **Idea → Spec → Plan → Build → Check → Publish**. First you agree on what to build and why in a plain-language spec (`SPEC.md`), then you split that spec into a step-by-step plan (`tasks/plan.md`).

During the **Build** and **Check** stages, the agent works on one small task at a time, saves a commit after each working step, and runs automated checks (such as a test) to prove nothing broke. You try the feature in your browser or in a private preview link before moving on.

You stay in charge because you own the decisions that matter: who the app is for, what stays out, how it should feel, and when it is ready to deploy to production. The agent handles the syntax and commands; you provide the judgment.

## In your project

At the start of every session, your agent reads `SPEC.md` and `tasks/todo.md` and shows you where you are on the path: `① Setup → ② New project → ③ Spec → ④ Plan → ⑤ Build & preview → ⑥ Publish`.

When you ask for a new feature, it won't jump straight into writing code. Instead, it will interview you one question at a time to update the spec and plan first, waiting for your OK at each stage.

## Copy for your agent

```text
Read SPEC.md and tasks/todo.md (if they exist), show me where we are in the six-step path, and propose the single next step we should take together.
```

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Source: [Agentic Makers](https://agenticmakers.app/en/learn/agentic-engineering) · License: CC BY 4.0