How I wrote JustHTML using coding agents, a post by Emil Stenström:

I recently released JustHTML, a python-based HTML5 parser. It passes 100% of the html5lib test suite, has zero dependencies, and includes a CSS selector query API. Writing it taught me a lot about how to work with coding agents effectively.

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JustHTML is about 3,000 lines of Python with 8,500+ tests passing. I couldn't have written it this quickly without the agent.

But "quickly" doesn't mean "without thinking." I spent a lot of time reviewing code, making design decisions, and steering the agent in the right direction. The agent did the typing; I did the thinking.

I haven’t quite embraced agents in this way (yet?), but I think the balance Stenström took in directing the LLMs to take out the busy work is the right way to go.