Agent harnesses should match action and context complexity, not copy Claude Code

hugobowne · x · 2026-07-22

A long post argues that most agent systems fail because builders add too much harness complexity too early.

The author says the common default list — memory, compaction, sub-agents, orchestration, planning, hooks, guardrails, evals — is often the wrong starting point.
Instead, an agent should first be mapped on two axes:
Action complexity — how many tools, decisions, dependencies, and iterations it must coordinate.
Context complexity — how much information must stay coherent across model calls.
Coding agents and deep-research agents tend to be high on both axes.
Support/sales agents usually have lower context complexity; their main issues are routing, tool exposure, and human handoff.
The post also separates action complexity from action risk: a one-turn agent can still need strict permissions if its actions have high consequences.
The takeaway is to design around the actual failures your system can encounter, not around a one-size-fits-all Claude Code-style harness.

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