Simon Willison: 'Code mode' is the future — LLMs should write programs, not call tools
springrod · x · 2026-11-07
Simon Willison argues "Code mode" is the future: LLMs should write programs rather than call many individual tools.
His reasoning:
- Saves context: generating one piece of code beats dozens of tool-call round trips;
- Plays to training: LLMs are trained on huge amounts of code, so writing code is their strength;
- It's a better way to expose business understanding.
He also poses the next question: which language should LLMs code in?
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