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Dev.to
Dev.to
7/16/2026
What is an "agentic harness," actually?

What is an "agentic harness," actually?

Short summary

A conceptual explainer on what an 'agentic harness' actually is — the invisible plumbing that decides whether an LLM agent keeps running or stops. It distinguishes the harness from the UI interface, explaining that tools, function calling, and the agent loop are what transform an LLM into an agent. The harness is everything after the LLM that manages execution, not the app you interact with.

  • Defines an agent as an LLM with tools running in a loop to accomplish a goal
  • Explains that the harness is the execution plumbing, separate from the UI interface
  • Highlights that interfaces can be swapped without touching the underlying harness

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.

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