What Is a Coding Agent?
What Is a Coding Agent?
A coding agent is an AI that doesn't just answer your question — it reads your files, runs commands, and edits code for you. You stop typing every line. You start directing an agent and reviewing what it changes.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Explain the difference between a chatbot (talks) and a coding agent (acts on your repo)
- List three things agents can do reliably today
- Name two limitations you must still own as the human operator
In this course you'll build a real working agent in 6 lessons. It will read a CSV file, query a Supabase database, pull fresh facts from Perplexity, and publish a conclusion page. No prior coding needed.
This first lesson: you build a one-page explainer that tells someone — in plain language — what an agent is, what it can do, and what it can't do. Think of it as the landing page for the agent you're about to build.
Instructions
Add an <h1> heading that contains the word "Agent" — this is the page title
Hint: Try: `<h1 class="text-4xl font-bold text-white mb-3">What Is a Coding Agent?</h1>`
Add a <section class="can-do"> element listing 3 things an agent CAN do (use a <ul> with 3 <li> items)
Add a <section class="cannot-do"> element describing at least 2 things an agent CANNOT do
Your Code
Describe what you want to build for this step and I'll write the code — then click Apply to drop it into your editor. This step: Add an <h1> heading that contains the word "Agent" — this is the page title