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01 Guide: The Minimal Agent

The Core Truth

Every AI coding agent — Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI, Devin — is built on the same pattern:

while True:
    response = completion(model=MODEL, messages=messages, tools=TOOLS)
    message = response.choices[0].message
    if not message.tool_calls:
        return message.content
    for tc in message.tool_calls:
        result = execute(tc.function.name, tc.function.arguments)
        messages.append({"role": "tool", "tool_call_id": tc.id, "content": result})

That's it. The model calls tools until it's done. Everything else is refinement.

Why Bash is Enough

Unix philosophy: everything is a file, everything can be piped.

You need Bash command
Read files cat, head, grep
Write files echo '...' > file
Search find, grep, rg
Execute python, npm, make
Subagent python 01-agent-loop/agent.py "task"

The last line is the key insight: calling itself via bash implements subagents. No special framework needed — just recursion through process spawning.

How Subagents Work

Main Agent
  └─ bash: python 01-agent-loop/agent.py "analyze architecture"
       └─ Subagent (isolated process, fresh history)
            ├─ bash: find . -name "*.py"
            ├─ bash: cat src/main.py
            └─ Returns summary via stdout

Process isolation = Context isolation:

  • Child process has its own history=[]
  • Parent captures stdout as tool result
  • Recursive calls enable unlimited nesting

What 17 Lines Proves

  1. One tool is enough — Bash is the gateway to everything
  2. Recursion = hierarchy — Self-calls implement subagents
  3. Process = isolation — OS provides context separation
  4. Prompt = constraint — Instructions shape behavior

What's Missing (and Why)

Feature Status Added In
Multiple tools ❌ Tool Design
Todo tracking ❌ Structured Planning
Agent types ❌ Subagents & Skills
Skills/knowledge ❌ Subagents & Skills

That's the point — you don't need any of it for a working agent.

Bash is All You Need.

← README | Next: Bash Agent →