Coding agents
Start, direct, and review coding agents inside a real project workspace.
An agent can write code, but a product change also needs a running app, a reviewable diff, and a decision about shipping. These articles follow the full loop: open a project, make a bounded request, inspect the result, and keep the context for the next session. Canopy runs supported CLIs in their own terminals; your existing provider account stays with the CLI.
Open this topic's article index for AI assistants →
Why won’t my phone open my local dev site?
Use the computer's LAN address, check the dev server's bind host and port, then trace API calls and HTTPS-only browser features on the phone.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How do I run Supabase locally with my AI-built app?
Start the Supabase CLI stack, connect the local app to its actual project URL and keys, and verify a test record stays off production.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Why did Claude Code forget my task after compaction?
Recover a Claude Code task after /compact by checking the actual branch, diff, tests, and lost instructions before giving the agent one verified next step.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Why did my Trigger.dev task send two emails?
Trace duplicate email through task run IDs, retry attempts, app triggers, and provider events before replaying or changing idempotency settings.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How do I test a Trigger.dev email task without emailing real users?
Trace one local signup through the Development worker and a test email destination before an agent runs a side-effecting task.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Why does my AI-built app lose data when I refresh?
Find whether a Save button updates only UI state, browser storage, or a real backend, then test the persistence the product actually needs.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Is my local AI-built app using the production database?
Trace the browser, API, worker, and database targets before an agent tests writes or migrations in a locally running app.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How do I keep a coding agent in the right app in a monorepo?
Identify the owning package, shared dependencies, checkout, and run command before an agent edits one feature in a multi-app repository.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How do I stop a coding agent rebuilding a feature that already exists?
Make the agent locate the active implementation and its callers before editing, then review the smallest change against the running app.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Why did my coding agent change the lockfile for a small fix?
Trace an unexpected package-lock or pnpm-lock diff to its command and dependency decision, then review and reproduce the PR safely.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How do I check an AI-built page with a keyboard and screen reader?
Review an agent-built form and dialog with keyboard, accessible-name, error, and screen-reader checks before accepting the PR.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Trigger.dev runs stuck in dev? Check for a second agent worker
Trace a queued local task across the app, Trigger.dev project, dashboard, and worker processes when two agent worktrees are open.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28What to do when an AI agent opens a 40-file pull request
Inventory an oversized agent diff, separate independent work from dependencies, and rebuild reviewable PRs without losing the original change.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How do I turn a Figma design into a running page with a coding agent?
Hand an agent one frame, states, assets, and component constraints; run the page in Canopy and review behavior, visuals, and the final diff.
Read → Blog / 2026-09-28Canopy 0.3.4: test tab recovery, OpenCode usage, and Remote
A task-based reading of the v0.3.4 release notes with a short installed-build trial for closed tabs, OpenCode Statistics, and Remote continuity.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Did your coding agent weaken a test to make CI pass?
Review changed assertions, skips, mocks, and browser setup against the original behavior before accepting an agent's green check.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Why do my agent tests pass locally but fail in GitHub Actions?
Compare the exact PR commit, failing CI step, runner, install, environment, and test command before changing code or rerunning a job.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How to stop an endless AI code review loop
When each review pass finds another issue, triage findings against the same acceptance checks, verify the latest commit, and decide what blocks this PR.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Why does my browser show the old app after my coding agent changed the code?
Trace a stale local preview through the checkout, running server, actual port, hot reload, browser cache, and data request before asking an agent to edit again.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28AI-built app works locally but fails on Vercel Preview
Find the first difference between a working Canopy run and a broken Vercel Preview: commit, build, environment, runtime request, or backend target.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28My coding agent committed an API key. What now?
A staged response to an agent-written secret leak: stop propagation, revoke the credential, restore services, inspect exposure, and decide whether Git history needs cleanup.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How to review an AI-generated access-control PR
Use a permission matrix and cross-user tests to review an agent-written authentication or authorization change before merge.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Why does my coding agent show so many sent tokens?
Understand large input totals, growing conversation context, cache reads and writes, output tokens, and the checks to make before changing models.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Canopy vs OpenCode: agent or project workspace?
Compare OpenCode's multi-provider agent, subagents, session stats, and sharing with Canopy's local project workflow around installed CLIs.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Canopy vs Conductor for parallel coding agents
Compare two full multi-agent workflows across isolated workspaces, local and cloud execution, preview, PR review, team sharing, and platform support.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Canopy vs cmux for coding agents: terminal control or project workspace?
A dated, source-backed comparison of Canopy and cmux across parallel CLI sessions, attention, browser preview, PR review, remote access, and platform fit.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Agent session, terminal tab, branch, or worktree: what is the difference?
A practical map of the four things people mix up when running multiple coding agents, with a two-agent example and checkout verification commands.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Why does my coding agent keep asking for permission?
Diagnose repeated coding-agent approval prompts by checking the action, CLI rules, working directory, and session before changing permissions.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How to hand an AI-built app to a developer for review
A concrete handoff for founders: reproduce the app, show the exact change, list verified behavior and unknowns, and ask a developer for a risk decision.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How do I find the command that runs an AI-built app?
A beginner workflow for finding the project directory, runtime, run script, local URL, and first useful error before asking an agent to fix setup.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Canopy vs GitHub Copilot CLI for coding agents
A dated comparison of Copilot CLI sessions, models, worktrees, review, voice, and remote control with Canopy's multi-CLI project workflow.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28MCP server configured but unavailable to your coding agent?
Diagnose MCP scope, connection, authentication, tool selection, and cross-CLI setup with a read-only documentation server as the example.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How to inspect an open-source AI IDE before installing it
A repeatable Canopy release check: match installer to tag, verify the asset digest, read source and license boundaries, and test what connects to the network.
Read → Blog / 2026-09-28Why cheaper AI tokens can make a coding task more expensive
A worked task-cost comparison that counts retries, cache categories, human review, and accepted code instead of ranking models by input-token price.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How to set a practical budget for parallel coding agents
Decide how many agents to launch, assign each an output and stop point, then track plan usage, estimates, review load, and accepted work.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Canopy vs Warp for coding agents: what changes in the workflow?
A dated comparison of third-party CLI agents, worktrees, review, cloud orchestration, team sharing, local data, accounts, and open-source licenses.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Canopy vs Zed for coding agents: which workflow fits?
Compare Zed Agent, ACP external agents, terminal threads, worktrees, Git, tasks, real-time collaboration, and Canopy's project workflow.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Can a noncoder build software with AI coding agents?
A realistic first-project path for noncoders: choose a bounded task, run the result, review observable behavior, and know when a developer must check the change.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Canopy vs Claude Code Desktop: which agent workspace fits?
A current, fair comparison of parallel sessions, worktrees, preview, PR review, remote work, supported CLIs, accounts, and operating systems.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Can Claude Code and Codex agents talk to each other in Canopy?
Separate cross-CLI messages from Claude-native agent teams, choose teammate models deliberately, and verify a two-session handoff.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Canopy vs Cursor for coding agents: which workflow fits?
A dated, source-backed comparison of independent CLIs, Cursor Agent, worktrees, review, local previews, remote work, accounts, and pricing boundaries.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28My coding agent edited the wrong branch or worktree. What now?
Identify the actual checkout, preserve every change, move the intended work safely, and verify the correct branch before restarting the agent.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Debug an agent-built page using the browser console and network log
Collect the exact failing action, console message, request status, service log, and checkout before asking an agent to fix a broken preview.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How do I ask a coding agent for a demo I can inspect?
A founder-friendly request and acceptance checklist that turns an agent's 'done' message into a running page, observable behavior, and a reviewable diff.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Share agent work with a team without sharing model accounts
A practical boundary map for shared project context, CLI profiles, team collaboration, model access, and billing in Canopy.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Which coding-agent CLIs work in Canopy, and what differs?
A dated, source-backed comparison of launch, resume, session signals, shared context, and file attribution across seven CLIs.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Who can control your coding agent through Canopy Remote?
Understand the PIN, running-host requirement, tunnel, scoped Remote commands, and why terminal access still deserves care.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How do I run a Trigger.dev worker beside my app in Canopy?
Set up Trigger.dev once, save its dev command beside the website and API, run a dashboard test, and debug the right process.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28What happens to a coding agent when you close Canopy?
Distinguish a closed tab, hidden project, hibernation, app exit, and CLI conversation resume before relying on a session overnight.
Read → Blog / 2026-09-28Why an AI coding workspace still needs a real terminal
What a PTY preserves for interactive coding CLIs, what Canopy adds around it, and a quick test for comparing agent workspaces.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How do I resolve a merge conflict between two coding agents?
Find the conflicting branches, compare each agent's intent, make one integration decision, and test the combined behavior.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28When a coding-agent session suddenly burns through usage
Pause the session, separate context growth from repeated work and stale estimates, then restart with a smaller verified scope.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28From GitHub issue to agent draft PR: a reviewable handoff
Read the whole ticket, give one agent a scoped branch, test the running change, and close the loop with evidence in the PR.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Turn a screenshot or rough idea into a coding-agent task
Capture the evidence, investigate before editing, write a bounded acceptance check, and review the resulting draft PR.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Research a codebase question without changing code
Choose an answer, source-backed investigation, or implementation task deliberately, then keep findings available for the next decision.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Find the old agent session, then resume the right project
Recover a past decision from search, verify the branch and PR, restart local services, and resume only the session that still helps.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Share project instructions across Claude Code and Codex
Place durable facts, CLI-specific instructions, reusable skills, and MCP connections where each agent can actually use them.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Which coding agent needs me? Triage several live sessions
Avoid replying in the wrong terminal: identify project, checkout, branch, waiting question, and next decision before steering an agent.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Why a new agent worktree cannot build: env files and dependencies
Diagnose missing .env files, local packages, Python environments, ports, and shared services before blaming the coding agent.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Canopy vs VS Code for coding-agent work
A practical comparison of real CLI sessions, worktrees, PR review, local previews, and the editor features you may still need.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Measure AI coding cost per accepted change
A repeatable worksheet for comparing model choices by accepted work, review time, retries, token categories, and provider charges.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How to give a coding agent useful visual feedback
Turn a vague 'this looks wrong' into a page, viewport, element, expected behavior, and screenshot an agent can act on.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How do I test an AI-built UI before merging it?
Review the running page across viewport sizes, interaction states, console and network errors, keyboard use, and the latest PR diff.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28How do I stop two agent worktrees from using the same port?
Keep each branch's local preview distinct, identify the process behind a URL, and compare the right running app with the right diff.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Switch from Claude Code to Codex without losing the task
A cross-CLI handoff when usage limits, model choice, or review needs change: preserve the goal, branch, evidence, and next action.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28What leaves your machine when you use Canopy?
A plain-language map of local workspace data, coding CLI traffic, optional GitHub and team services, remote tunnels, and on-device dictation.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28The coding agent says done, but the app is still broken
A recovery workflow: reproduce the failure, inspect local services and logs, point the agent at evidence, and verify the new diff.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28An AI coding-agent task brief you can copy and use
A bounded brief with context, acceptance checks, constraints, and a handoff format for Claude Code, Codex, or another coding CLI.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28AI-generated pull request review checklist and reviewer prompt
A practical checklist for intent, changed files, risk, tests, UI behavior, comments, and the final diff, with a copyable reviewer brief.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Git worktrees for parallel coding agents: commands and cleanup
Create a separate branch and directory per coding agent, check status, integrate reviewed work, and remove worktrees safely.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Share agent work with a team without sharing AI accounts
A host, implementer, and reviewer handoff through Canopy Team: project chat, files, review requests, disk ownership, and separate model accounts.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Keep coding-agent context useful between sessions
Make a handoff that preserves the task, decisions, branch, and evidence without carrying an entire chat transcript forever.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Can I use voice with a coding agent in Canopy?
Choose between Canopy dictation, a CLI's own voice input, and hands-free conversation; turn a spoken issue into a checked task and review its result.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Terminal, tmux, or Canopy for coding agents?
Compare the actual jobs: running a CLI, keeping sessions alive, isolating edits, starting services, and reviewing agent work.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How to reduce coding-agent token usage without losing the result
Scope tasks, manage growing context, choose models deliberately, and compare accepted work rather than chasing a low token count.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-27Run Claude Code and Codex side by side without losing the work
A concrete two-agent workflow with separate checkouts, clear ownership, shared project context, and one final review.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-27Resume a local coding agent from your phone
Use Canopy Remote to inspect a running project, reconnect after a phone disconnect, and steer the right agent without repeating a task.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-27Review an agent-written PR, address comments, and fix CI
A review loop from intended behavior to final diff, including draft findings, feedback, conflict resolution, and checks.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-27How do I start my website, API, and worker with one click?
Run a downloadable three-process project: save its commands, watch a worker change the API count, inspect the preview, and verify the agent's edit.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-27How to set up Canopy and run your first AI coding agent
Install an agent CLI, open a project in Canopy, run the app, and review your first change. Includes a downloadable practice project.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-27How to run multiple coding agents without losing track
A two-agent workflow with task ownership, separate worktrees, service ports, attention checks, and a final review decision.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-27How to review an AI-generated pull request
A review workflow for agent-written code: inspect the diff, ask for a risk map, address comments, fix CI, and merge deliberately.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-27Run a website, API, and background worker in one workspace
Configure project run commands once, then start, inspect, and restart your local development stack from Canopy.
Read → Blog / 2026-09-27A workspace for people who direct AI agents
A practical founder workflow for directing a coding agent: define one outcome, run the product, inspect evidence, and hand off risky decisions.
Read → Blog / 2026-09-27Understanding AI coding agent usage and estimated cost
Read Canopy's CLI, model, session, plan-limit, and estimated-cost views without mistaking a token estimate or stale quota snapshot for a provider charge.
Read → Blog / 2026-09-27Your AI coding cost dashboard is not your bill
Separate the three ledgers behind a coding-agent dashboard: model consumption, plan capacity, and actual provider charges.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Did your coding-agent skill actually load? A five-minute test
Separate skill discovery, invocation, and useful execution with an explicit test, a natural-language test, and one negative control.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Review a coding-agent skill before your team shares it
Inspect a borrowed SKILL.md, its scripts, tool access, and test behavior before making a repeatable workflow available to every agent.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Can Canopy work offline with a local coding agent?
Test local files, Git, services, Preview, search, and a preinstalled CLI against the separate requirement for a local model endpoint.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28What do file claims solve when coding agents share a repository?
Use visible file ownership to catch overlapping plans early, then verify checkout isolation, actual edits, and the final integrated diff.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Why won’t my dev server start in Canopy?
Trace a failed website, API, or worker launch through its checkout, command, first error, port, dependency, and observed URL.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Which coding-agent session introduced this regression?
Trace a reproducible failure through the running build, Git history, pull request, and related agent session before assigning a fix.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Coding agent stuck or waiting for input? Check the live session
Distinguish a pending decision, active tool, running dev server, completed turn, and failed agent before interrupting or restarting.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Canopy vs Devin Desktop (formerly Windsurf) for coding agents
A dated comparison of multi-agent coordination, installed CLIs versus ACP, local previews, review, cloud handoff, and account boundaries.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Coding agent hit a usage limit mid-task? Save the work first
Identify the actual limit, preserve the checkout and partial result, then resume, wait, or hand off without repeating work or changing accounts blindly.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Canopy vs Superset for parallel coding agents
Compare two local agent workspaces across worktrees, persistent processes, app runs, browser preview, PR review, Remote, and license terms.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28How to evaluate an AI coding workspace on a real project
A repeatable trial for terminal, IDE, and multi-agent workspaces that follows one change from setup through running behavior, review, resume, and accepted result.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Canopy vs Replit Agent for building an app
Compare a hosted AI app builder with a local multi-CLI workspace across first setup, parallel tasks, preview, GitHub, deployment, team access, and usage.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Work on a Lovable app locally in Canopy without losing Git sync
A branch, environment, preview, and publishing checklist for using local coding agents on a Lovable project connected to GitHub.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Keep building a Bolt app with local coding agents in Canopy
Connect Bolt to GitHub, isolate an agent change, check the app's backend and run commands, merge in GitHub, and verify Bolt and the live site.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28v0 not showing your local agent's GitHub changes? Check the branches
Trace a local Canopy agent change through GitHub, v0's base and working branches, Pull Changes, preview deployments, and production permissions.
Read → Use case / 2026-09-28Canopy Remote, Claude Code, Copilot CLI, or SSH from your phone?
Choose a remote coding-agent workflow by host state, CLI coverage, project evidence, access rules, and what you can actually verify on a phone.
Read → Guide / 2026-09-28Run OpenCode with a local Ollama model in Canopy
Set up a local model route, account for OpenCode V1 and V2 differences, verify context and tool use, then test an offline coding task in Canopy.
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