Claude Code Made Crystal Clear · chapter 1: What Claude Code Is, and Why Developers Won't Shut Up About It
The chat workflow routes every step through you
2026-08-27
The agent workflow moves the read-edit-run-check loop inside the tool, and moves you to the review gate.
Below: the paragraph from the book that builds this idea, then the diagram itself (Figure 1.1), and a recap. About a minute of reading.
The contrast with the chat workflow is easiest to see side by side, so Figure 1.1 puts the two loops next to each other. On the left, every arrow passes through you. On the right, the agent runs its own loop and you sit at the review gate.
Recap
- The idea: The agent workflow moves the read-edit-run-check loop inside the tool, and moves you to the review gate.
- The picture: Figure 1.1, from chapter 1 ("What Claude Code Is, and Why Developers Won't Shut Up About It") of Claude Code Made Crystal Clear.
- Go deeper: the chapter builds this step by step, with recipes and sources at the end.
This diagram is one of many in Claude Code Made Crystal Clear.
Every chapter opens with the gist, draws the hard ideas, and ends with recipes and sources.
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