Software Development Agents: What Works and What Doesn't - Robert Brennan, AllHands/OpenHands

In this monologue podcast, Robert Brennan introduces himself as an open-source development tools builder and the creator of OpenHands, an open-source software development agent. He discusses the evolving landscape of software development, predicting a shift away from coding towards critical thinking and problem-solving. Brennan explains what coding agents are, how they work, and their core tools—code editors, terminals, and web browsers—while also emphasizing the importance of sandboxing for security. He offers best practices for using coding agents, such as starting with small tasks, being clear in instructions, embracing experimentation, and always reviewing the AI-generated code. Brennan concludes by highlighting several use cases for coding agents, including resolving merge conflicts, addressing PR feedback, fixing bugs, making infrastructure changes, performing database migrations, fixing failing tests, expanding test coverage, and building apps from scratch.