How I Build Web Applications
in 2026
Let's wake up
Your brain needs this 🧠
You are now an AI Agent Manager
Agents are...
...junior teammates with infinite stamina and zero context.
// agent
let context = "initial instructions"
let allDone = false
do {
[context, allDone] = await llm(context)
} while (!allDone)Harness and prompts...
Your workflow needs to change
agent loop optimizing
Prompting
agent loop
// agent
let context = "initial instructions"
let allDone = false
do {
[context, allDone] = await llm(context)
} while (!allDone)
Talk to the agent
Ask the agent to ask you questions
Keep the agent properly scoped. Leave room for adjustments.
Switch to agent mode to create the files
Make a plan
Review the plan
Iterate with the agent
agent loop
Review the changes
agent docs
(referenced in AGENTS.md)
Make the agent review
Manual testing
Cursor starts the dev server...
Cursor controls the browser
Tell the agent to learn from examples
Cloud Agents
Bugbot Autofix
Dangerous input 😩
Closing the agent loop is more important than ever...
// agent
let context = "initial instructions"
let allDone = false
do {
[context, allDone] = await llm(context)
} while (!allDone)let's talk about this...
Architecture > Prompting
Architecture === Prompting
You are a:
- Project manager
- Product manager
- Team lead
You are now an AI Agent Manager
And your management effectiveness is measured by your experience...
Thank you!
𝕏 @kentcdodds
How I Build Web Applications in 2026
By Kent C. Dodds
How I Build Web Applications in 2026
I've never had so much fun developing software than I have in the last few months. And I'm going to show you why. In this talk, I'll share my favorite workflows for building a web application with modern tools. By the end of the experience, we'll have a real-world application that we built using AI along with deep full-stack web expertise. And you'll leave with ideas of ways to integrate your web expertise with the power of AI to build excellent user experiences for the web.
