Agentic AI Systems ๐
Agentic systems explained with chickens โ because AI orchestration doesn't have to be scary
Main Agent spawns Subagents like a hen with her chicks ๐๐ชบ๐ฆ
๐ฆ Foundations โข โ๏ธ Workflows โข ๐ Autonomous โข ๐ As Code โข ๐ ๏ธ Implementation โข ๐บ๏ธ Guides
Overview
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mindmap
root((๐ Agentic Systems))
๐ฆ Foundations
Augmented LLM
What Changed 2026
โ๏ธ Workflows
๐๏ธ Baseline
โ๏ธ Chaining
๐ฆ Routing
๐ค๏ธ Parallel
๐ฆ Orchestrator
๐ฉป Evaluator
๐ Autonomous Agent
The Alternative
Multi-Window
๐ ๏ธ Implementation
๐ฆ Subagent
๐ฆด Command
๐ Skill
๐ช Hook
๐ Patterns as Code
Check before
Trace after
[!TIP] New in the 2026 edition โ ๐๏ธ What Changed 2025-2026 (the dated map: context engineering, the multi-agent debate, the AGENTS.md ยท SKILL.md ยท MCP stack, harness engineering) and ๐ Patterns as Code (every pattern as a runnable file โ checked in CI on every push, no API key needed).
โฌ๏ธ real capture: a repeated prompt graduates into a checked, runnable file โ every pattern in this repo works this way ยท and three of them run a real campaign daily ๐ฐ๏ธ
๐บ๏ธ Navigation
๐ฆ FoundationsThe building block for everything
โ๏ธ WorkflowsPredefined orchestration โ code controls the flow
|
๐ Autonomous AgentDynamic autonomy โ LLM controls the flow
๐ ๏ธ ImplementationClaude Code components & architecture
๐บ๏ธ Guides & ๐ Reference
|
Quick Decision
%%{init: {'theme': 'base', 'themeVariables': {'lineColor': '#64748b'}}}%%
flowchart LR
START((๐ฏ Task)) --> DEST{Destructive?}
DEST -->|Yes| WIZ[๐ง Wizard]
DEST -->|No| COMP{Complex?}
COMP -->|No| BASE[๐๏ธ Baseline]
COMP -->|Yes| PRED{Predictable<br/>steps?}
PRED -->|Yes| WORK{Need<br/>specialists?}
PRED -->|No| AGENT[๐ Autonomous]
WORK -->|No| CHAIN[โ๏ธ Chain]
WORK -->|Yes| ORCH[๐ฆ Orchestrator]
classDef default fill:#f8fafc,stroke:#64748b,stroke-width:1px,color:#1e293b
classDef decision fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#f59e0b,stroke-width:2px,color:#92400e
classDef baseline fill:#64748b,stroke:#475569,stroke-width:2px,color:#ffffff
classDef wizard fill:#14b8a6,stroke:#0d9488,stroke-width:2px,color:#ffffff
classDef workflow fill:#8b5cf6,stroke:#7c3aed,stroke-width:2px,color:#ffffff
classDef agent fill:#ec4899,stroke:#db2777,stroke-width:2px,color:#ffffff
START:::decision
DEST:::decision
COMP:::decision
PRED:::decision
WORK:::decision
BASE:::baseline
WIZ:::wizard
CHAIN:::workflow
ORCH:::workflow
AGENT:::agent
| Situation | โ Use |
|---|---|
| Simple task (1 step) | ๐๏ธ Baseline |
| Sequential (2-4 steps) | โ๏ธ Prompt Chaining |
| Categorize inputs | ๐ฆ Routing |
| Independent subtasks | ๐ค๏ธ Parallelization |
| Multiple specialists | ๐ฆ Orchestrator-Workers |
| Quality iteration | ๐ฉป Evaluator-Optimizer |
| Open-ended / unknown steps | ๐ Autonomous Agent |
| Destructive operations | ๐ง Wizard |
| Long-running (>10 min) | ๐ฅ๏ธ Multi-Window Context |
Anthropic Taxonomy
%%{init: {'theme': 'base', 'themeVariables': {'lineColor': '#64748b'}}}%%
flowchart LR
subgraph WORKFLOWS["โ๏ธ WORKFLOWS"]
direction TB
W1[๐๏ธ Baseline]
W2[โ๏ธ Prompt Chaining]
W3[๐ฆ Routing]
W4[๐ค๏ธ Parallelization]
W5[๐ฆ Orchestrator]
W6[๐ฉป Evaluator]
end
subgraph AGENTS["๐ AUTONOMOUS AGENT"]
direction TB
A1[๐ The Alternative]
A2[๐ฅ๏ธ Multi-Window variant]
end
CODE[๐ Code controls] --> WORKFLOWS
WORKFLOWS --> LLM[๐ง LLM controls]
LLM --> AGENTS
classDef workflowBox fill:#ede9fe,stroke:#8b5cf6,stroke-width:2px,color:#5b21b6
classDef agentBox fill:#fce7f3,stroke:#ec4899,stroke-width:2px,color:#9d174d
classDef control fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#64748b,stroke-width:1px,color:#475569
WORKFLOWS:::workflowBox
AGENTS:::agentBox
CODE:::control
LLM:::control
Key distinction: Workflows have predefined paths (code controls). Agents decide their own path (LLM controls).
Critical Rule
%%{init: {'theme': 'base', 'themeVariables': {'lineColor': '#64748b'}}}%%
flowchart LR
U1[๐โโ๏ธ User] -->|request| MA[๐ Main Agent]
MA -->|๐ชบ spawn| SA1[๐ฆ Subagent]
MA -->|๐ชบ spawn| SA2[๐ฆ Subagent]
SA1 -->|result| MA
SA2 -->|result| MA
MA -->|response| U2[๐โโ๏ธ User]
SA1 x--x|"โ CANNOT spawn"| SA3[๐ฆ]
classDef user fill:#6366f1,stroke:#4f46e5,stroke-width:2px,color:#ffffff
classDef main fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#d97706,stroke-width:2px,color:#ffffff
classDef sub fill:#ec4899,stroke:#db2777,stroke-width:2px,color:#ffffff
classDef blocked fill:#ef4444,stroke:#dc2626,stroke-width:2px,color:#ffffff,stroke-dasharray: 5 5
U1:::user
U2:::user
MA:::main
SA1:::sub
SA2:::sub
SA3:::blocked
๐ฆ Subagents cannot spawn other ๐ฆ subagents. All delegation flows through ๐ Main Agent.
Repository Structure
.
โโโ README.md # ๐ You are here
โ
โโโ foundations/ # ๐ฆ Core concepts
โ โโโ augmented-llm.md
โ
โโโ workflows/ # โ๏ธ Predefined orchestration
โ โโโ 00-baseline.md
โ โโโ 01-prompt-chaining.md
โ โโโ 02-routing.md
โ โโโ 03-parallelization.md
โ โโโ 04-orchestrator-workers.md
โ โโโ 05-evaluator-optimizer.md
โ
โโโ agents/ # ๐ Autonomous Agent (the alternative)
โ โโโ autonomous.md # The pattern
โ โโโ multi-window.md # Variant
โ
โโโ implementation/ # ๐ ๏ธ Claude Code specifics
โ โโโ components/ # ๐ฆ๐ฆด๐๐ช
โ โโโ architecture/ # 5-layer system
โ
โโโ guides/ # ๐บ๏ธ Selection & use cases
โ โโโ use-cases/ # 6 validated examples
โ
โโโ reference/ # ๐ Glossary, standards
References
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| Building Effective Agents | anthropic.com/engineering |
| Claude Code Docs | docs.anthropic.com |
| Agent SDK | docs.anthropic.com/agent-sdk |
| Anthropic Cookbook | github.com/anthropics |
| Agent Skills spec | agentskills.io |
| Agentic AI Foundation (MCP ยท AGENTS.md ยท goose) | aaif.io |
| Patterns as runnable files (this repo) | patterns-as-code/ |
Contributing
Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md.
Requirements: Official sources โข Code examples โข Mermaid diagrams โข Established format
