# Agentic Engineering — Technical Field Manual

A consolidated quick reference for all course concepts, commands, and patterns.

---

## 1. Agent CLI Quick Reference

### Claude Code
```bash
claude --init                          # Project setup
claude --teammate-mode tmux            # Multi-agent teams (split panes)
claude -p "prompt" --print             # Headless execution
claude --allowedTools "Read Write"     # Constrain tool surface
claude --hooks .claude/hooks/          # Custom hooks directory
```

### Pi Coding Agent
```bash
pi -e extensions/damage-control.ts     # Security auditing
pi -e extensions/tilldone.ts           # Task discipline
pi -e extensions/coms.ts               # P2P agent communication
pi --mode rpc                          # Programmatic control (26+ commands)
pi -e extensions/agent-team.ts         # Dispatcher orchestration
pi -e extensions/agent-chain.ts        # Pipeline orchestration
```

### OpenCode
```bash
opencode run "task"                                 # Headless execution
opencode --model opencode-go/deepseek-v4-flash run   # Specific model
opencode --config ~/.grok/config.toml run             # Custom config
```

### OpenClaw
```bash
claw start --daemon                      # Always-on employee
claw do "task description"               # One-shot execution
claw schedule --cron "0 6 * * 1" --task  # Recurring task
```

### Install Course
```bash
# Windows
powershell -File install.ps1

# Linux/Mac
bash install.sh
bash install.sh security    # Single kit
```

---

## 2. The 6-Level Security Ladder

```
L0: ACIP (prompt injection defense)   — Costs nothing, blocks simple attacks
L1: safe-mode skill                   — Theatre (model can override)
L2: --append-system-prompt            — Theatre+ (model can still override)
L3: Bash blacklist hook               — Reactive (use as FLOOR)
L4: Bash whitelist hook               — Architectural (only N safelisted cmds)
L5: No bash, custom tools only        — Production-grade (bash doesn't exist)
```

### Probability Math
```python
P_failure = 1 - (1 - p)^N
# p=0.01 (1%), N=100: 63.4% chance of disaster
# p=0.001 (0.1%), N=100: 9.5%
# p=0.0001 (0.01%), N=1000: 9.5%
```

### Damage Control — 3 Access Levels
```yaml
zeroAccessPaths: [".env", "~/.ssh/", "*.pem"]     # Can't read/write
readOnlyPaths: ["package-lock.json", "node_modules/"]  # Can read only
noDeletePaths: [".git/", "Dockerfile"]             # Can modify, can't delete
```

---

## 3. Orchestration Patterns

| Pattern | Structure | Best For | Tool |
|---------|-----------|----------|------|
| **P-Thread** | N agents parallel, pick best | Creative work, benchmarking | mprocs |
| **F-Thread** | N agents → Judge → Winner | Code gen, UI gen | agent-team |
| **B-Thread** | Orchestrator → Leads → Workers | Production systems | lead-agents |
| **C-Thread** | Agent → Checkpoint → Human | High-stakes work | tilldone |
| **L-Thread** | Long-running hours+ | Background tasks | OpenClaw daemon |
| **Agent Chain** | Step1 → Step2 → Step3 | Plan→Build→Review | agent-chain |

### YAML Pipeline Template
```yaml
steps:
  - agent: planner
    prompt: "Create plan for: $INPUT"
  - agent: builder
    prompt: "Implement: $INPUT"
  - agent: reviewer
    prompt: "Review: $INPUT"
```

---

## 4. Key Formulas

### Compute Advantage
```
CA = (Compute Scaling × Autonomy) ÷ (Time + Effort + Monetary Cost)
```

### pass@k
```
pass@k = 1 - (1 - p)^k
# p=0.6 (60% single), k=3: 93.6%
# p=0.6, k=5: 98.9%
```

### 3x Cost Rule
```
Production cost = Prototype cost × 3.0
With retries = Prototype cost × 1.5
```

### Cascade Routing Savings
```
Savings = 1 - (cascade_cost / single_model_cost)
# Typical: 66-80% savings
```

---

## 5. Model Pricing (per million tokens)

| Model | Input | Output | Best For |
|-------|-------|--------|----------|
| Gemini 2.5 Flash | $0.15 | $0.60 | High-volume, simple |
| DeepSeek V3 | $0.27 | $1.10 | Structured tasks |
| Claude Sonnet 4 | $3.00 | $15.00 | General agentic |
| Claude Opus 4 | $15.00 | $75.00 | Complex planning |
| GPT-5 | $10.00 | $40.00 | Frontier reasoning |

### Cascade Routing Strategy
```
Simple retrieval → Gemini Flash ($0.15/$0.60)
Analysis → Claude Sonnet ($3/$15)
Critical decision → Claude Opus ($15/$75)
Formatting → Gemini Flash ($0.15/$0.60)
```

---

## 6. Verifier Confidence Ladder

| Level | Meaning | Bar Color |
|-------|---------|-----------|
| PERFECT | Every claim verified, zero gaps | Green |
| VERIFIED | All passed, minor non-blocking gaps | Green |
| PARTIAL | No failures, significant unverifiable gaps | Orange |
| FEEDBACK | At least one claim failed, correction sent | Orange |
| FAILED | Cannot verify, escalating to human | Red |

---

## 7. Lab Index

| Lab | Module | Topic | Files |
|-----|--------|-------|-------|
| L1 | M1 | First Agent (single-tool) | starter.py, solution.py |
| L2a | M2 | Multi-Tool Agent | starter.py, solution.py |
| L2b | M2 | Context-Aware Agent | starter.py, solution.py |
| L3a | M3 | Whitelist Hook (L4) | starter.py, solution.py |
| L3b | M3 | Verifier Agent | starter.py, solution.py |
| L4a | M4 | Agent Chain (YAML) | starter.yaml, solution.yaml |
| L4b | M4 | Multi-Team Config | starter.yaml, solution.yaml |
| L5a | M5 | Observability (SQLite) | starter.py, solution.py |
| L5b | M5 | CI/CD Pipeline | starter.py, solution.py |
| L6a | M6 | Eval Harness (pass@k) | starter.py, solution.py |
| L6b | M6 | Cost Optimization | starter.py, solution.py |
| L7a | M7 | Autoresearch Loop | starter.py, solution.py |
| L7b | M7 | Meta-Agent | starter.py, solution.py |

Run offline: `python -c "from mock_llm import MockAnthropic; print('Mock LLM ready')"`

---

## 8. Capstone Options

| Project | Difficulty | Description | Reference |
|---------|-----------|-------------|-----------|
| Brand Monitor | Intermediate | Multi-LLM brand scanning | capstone-reference/brand-monitor/ |
| Code Review Pipeline | Int-Adv | Plan→Build→Review→Verify chain | — |
| Strategic Decision Board | Advanced | 8-agent CEO board | ceo-agents/ |

---

## 9. Skill Kits (7 kits, 18 SKILL.md files)

| Kit | Price | Skills | Install |
|-----|-------|--------|---------|
| Security Foundation | $49 | L3, L4, L5, damage-control, sandbox | `bash install.sh security` |
| Multi-Agent Orchestration | $49 | teams, chains, mental-model, domain-lock | `bash install.sh orchestration` |
| Verifier Pro | $39 | builder, confidence, decomposition | `bash install.sh verifier` |
| Task Discipline | $29 | tilldone core, progress, nudge, purpose | `bash install.sh task` |
| Autoresearch | $39 | experiment loop, integrity, median | `bash install.sh research` |
| Observability | $29 | tracer, cost, replay, loop-detect | `bash install.sh observability` |
| CEO Board | $49 | 11 agents + verifier + tracker | `bash install.sh board` |
| **Enterprise** | **$199** | **All 7 kits** | **`bash install.sh`** |

---

## 10. The Universal Truth

> **Deterministic orchestrates non-deterministic. Code is the harness. AI is the engine. Together they're unstoppable.**

| Creator | Their Version |
|---------|---------------|
| Kelsey Hightower | "Zero Token Architecture — don't waste tokens on deterministic work" |
| Mario Zechner | "Write architecture by hand. Let agents do the boring stuff" |
| Daniel Miessler | "Code Before Prompts. If bash can do it, don't use AI" |
| IndyDevDan | "ADW — deterministic code orchestrates non-deterministic agents" |
| Anders Hejlsberg | "Don't ask AI for the answer. Ask it to write a program" |
| Armin Ronacher | "Pi's harness layer is worth maintaining carefully because it solves hard problems" |

---

## 11. Quick Reference Card

```
AGENT LOOP:       Think → Act → Observe → Repeat
HARNESS:          Instructions + Tools + Environment + State + Verification
CONTROL:          Context + Model + Prompt + Tools
SECURITY:         L0(ACIP) → L1(skill) → L2(prompt) → L3(blacklist) → L4(whitelist) → L5(no-bash)
ORCHESTRATION:    Dispatcher | Pipeline | P2P | P-Thread | F-Thread | B-Thread
ECONOMICS:        CA = (CS × A) ÷ (T + E + MC)    3x rule    Cascade 66-80%
EVALS:            pass@k = 1 - (1-p)^k    Cost/task    Tool call accuracy
TRUST:            "Yes, because I've engineered it" — not blind faith
```