Software, AI systems, and the occasional argument with an abstraction.https://demianbrecht.com/en-ushttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/runtime-qa-give-the-agent-the-loop-not-the-last-word/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/runtime-qa-give-the-agent-the-loop-not-the-last-word/Runtime QA is judgment from end to end, so let the agent own the investigative loop. Separate its judgment from reviewable mechanics, stop for the decisions that carry consequences, and leave the last word with a person.Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTai-engineeringquality-assuranceagentic-workflowsruntime-testingsoftware-architecturehttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/the-division-of-the-local-harnesses/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/the-division-of-the-local-harnesses/The most important question in AI architecture isn’t which model you use. It’s who owns the control loop. That choice affects cost, reliability, and how easily you can swap providers. In this article, I look at three categories of workflows and explore why the nature of the problem should determine the harness, and why code, rather than the model, should often drive the loop.Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTai-engineeringllm-architectureagentic-workflowsai-cost-optimizationsoftware-designhttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/stop-asking-llms-to-be-deterministic/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/stop-asking-llms-to-be-deterministic/LLMs are stochastic by design. Reliable agent workflows come from surrounding that chaos with deterministic code, not from wishing the model were predictable.Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTaiautomationopensourcepythonhttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/automating-android-burp-api-testing/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/automating-android-burp-api-testing/Reproducing Android-to-API security findings means juggling emulators, certificates, and proxy config you touch a few times a year. Here's how I automated the setup away.Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTandroidsecurityapiautomationhttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/gen-ai-feeding-the-dormant-hacker/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/gen-ai-feeding-the-dormant-hacker/A self-described tech curmudgeon on how generative AI rekindled the urge to tinker, explore, and build outside the comfortable set of tools built up over the years.Tue, 27 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTprogrammingaiproductivitylearninghttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/open-sourcing-corporate-software-products/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/open-sourcing-corporate-software-products/Two Salesforce engineers describe separating a Django API framework from a legacy application and navigating the process of releasing it as open source.Tue, 17 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMTopen-sourcedjangosoftware-architecturedeveloper-workflowhttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/entry-points-in-python/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/entry-points-in-python/What a Python entry point is, and how to use setuptools entry points to expose console scripts and plugin hooks in your own packages.Thu, 09 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMTpythonbeginnerstutorialhttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/why-the-hell-is-my-code-so-slow/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/why-the-hell-is-my-code-so-slow/Your feature shipped, passed review, and then someone flagged the latency. A walkthrough of profiling Python to find where the time actually goes before you start optimizing.Tue, 10 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTpythonperformancetutorialhttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/the-lesser-known-way-of-setting-breakpoints-in-python/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/the-lesser-known-way-of-setting-breakpoints-in-python/You don't have to edit your source to set a Python breakpoint. Running your script through the pdb shell lets you break by line or function without touching the code.Tue, 03 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTpythonproductivityhttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/you-will-pry-vim-from-my-cold-dead-hands/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/you-will-pry-vim-from-my-cold-dead-hands/Answering the funny looks: why I still reach for vim over an IDE: its ubiquity across *nix systems, the power of command-line debuggers, and a deliberately minimal .vimrc that travels anywhere.Sun, 01 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMTvimeditorstoolingdeveloper-workflowhttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/inner-sourcing-the-mechanics/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/inner-sourcing-the-mechanics/Part two: the communication, contributor model, and engineering practices that make an inner-sourcing culture practical.Wed, 04 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMTinnersourceopen-sourcehttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/inner-sourcing-the-ups-and-downs/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/inner-sourcing-the-ups-and-downs/Part three: the organizational and individual benefits of inner sourcing, plus the culture and scope-management risks to address.Wed, 04 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMTinnersourceopen-sourcehttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/inner-sourcing-whats-this/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/inner-sourcing-whats-this/Part one: why closed organizations repeat work, and what an inner-sourcing culture can borrow from open source.Wed, 04 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMTinnersourceopen-sourceculturehttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/dude-im-slagging-your-code-not-you/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/dude-im-slagging-your-code-not-you/Separating critique of the code from critique of the person who wrote it — a realization about code review that reshaped how I think about my career.Wed, 27 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMTcareerreviewsproductivitymentorshiphttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/compiling-cpython-with-a-custom-openssl/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/compiling-cpython-with-a-custom-openssl/A historical guide to building CPython 3.5 against a custom OpenSSL 1.0.2 installation to enable ALPN support on macOS.Wed, 28 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMTpythoncpythonopensslmacoshttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/advanced-mercurial-debugging/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/advanced-mercurial-debugging/A real-world walkthrough of diagnosing a Mercurial HTTP 400 error caused by oversized discovery-request headers.Fri, 02 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMTmercurialdebugginghttppythonhttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/from-git-to-hg/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/from-git-to-hg/A guide for prospective CPython contributors familiar with Git who need a practical Mercurial workflow built around bookmarks.Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMTmercurialgitversion-controlpythonhttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/my-learnings-on-delivering-technical-presentations/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/my-learnings-on-delivering-technical-presentations/Lessons from a first-time speaker on preparing, practicing, delivering, and learning from technical presentations.Mon, 28 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMTpresentationspublic-speakingcareerhttps://demianbrecht.com/posts/from-concept-to-announcement/https://demianbrecht.com/posts/from-concept-to-announcement/A practical guide to taking a Python package from an initial idea through project setup, testing, PyPI distribution, and announcement.Mon, 09 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMTpythonopen-sourcepackagingtesting