AI at work · technical book
Agents You Can Leave Alone
Harness engineering for AI systems in production
Written in public on Leanpub, as PDF, EPUB or web. On 28 October 2026 Leanpub listed it at a minimum of $19, suggested $29, in US dollars, and showed it as 100% complete, last updated 27 October 2026.
What it is
Your AI agent works in the demo. Would you leave it running alone?
This book is about the harness around the model: the code that makes an agent say 'could not check' instead of a confident wrong 'none', that cites the page behind every claim, and that stays quiet only when it is healthy. Written in public, one chapter at a time, from systems I build and run.
What is inside
An introduction, ten chapters and a one-page checklist. Each chapter is named for one habit:
- The sentence after the partial read
- Three states, never two
- A check you cannot make fail is not a check
- Cite the source or cut the claim
- A page that answers is not the page you asked for
- Scans, sideways pages and readable garbage
- Grounding stops invention, not miscounting
- Timid by design: the never list and the review queue
- Silence is not health
- Agents that advise, humans that merge
The appendix is the harness checklist on one page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the book about?
The harness around the model: the code that makes an agent say 'could not check' instead of a confident wrong 'none', that cites the page behind every claim, and that stays quiet only when it is healthy.
Where can I get it?
On Leanpub as a PDF, EPUB or web edition. On 28 October 2026 the Leanpub page listed a minimum price of $19 and a suggested price of $29, in US dollars. A Kindle edition is also listed on Amazon.
Companion book: Giving an AI a Job: The Workbook, on choosing the first job to give an AI system and making it safe enough to leave alone.