Managing AI Agents and Code Context in 2026: Context, Cost, and Control
As of May, 2026, the strongest pattern in AI coding is not “give the agent a bigger context window.” It is the emergence of a controlled agent operating layer around the repository. That layer has a few recognizable parts: canonical instructions in version control, path-scoped rules near the code they govern, task specs before implementation, bounded subagents, MCP/tool allowlists, sandboxing, audit logs, cost-aware model routing, and a verification loop that does not confuse “the agent says it passed” with evidence. ...