Learn · agentic development environment
What is an agentic development environment?
By Lalla Asmaa Alaoui, founder of Mel · Updated
An agentic development environment (ADE) is a workspace built around AI agents that plan, write, run and test code with you. You describe the work, then review and steer what the agents do.
A classic development environment is built for a person typing: an editor, a terminal, a debugger, version control. An ADE keeps all of those, but organises them around a new loop. The question it answers is not "how do I type this faster?" but "how do I hand this off safely and check what came back?"
What an agentic development environment needs
- A place for agents to act. A real shell and real files, not a sandbox you copy in and out of.
- Planning. Agents break a task into steps you can see.
- Verification. Running tests, builds and linters is part of the agent's job.
- Control. Approvals for the commands and edits you choose, and a clear view of every change.
- Model choice. Different steps suit different models and budgets.
- Review. A diff you can read, so you decide what to keep.
The kinds of agentic development environment
Terminal-based. The agents work in the terminal, where builds, tests, git, package managers and deploy scripts already run. This fits work that is mostly commands: upgrades, migrations, CI fixes, scripts and infrastructure. Some are command-line tools you start inside any terminal; others are a terminal app with agents built in.
Editor-based. The agents work inside a code editor, next to the files you are reading. This fits work that is mostly reading and shaping code you can see line by line.
Cloud. You hand a task to an agent that works on a copy of your repository on the vendor's servers, and you review the result later, often as a pull request. This fits background tasks you do not need to watch.
Many developers mix them: an editor for reading code, a terminal for running and shipping it, and a cloud agent for small jobs in the background.
Leading agentic development environments
- Mel: an agentic terminal for Mac, Windows and Linux with a team of agents, five model families and a VS Code extension.
- Claude Code: Anthropic's coding agent, used from the command line, IDE extensions and a desktop app, built for Claude models.
- Cursor: an AI code editor where agents work on your code inside the editor.
- Codex: OpenAI's coding agent, with a command-line tool and a cloud version, built around OpenAI's models.
- GitHub Copilot: AI in the editor and on GitHub, including a coding agent that works on issues and opens pull requests.
- Other AI terminal apps: some also describe themselves as an agentic development environment.
Facts checked on Oct 24, 2026.
How Mel does it
Mel is the terminal-based kind of ADE.
- Agents in your real shell. Builds, tests and git run in the window you already use.
- A team, not one helper. Agents plan the work, build it, test it and ship it.
- An editor link. The VS Code extension brings Mel's agents next to the code you read.
- A model per step: Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek or Qwen.
How the kinds compare
| Terminal-based (Mel) | Editor-based | Cloud | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the agents work | Your terminal, on your computer | Your editor | The vendor's servers |
| Sees your own tools and shell | Yes | Partly | No, a copy of the repo |
| Runs commands and tests | Yes | Yes | Yes, in its own setup |
| Team of agents on one task | Yes | Varies | Varies |
| Approvals you configure | Yes | Varies | Review at the end |
| Strongest at | Many-step work across commands and files | Code you are reading and shaping | Background tasks you check later |
How to choose an agentic development environment
- Look at where your time goes. If it goes into reading and shaping code, start editor-based. If your hard problems show up in the terminal (failed builds, broken deploys, slow tests), try terminal-based.
- Check the models. Can you use more than one model company, and can you bring your own key?
- Check the controls. Which commands and edits can you put behind an approval, and how easy is it to change that mid-task?
- Check the price shape. Your own API key, a plan with hosted credits, or both; and one invoice for a team.
- Test on one real task. Did it finish, did it check its work, and could you review the change in a few minutes?
FAQ
What is an agentic development environment? A workspace built around AI agents that plan, write, run and test code with you, while you review and steer.
Is an ADE the same as an IDE? It overlaps. An IDE is built for a person typing; an ADE is built for agents doing work that a person directs and reviews.
Do I have to leave my editor? No. Mel has a VS Code extension, and many people keep their editor open next to the terminal.
Can agents break my project? They can make mistakes. Keep approvals on for risky actions, start from a clean git tree, and review the diff.
Is there a free agentic development environment? Mel is free with your own API key on Mac, Windows and Linux. You pay your model provider for what you use.
Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and GitHub Copilot are trademarks of their owners. Mel is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.
Mel – the agentic terminal · openmel.dev. A multi-agent, multi-model AI terminal for Mac, Windows, Linux and VS Code. Free with your own API key.
Lalla is a hands-on tech founder, agentic infrastructure architect and the vision behind Mel.
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