ai factories · a field manual · as of july 2026

The lights are on.
Or they are off.

Software factories build code out of loops and harnesses. The hard, skilled job is deciding where each switch goes — which gates run dark, and where a human keeps the lights on. Six chapters, a glossary, and a dated snapshot of the field, from a workshop that runs four factories of its own.

A factory hall split by light: the near half under warm work lamps where one person reviews work at a standing desk, the far half in darkness where rows of machines show only small colored indicator lights.
one hall, half lit, half dark · generated illustration (see About)
THE FACTORY many harnessed loops · a queue in · a review gate out THE HARNESS sandbox · tools · memory · gates THE LOOP context → act → check → again THE FACTORY many harnessed loops · a queue in · a review gate out THE HARNESS sandbox · tools · memory · gates THE LOOP context → act → check → again
fig. 1.1 · the three layers

Also on the switchboard: the glossary of terms with their coinage dates, the updates log for developments after July 2026, and how this site was made — by a software factory, which is the point.