How to build a coding agent

> You just keep throwing tokens at the loop, and then you've got yourself an agent.

Money. Replace "tokens" with "money". You just keep throwing money at the loop, and then you've got yourself an agent.

Who says that tokens are money? Local models are getting really good. For now, yes, if you want the best outcomes, you need to purchase tokens. But in the future, that may not be the case.

I'd argue that local models still cost money, albeit less than the vendors would cost. Unless you happen to live off-grid and get your own electricity for free. I suppose there are free tiers available that work for some things as well.

But with edge-case exceptions aside, yes, tokens cost money.