Reading agent output
Tell what an agent actually did from what it says it did: transcripts, test logs, CI runs, stack traces and pull requests.
Start: Claims vs evidenceAbout All coding agents
Reading agent output teaches you to tell what a coding agent actually did from what it says it did. You treat the final message as a claim and check the evidence: the commands it ran, test counts, CI logs, stack traces and the diff. It works with any coding agent, including Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and GitHub Copilot.
Best for: Anyone who reviews, approves or merges code an AI agent wrote.
Good for
- Reading test counts, including skipped tests, before trusting a summary
- Finding the real error in a failing CI run
- Finding the stack trace frame that points to your code
- Spotting weakened tests and out-of-scope changes in agent pull requests
Where people slip
- Believing "tests pass" when no tests were run
- Missing a loosened assertion or a skipped test in a bug fix
- Overlooking changes to auth, CI, dependencies or secrets
- Accepting a summary that doesn't match the diff
How do I know if an agent really ran the tests?
Look for the test command and its output in the transcript. Read the counts for failed, skipped and total. A summary that says tests pass with no run behind it is only a claim.
How do I read a stack trace?
In Node, the first line names the error, then the frames list the innermost call first. In Python, the error is on the last line. Look for the first frame in your own code.
What should I check first in an agent's pull request?
For a bug fix, read the test changes first. Look for loosened assertions, skipped tests and disabled checks. Then match each changed file to the task.
Checked against All coding agents's own docs on 2026-11-06.
Claims vs evidence
Check an agent's summary against its tool calls, test output and diff before you accept the work.
0 of 3 lessons completeRead CI failures and stack traces
Find the real error in a failing CI log or stack trace and give the agent a precise fix request.
0 of 2 lessons complete