https://andymatuschak.org Project updates and articles by Andy Matuschak en-us https://andymatuschak.org/tat https://andymatuschak.org/tat Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Coding agents might help us finally break out of two cages: the app model, which traps computing in one-size-fits-all silos; and programming as a specialization, which has crowded out cultures of imagination and domain insight. Agents can make one-off apps, but they’re usually toys. I show how we might bring malleability and composability to the kind of deep interfaces that experts live in all day—demonstrated in a writing environment, but applicable to all serious software. But malleable interfaces aren’t enough. Historically, inventing interfaces has required imaginative design skill, deep domain insight, and fluent programming. Few have all three, but programming is the only skill that can produce working software on its own—so interface invention culture is dominated by programmers. I share early reports of how coding agents are changing that, and what it might mean for the people and institutions inventing interfaces today.