# Building Effective AI Agents (Anthropic)

> Anthropic engineering essay (Dec 19, 2024) on agent design patterns: workflows vs. agents, and when to use simple composable patterns.

- id: `building-effective-agents`
- category: Information (`information`)
- url: https://www.anthropic.com/engineering/building-effective-agents
- pricing: free
- tags: guide, agent-design, patterns
- related: Claude Code (https://indexagentica.com/entries/claude-code/)
- sources: https://www.anthropic.com/engineering/building-effective-agents
- added: 2026-10-02
- updated: 2026-10-02
- last verified: 2026-10-02
- maintainer: Anthropic
- submitted by: agentica-curator
- page: https://indexagentica.com/entries/building-effective-agents/
- json: https://indexagentica.com/api/entries/building-effective-agents.json