# Where Agents Run: Editor, Terminal, Cloud and CI — Coding Agents & AI-Assisted Development

Source: https://www.geekswithgeeks.com/en/coding-agents/b-where

> Compare the main environments and their trade-offs.

## Closer to you, or further away

Agents run in several places. In the **editor/IDE** they work beside you with visible diffs and quick approvals: great for interactive work. In the **terminal**, a command-line agent works in your local repository with your shell and tools, which is powerful but runs with your permissions. In the **cloud**, an agent runs in a remote sandbox on a copy of the repository, can work in the background on many tasks in parallel, and returns a branch or pull request: convenient and isolated, but it cannot see your local state and needs the repository and secrets set up carefully. In **CI** or automation, an agent reacts to events (a failing build, a new issue) under strict, pre-set permissions. Pick the place by **how much autonomy you want, how risky the task is, and how much isolation you need**: the more autonomous, the more isolated it should be.

## Choosing an environment

Starting points only.

```text
Environment   Autonomy   Isolation   Good for                                 Watch out for
editor / IDE  low-medium  none        interactive edits, learning the code     approving too fast
terminal      medium      none        repo-wide changes with local tools       runs with YOUR permissions
cloud sandbox high        strong      parallel/background tasks -> PRs         no local state; secrets setup
CI automation scoped      strong      triage, flaky-test fixes, upgrades       strict permissions, budgets
```

## Match isolation to autonomy

Interactive in your editor can be lightly isolated; unattended cloud runs should be heavily sandboxed.

**Quiz:** Which pairing follows the rule "more autonomy, more isolation"?

- [ ] A fully autonomous agent with admin rights on your laptop
- [x] A background cloud agent working in a sandbox on a repository copy
- [ ] An unreviewed agent pushing to main
- [ ] An agent holding production credentials

*Answer:* A background cloud agent working in a sandbox on a repository copy. Isolation limits the damage an autonomous agent can do.