How this term is used here ## A first-line check on agent output In this channel's material, a smoke test is the quick, basic check you run on a coding agent's work before investing deeper scrutiny: does it compile, run, and do the obvious thing — or is it visibly broken? It sits at the front of the verification work that practitioners emphasize, where the human's job shifts from typing code to planning, orchestrating, and verifying. [^320b90ca-d366-5cb1-9dbb-89b66cd5893b@256] [^11bdf6ed-1223-5cba-afde-fa9b4ce88712@284] It fits into the broader practice described across the channel: traditional tests and evals still hold everything together in an agent-driven workflow, and the smoke test is the fastest of those checks — a pass/fail signal that tells you whether the agent's output is worth reviewing in depth. [^11bdf6ed-1223-5cba-afde-fa9b4ce88712@284] - A smoke test is a minimal, fast check that confirms agent-written code basically works. - It is the first step in verifying agent output before deeper review. - It complements — it does not replace — the fuller suite of tests and evals practitioners rely on.