diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 139943258..33ce1014b 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ Fabro -## The open source software factory for expert engineers +## The open source dark software factory for expert engineers AI coding agents are powerful but unpredictable. You either babysit every step or review a 50-file diff you don't trust. Fabro gives you a middle path: define the process as a graph, let agents execute it, and intervene only where it matters. [Why Fabro?](https://fabro.dev/getting-started/why-arc) diff --git a/docs/docs.json b/docs/docs.json index 526b6f455..04e4b9c11 100644 --- a/docs/docs.json +++ b/docs/docs.json @@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ "getting-started/introduction", "getting-started/why-fabro", "getting-started/quick-start", + "getting-started/dark-factory", "getting-started/comparison" ] }, diff --git a/docs/getting-started/comparison.mdx b/docs/getting-started/comparison.mdx index 36d0cbd8d..ce390d285 100644 --- a/docs/getting-started/comparison.mdx +++ b/docs/getting-started/comparison.mdx @@ -3,14 +3,24 @@ title: Comparison description: How Fabro compares to AI coding agents, software factories, and orchestration platforms. --- -Fabro occupies a unique position at the intersection of AI coding agents and workflow orchestration. This page summarizes how Fabro differs from the most relevant alternatives across nine dimensions. +Fabro is a [dark software factory](/getting-started/dark-factory). It is not an IDE plugin. It is not a REPL, command line or otherwise. It is not a web appliction where you drag-and-drop workflows or update technical documents (we have Git for those). + +Almost every other tool in AI coding starts from the same place: a developer at a keyboard, typing prompts, reviewing responses and outputs. Fabro starts from a different premise — that the highest-leverage work for expert engineers is defining **what** gets built and **how quality is verified**, not supervising each line of code as it's written. + +This means Fabro intentionally does not include: + +- **An IDE integration** — no VS Code extension, no editor plugins +- **A REPL CLI** — no interactive prompt-response loop +- **Autocomplete** — no inline code suggestions + +Instead, Fabro provides workflow graphs, verification gates, multi-model orchestration, and observability — the infrastructure a small team needs to run coding agents with minimal human interaction. ## Notable Comparisons -The most relevant comparisons to Fabro are other tools that enable AI-assisted coding workflows with varying degrees of structure, automation, and human involvement. These include: - ### Automated Coding Workflows +These are the closest alternatives to Fabro — platforms that structure and automate multi-step coding processes rather than offering a single interactive agent session. They are proprietary products which offer a more "light" software factory approach where humans are still watching and driving. + - **Factory AI (Droids)** — Enterprise coding automation platform - **Ona (Gitpod)** — Agentic coding platform with cloud dev environments - **Devin** — Autonomous coding agent by Cognition diff --git a/docs/getting-started/dark-factory.mdx b/docs/getting-started/dark-factory.mdx new file mode 100644 index 000000000..1664860b9 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/getting-started/dark-factory.mdx @@ -0,0 +1,70 @@ +--- +title: "Dark Factory" +description: "How Fabro helps small teams incrementally adopt a dark factory approach to software development" +--- + +The term "dark factory" comes from manufacturing. Since 2001, FANUC has operated a factory near Mt. Fuji where robots build other robots — running unsupervised for up to 30 days at a time. The factory is "dark" because no humans are present and robots don't need light. + +In software, the dark factory concept is different. It doesn't mean zero human involvement — it means **minimal human interaction** with the code itself. Humans supervise the specs, guardrails, and outcomes, not each line of code. Engineers shift from writing and reviewing code to defining what should be built, how quality is measured, and when to intervene. + +This is an aspirational concept, and getting there is iterative. + +## From coding to orchestrating + +Dan Shapiro's [five-level framework](https://www.danshapiro.com/blog/2026/01/the-five-levels-from-spicy-autocomplete-to-the-software-factory/) describes the progression from AI-assisted coding to autonomous software production: + +| Level | Name | Human role | +|-------|------|------------| +| 0 | Spicy Autocomplete | Copy/paste from chat | +| 1 | Coding Intern | AI writes boilerplate; human reviews everything | +| 2 | Junior Developer | Pair programming with AI | +| 3 | Developer | Most code is AI-generated; human is a full-time reviewer | +| 4 | Engineering Team | Human manages specs and plans; agents do the work | +| 5 | Dark Software Factory | Specs go in, software comes out | + +Most teams today operate at Level 2–3: AI writes code, humans review it line by line. The transition from Level 3 to Level 4 is the hardest — it requires replacing ad-hoc human review with structured, repeatable verification that you actually trust. + +## What makes it work + +The dark factory isn't a single tool or practice. It's a set of capabilities that compound: + +**Declarative workflows over imperative prompts.** When the process is a version-controlled graph — not a chat transcript — you can review, iterate, and share it like any other source file. The workflow itself becomes the specification of how work gets done. + +**Deterministic verification over human review.** Test suites, linters, type checkers, and LLM-as-judge evaluations replace line-by-line code review. Failures route back to fix loops automatically. Humans define the criteria; the system enforces them. + +**Multi-model ensembles over single-model dependence.** Using different models for implementation and verification breaks the circularity problem — where the builder and inspector share the same blind spots. Cross-critique with fresh eyes catches what self-review misses. + +**Checkpointed execution over black-box runs.** Git commits after every stage create an audit trail. When something goes wrong, you can inspect, revert, or fork from any point — without having watched the run live. + +**Continuous improvement over static processes.** Automatic retrospectives after every run feed a learning loop. Workflows get better over time, not just the code they produce. + +## The human role in a dark factory + +The dark factory doesn't eliminate engineering judgment. It redirects it: + +| Before | After | +|--------|-------| +| Writing code | Defining workflows and prompts | +| Reviewing diffs | Defining verification criteria | +| Debugging test failures | Designing fix loops | +| Watching agent sessions | Reviewing retrospectives | +| Manual quality checks | Tuning goal gates and evals | + +The goal is to spend your time on the parts that require human judgment — what to build, how to verify it, and when something doesn't look right — while the factory handles the rest. + +## Further reading + + + + Learn how workflow graphs orchestrate agents, commands, and human gates. + + + Control where and how humans intervene in workflows. + + + Build verification into your workflows. + + + Automatic retrospectives for continuous improvement. + + diff --git a/docs/getting-started/introduction.mdx b/docs/getting-started/introduction.mdx index 548df1c30..d8f74e30b 100644 --- a/docs/getting-started/introduction.mdx +++ b/docs/getting-started/introduction.mdx @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ --- title: "Introduction" -description: "Fabro is the open source software factory for small teams of expert engineers" +description: "Fabro is the open source dark software factory for small teams of expert engineers" --- Fabro replaces the prompt-wait-review loop with version-controlled workflow graphs that orchestrate AI agents, shell commands, and human decisions into repeatable, long-horizon coding processes. diff --git a/docs/getting-started/why-fabro.mdx b/docs/getting-started/why-fabro.mdx index e2880af67..d62b6d69b 100644 --- a/docs/getting-started/why-fabro.mdx +++ b/docs/getting-started/why-fabro.mdx @@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ title: "Why Fabro?" description: "The problems Fabro solves for AI-assisted software teams" --- -Fabro is the open source software factory for small teams of expert engineers. It replaces the prompt-wait-review loop with version-controlled workflow graphs that orchestrate AI agents, shell commands, and human decisions into repeatable, long-horizon coding processes. +Fabro is the open source dark software factory for small teams of expert engineers. It replaces the prompt-wait-review loop with version-controlled workflow graphs that orchestrate AI agents, shell commands, and human decisions into repeatable, long-horizon coding processes. ## The problem