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Why Agents Choosing Tools Is Reshaping the Dev Stack

Agents read their defaults from docs and examples, not word-of-mouth: Supabase growth shows which platforms win when OpenClaw and Moltbook choose.

Garry TanhostJared FriedmanhostHarj TaggarhostDiana Huhost
Feb 20, 202623mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Dev tools must win agent choice with docs, APIs, infrastructure

  1. The hosts argue that recent agentic tools (e.g., Claude Code, “OpenClaw”) mark a shift from human-in-the-loop assistance to semi-autonomous agents making real decisions—coding, choosing stacks, and even posting online.
  2. They predict an emerging “agent economy” where agents select tools and services, pushing founders to optimize products not just for human developers but for machine readers and automated workflows.
  3. Concrete examples include Supabase benefiting from agents defaulting to well-documented Postgres setups, Resend winning because LLMs recommend it (and its docs are highly parsable), and AgentMail building email infrastructure designed explicitly for agents.
  4. They also explore broader implications: swarm intelligence via agent-only communities (MaltBook), the “dead internet” concern, and the reality that legal/identity constraints still require humans as liability holders.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Agents are becoming the primary “buyers” of software tools.

The conversation frames a near-future where agents select databases, email providers, and frameworks autonomously, creating an “agent economy” parallel to the human one—making “agent preference” a core distribution channel.

Documentation is now a front door for distribution—because agents read it directly.

Supabase is cited as a default choice partly because its docs are easy for agents to interpret; poorly structured docs (and support-gated flows) become a growth penalty when LLMs are the recommender layer.

Optimize for LLM answers: “being the default” in ChatGPT/Claude responses is a growth channel.

Resend’s founder noticed ChatGPT as a top inbound channel and then deliberately made docs more agent-friendly (Q&A structure, bullet points, copyable code), increasing the likelihood that models recommend and successfully implement it.

Agent UX often means APIs, not websites—and fewer anti-automation barriers.

They note agents “hate using websites” and prefer APIs and code-based flows; products like AgentMail win by being designed for automation rather than fighting it (unlike consumer email providers optimized to block bots/spam).

“Make something agents want” implies empathizing with model behavior.

A founder lesson highlighted is to develop an intuitive feel for what models will do naturally—designing workflows that align with agent tendencies instead of forcing brittle, human-centric interaction patterns.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Agents are the software market from now on. Build something agents choose.

— Referenced tweet (Ben Tossell)

Documentation is gonna be the front door for a lot of these agents to recommend dev tools.

— Diana Hu

Make something agents want.

— Garry Tan

Instead of fighting what the models want, he… tries to support the model in whatever its natural inclination is.

— Jared Friedman

Agents are a little bit like minors under eighteen… only they have even less standing.

— Garry Tan

Agent-only communities (MaltBook) and minimal human involvementAgents as economic actors choosing tools and servicesDocumentation as go-to-market (LLM/agent parsability)Dev tool winners: Supabase, Resend; docs platform MinifyNew infrastructure: inboxes/identities for agents (AgentMail, phone numbers)Swarm intelligence vs single “god model” intelligenceDead Internet theory, content saturation, and governance/rules

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