mini-swe-agent-tutorial

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Mini-SWE-Agent Tutorial: Minimal Autonomous Code Agent Design at Benchmark Scale

Learn how to use SWE-agent/mini-swe-agent to run compact, high-performing software-engineering agent workflows with minimal scaffolding and strong reproducibility.

Why This Track Matters

Mini-SWE-Agent distills coding-agent design to a compact core while still delivering strong benchmark performance, making it valuable for both research and production-minded engineering.

This track focuses on:

• shipping a first minimal agent run quickly
• understanding the small-core architecture tradeoffs
• configuring global and YAML-based behavior controls
• scaling to benchmark and sandboxed execution workflows

Current Snapshot (auto-updated)

• repository: SWE-agent/mini-swe-agent
• stars: about 3.3k
• latest release: v2.2.7 (published 2026-03-12)

Mental Model

flowchart LR
    A[Task] --> B[DefaultAgent loop]
    B --> C[Model reasoning]
    C --> D[Bash action execution]
    D --> E[Environment abstraction]
    E --> F[Trajectory and evaluation artifacts]

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Chapter Guide

Chapter	Key Question	Outcome
01 - Getting Started	How do I run mini-swe-agent quickly?	Working baseline
02 - Core Architecture and Minimal Design	Why does this tiny architecture still perform well?	Strong architecture intuition
03 - CLI, Batch, and Inspector Workflows	How do I operate single-task and benchmark flows?	Better workflow control
04 - Global and YAML Configuration Strategy	How do I configure behavior cleanly and reproducibly?	Reliable config model
05 - Environments, Sandboxing, and Deployment	How do I execute safely across environments?	Safer runtime operations
06 - Benchmarking and SWE-bench Practices	How do I evaluate and compare runs rigorously?	Evaluation discipline
07 - Cookbook Extensions and Python Bindings	How do I customize components without bloat?	Extensibility baseline
08 - Contribution Workflow and Governance	How do I contribute while preserving minimalism?	Contributor readiness

What You Will Learn

• how to run a compact coding agent with clear control flow
• how to configure models, environments, and run policies safely
• how to evaluate at benchmark scale without over-complication
• how to extend mini-swe-agent while preserving design intent

Source References

• Mini-SWE-Agent Repository
• Mini-SWE-Agent README
• Mini-SWE-Agent Docs
• Quickstart
• YAML Configuration Guide
• Contributing Guide

Related Tutorials

• SWE-agent Tutorial
• Open SWE Tutorial
• Codex CLI Tutorial
• OpenHands Tutorial

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Start with Chapter 1: Getting Started.

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Full Chapter Map

1. Chapter 1: Getting Started
2. Chapter 2: Core Architecture and Minimal Design
3. Chapter 3: CLI, Batch, and Inspector Workflows
4. Chapter 4: Global and YAML Configuration Strategy
5. Chapter 5: Environments, Sandboxing, and Deployment
6. Chapter 6: Benchmarking and SWE-bench Practices
7. Chapter 7: Cookbook Extensions and Python Bindings
8. Chapter 8: Contribution Workflow and Governance

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