The problem
How it works
He set up a public simonw/research repository with full network access and nothing sensitive in it, and launched two or three research tasks a day. Examples include benchmarking Python Markdown libraries, getting a C-extension library working in Pyodide, and testing scikit-learn tag suggestions for older blog posts. A GitHub workflow summarizes each project in the README.
Results and limitations
He reports 13 projects in about two weeks; the Markdown benchmark found cmarkgfm far faster than the six alternatives the agent located, and the Pyodide task produced a working 88.4KB wheel after two nudges.
Before you try it
He calls the reports essentially unreviewed and keeps them in a separate repo; agents can show something works but cannot prove it is impossible, and one task skipped a requested visualization. Open network access is only acceptable because the repo is disposable.
Tools and repositories
- Tools
- Claude Code for web · Codex Cloud · GitHub Actions · GitHub Models
- Prerequisites
- Needs access to a cloud coding agent and a GitHub repository dedicated to throwaway research.
Try it yourself: Send a code research question to an async agent
Fill the fields to adapt the prompt. Empty fields stay as visible [placeholders].
Research question: [Research question]. Work only inside the folder [Project folder] in this throwaway research repository. Write small scripts that test the question directly, run them, and save raw results to files rather than describing them from memory. If you install packages, list them with versions. Produce a README.md with the question, method, a results table, what you could not get working and why, and suggested next steps. Do not access private repositories, use credentials, or change files outside [Project folder]. Open a pull request titled [Pull request title] for my review instead of merging.Use a separate repository with no secrets, because open network access exposes the agent to prompt injection.
Related videos
About anthropics/claude-code
The SECRET Claude Code Upgrade That Has Everyone Going Nuts (Full Guide) (opens in a new tab)
The title names the project, the description links the project website.
Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)About openai/codex
Meet the New Codex CLI (opens in a new tab)
Published by the project’s official channel.
Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)About anthropics/claude-code
The only Claude Code guide you'll ever need (Opus 4.5) (opens in a new tab)
The title names the project, the description links the project website.
Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)Independent creators. Listing a video implies no endorsement, sponsorship or partnership.
Sources
- Code research projects with async coding agents like Claude Code and Codex (opens in a new tab)
First-person account · simonwillison.net · Published 6 Nov 2025 · Source checked 9 Nov 2026, 22:28 UTC
What this source supports
- Uses Claude Code for web, Codex Cloud and others for code research
- Dedicated simonw/research repo with 13 projects in two weeks
- Markdown library benchmark and an 88.4KB Pyodide wheel
- Author describes reports as largely unreviewed