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37signals, the company behind Ruby on Rails, is moving to have AI agents generate nearly all its code, according to a report on David Heinemeier Hansson’s Rails World keynote. His declaration that hand-written code may be ending for professional work at 37signals has renewed debate, but the account does not establish that the shift is industry-wide.
The report also raises questions about engineering hiring and code reviews. It gives few details about 37signals’ implementation, results or timeline, leaving the scale and effects of the change unclear.
37signals, the company that created Ruby on Rails, is moving to have AI agents generate nearly all its code, according to a report about a Rails World keynote by co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson. Hansson framed writing code by hand for professional work as ending at his company, putting a prominent software firm’s adoption of coding agents at the center of a wider debate about developers’ work.
The account says 37signals has moved over to agents generating nearly all its code. It does not specify which products or teams are covered, how much code agents produce, or whether engineers are still expected to write code directly in some situations. The description therefore signals a substantial change in the company’s approach, but does not provide operational details with which to measure it.
Hansson’s statement was made in a keynote at Rails World, the event focused on Ruby on Rails. The report characterizes his position as a declaration that hand-writing code for professional work is over “at 37signals at least.” That qualification matters: it ties the claim to one company and does not establish that other employers have made the same change or that hand-written code is ending across the profession.
The same report flags two related topics: difficulty hiring engineers at Amazon and Meta, and the possibility that code reviews may also go away. It supplies no figures, named hiring sources or detailed evidence for those points. They are presented as issues in the broader discussion, not as demonstrated consequences of 37signals’ decision.
Is Coding By Hand Nearing Its End?
The RoR creator sparks debate. 37signals is moving toward AI agents generating nearly all its code, according to a report on co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson’s Rails World keynote. The announcement signals a striking company-level shift; its reach and results remain unknown.
A bold direction, with limited detail
The account describes a substantial change in how 37signals produces code. It does not provide the operational detail needed to measure the rollout.
Agents generate nearly all code
37signals, the company behind Ruby on Rails, is described as moving over to AI agents for nearly all its code generation.
The claim is company-specific
Hansson’s position was framed as the end of hand-written professional code “at 37signals at least.” It does not establish an industry-wide change.
Results have not been reported
The account gives no measurements for productivity, software quality, defects, cost, reliability, or delivery speed.
Engineering work may shift
If agents write more code, engineers could spend more time directing work and checking results. That is a plausible inference, not a confirmed description of 37signals’ job design.
From typing code to guiding delivery
Agent-generated changes still need to meet requirements and work reliably. Engineers may have a larger role in defining tasks, testing behavior, and deciding what should be built.
- → Specify tasks and constraints for coding agents
- → Test generated changes against real requirements
- → Make product and architecture decisions
What is not yet established
The report leaves core details about the rollout and its outcomes open.
- ? Which teams, products, and code changes are covered?
- ? How does 37signals define “nearly all”?
- ? Have roles, hiring, or review practices changed?
Claimed direction versus documented results
The first bar visualizes the wording of the report, not a measured percentage. The other bars indicate that no results were supplied.
A visible company choice is not an industry forecast
Because 37signals created Ruby on Rails, its approach attracts attention across web development. The report also raises hiring challenges at Amazon and Meta and asks whether code reviews could change. It gives no figures or detailed evidence tying those issues to 37signals’ decision.
Announcement
A keynote describes a move to agent-generated code at 37signals.
Questions
Developers ask what happens to roles, reviews, and hiring.
Evidence
Teams need details on scope, checks, quality, and speed.
Conclusion
Only then can the scale and effects of the change be assessed.
The report raises the possibility that reviews may go away. It does not confirm that 37signals has ended or changed its review process.
Recruiting concerns at Amazon and Meta appear as topics in the broader discussion, without figures or evidence of a link to this rollout.
Evidence that would clarify the shift
The announcement establishes a direction, not a measured outcome. Follow-up reporting could show how the work actually changed.
Define “nearly all”
Clarify whether the phrase refers to new code, all code changes, specific teams, or particular products.
Describe human checks
Explain which agents are used and how engineers test, review, and approve their changes.
Report results over time
Share evidence about software quality, delivery speed, costs, staffing, and day-to-day responsibilities.
Two lines behind the debate
“The end for writing code by hand for professional work — at 37signals at least.”David Heinemeier Hansson, as characterized in the report
“37signals moves over to agents generating nearly all its code.”The Pulse, the Pragmatic Engineer newsletter
What we know — and what remains open
QWhat is 37signals changing?
According to the report, the company is moving to have AI agents generate nearly all its code. A detailed breakdown of the work covered is not provided.
QWho said hand-written coding may be ending?
David Heinemeier Hansson made the statement at Rails World, as summarized in the report. It was framed around professional work at 37signals.
QWill developers stop writing code by hand?
The account establishes no industry-wide change. It describes one company’s direction and does not show that other employers have adopted it.
QAre code reviews ending at 37signals?
The report raises the possibility that review practices could change, but does not confirm that reviews have ended or changed there.
QWhat results has 37signals reported?
The account gives no measurements for productivity, software quality, costs, or delivery speed. The effects remain unclear.
QWhat is the clearest takeaway?
Hansson’s claim, as summarized, is company-specific. The wider adoption, long-term effects, and reliability of agent-written code remain open questions.
What Agents Could Change for Engineers
If agents generate most code at 37signals, engineers’ work there could shift toward specifying tasks, reviewing generated changes, testing systems and deciding what should be built. That is an inference from the reported change, not a confirmed description of how the company has reorganized its jobs. The report does not say whether staffing, productivity, software quality or delivery speed has changed.
The debate also reaches beyond one company because 37signals is closely associated with Ruby on Rails, a framework used to build web applications. A prominent company’s adoption of agents can draw attention from developers and employers weighing similar tools. But a company’s choice is not evidence that the same approach is suitable for every codebase, team or software business.
Code review is another open practical question. If agents produce more code, teams still need ways to check whether changes work and meet their requirements. The report raises the possibility that review practices could change or disappear, but offers no evidence that 37signals has stopped reviewing code or that agent-generated changes need less oversight.
Rails World and 37signals’ Shift
37signals is identified in the report as the creator of Ruby on Rails, linking its announcement to a company with a visible role in web development. The reported development came in a keynote by David Heinemeier Hansson at Rails World. The account uses the event to frame a question about whether coding by hand is nearing its end, while specifying that Hansson’s claim concerned professional work at 37signals.
The newsletter presents the topic as part of its coverage of events and trends in technology companies and startups. It places the 37signals shift alongside concerns about engineering recruitment at Amazon and Meta and the future of code reviews. No dates, figures or detailed accounts are provided for those related topics, so they serve as prompts for debate rather than substantiated evidence of an industry-wide turn.
The available description does not lay out a longer timeline for the company’s move to coding agents. It does not say when the change began, which agent tools are involved or what earlier approaches it replaced. The clearest confirmed development in the account is the stated direction: agents are generating nearly all of 37signals’ code.
“The end for writing code by hand for professional work — at 37signals at least.”
— David Heinemeier Hansson, as characterized in the report
The Scope and Results Remain Unknown
The account does not explain how 37signals measures “nearly all”, whether the figure refers to new code or all code changes, or what work remains directly written by employees. It also does not identify the agents or describe how they are integrated into development and review processes.
No results are reported for productivity, costs, reliability, defects or delivery time. It is unclear whether the company has changed job roles or hiring plans in response, and the report provides no evidence connecting its approach to the hiring challenges mentioned at Amazon and Meta. Whether code reviews will change is likewise unresolved.
Finally, the account does not establish that professional hand-coding is ending beyond 37signals. Hansson’s statement, as summarized, is explicitly company-specific; wider adoption, long-term effects and the reliability of agent-written code remain open questions.
Evidence From 37signals’ Rollout
The next useful evidence would be a fuller account from 37signals of how it uses agents, what proportion of work they handle and how people check the resulting code. Further information about team responsibilities, software quality and development speed would help clarify whether the shift has changed the company’s day-to-day work.
For now, the reported announcement establishes a direction rather than a measured outcome. Follow-up reporting may show whether 37signals publishes more details and whether other companies describe similar changes. Until then, the claim that hand-written code is ending should be read as Hansson’s view of professional work at his company, not a confirmed forecast for the industry.
Source: rss
Key Questions
What is 37signals changing?
The company is moving to have AI agents generate nearly all its code, according to the report. It does not provide a detailed breakdown of the work covered.
Who said hand-written coding may be ending?
David Heinemeier Hansson made the statement at Rails World, as summarized in the report. The claim was framed around professional work at 37signals.
Does this mean developers will stop writing code by hand?
No industry-wide change is established. The report describes 37signals’ direction and does not show that other companies have adopted the same approach.
Are code reviews ending at 37signals?
The report raises the possibility that code reviews may go away, but it does not confirm that 37signals has ended or changed its review process.
What results has 37signals reported?
The account gives no measurements of productivity, software quality, costs or delivery speed. The effects of the shift remain unclear.
Source: rss
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