Architecture Without Architects: How AI Coding Agents Shape Software Architecture
SAGAI Workshop, IEEE ICSA 2026 (Accepted), 2026
Abstract
The current AI coding agents select frameworks, scaffold infrastructure, and wire up integrations. These are architectural decisions, yet almost no one reviews them as such. We survey agentic coding tools and identify five mechanisms by which they make implicit architectural choices, then analyze prompt-architecture coupling. Six recurring patterns arise. We call this vibe architecting, and we outline review practices, decision records, and tooling aimed at bringing these hidden decisions under governance.