
· 7 min read
Managed Agent Harness Architectures and Trade-offs
Cloud agent platforms commonly use one of two architectures. The first puts an existing harness such as Claude Code, Codex, or OpenCode inside a sandbox. VibeKit and LiteLLM Agent Platform represent this approach, while Buzz also reuses these harnesses. The second keeps the agent loop in the control plane and uses sandboxes only for execution. Claude Managed Agents and OpenHands use this boundary, while products such as Manus and Perplexity Computer also appear closer to centrally scheduled execution. The first architecture fits automation with a clear start and finish. The second is a better fit for Managed Agents that may run for weeks or months, wait for events, and serve multiple users.
