# Blog | Sentient Arc

> Field guides on agentic development, RAG, and AI automation.

- [Blog · Page 2](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/page/2): Page 2 of the Sentient Arc blog index.
- [Blog · Page 3](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/page/3): Page 3 of the Sentient Arc blog index.
- [What Is Agentic Development? A Field Guide for Operators](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/what-is-agentic-development): Agentic development builds software where an AI agent decides the next step: retrieving context, reasoning, calling tools, and checking its own work. Here is what that means in practice.
- [RAG, Explained for Operators](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/rag-explained-for-operators): Retrieval-augmented generation grounds a language model in your own documents, so it answers from your sources with citations instead of hallucinating. Here is how it works and when to use it.
- [AI Automation vs. Traditional Automation](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/ai-automation-vs-traditional-automation): Traditional automation follows fixed rules; AI automation handles the judgment-heavy steps in between. Knowing where each fits is the difference between a system that scales and one that breaks.
- [What Is OpenClaw? The Local-First AI Agent, Explained](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/what-is-openclaw): OpenClaw is a free, open-source, local-first AI agent that runs on your own hardware, connects to the model of your choice, and lives inside the messaging apps you already use. Here is what it is, how it works, and what we harden before shipping it.
- [Hermes Agent, Explained for Operators](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/what-is-hermes-agent): Hermes Agent is Nous Research's open, local-first agent framework built around a self-improving loop: the agent writes and refines its own reusable skills as it works. Here is what that means for a studio building for clients.
- [OpenClaw vs. Hermes Agent: How We Choose](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/openclaw-vs-hermes): OpenClaw and Hermes Agent are the two dominant local-first, open AI agent frameworks of 2026: one bets on ubiquitous presence, the other on compounding intelligence. Here is how a studio actually chooses between them.
- [n8n AI Agents in 2026: Build, Self-Host & Pricing Explained](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/n8n-for-ai-automation): Yes, n8n builds AI agents with its LangChain AI Agent node, free self-hosted or metered on Cloud. How it works, the costs, and when to pick it over Zapier.
- [Zapier AI Agents & ChatGPT: Build One With No Code (2026)](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/zapier-for-ai-automation): Yes, Zapier runs no-code AI agents and connects ChatGPT and Claude across ~8,000 apps. How AI by Zapier, Agents, and MCP work, the billing, and the limits.
- [Make.com AI Agents in 2026: Scenarios, ChatGPT & Claude](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/make-com-for-ai-automation): Yes, Make.com runs AI agents on a visual scenario canvas with ChatGPT and Claude. How agents differ from scenarios, the credit billing, and where it breaks.
- [n8n vs Zapier vs Make for AI Agents: How to Choose (2026)](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/n8n-vs-zapier-vs-make-for-ai-agents): n8n vs Zapier vs Make for AI agents: there is no winner. n8n self-hosts, Zapier is broadest no-code, Make is the visual canvas. How to choose by workload.
- [Claude Managed Agents, Explained for Operators](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/what-are-claude-managed-agents): Claude Managed Agents is Anthropic's hosted platform for running AI agents: you define the agent, Anthropic runs the loop and the sandbox its tools execute in. Here is how it works and when to reach for it.
- [What Is Claude Design? Anthropic's AI Design Tool, Explained](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/what-is-claude-design): Claude Design is Anthropic's tool for creating designs, prototypes, and slides by describing them to Claude. It reads your codebase for a design system and hands off to Claude Code. Here is how it works.
- [What Is Google Stitch? Google's AI UI Design Tool, Explained](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/what-is-google-stitch): Google Stitch is a free Google Labs tool that turns a text prompt or an image into a UI design and front-end code, then pastes into Figma. Here is what it does well, where it falls short, and when to use it.
- [Claude Design vs. Google Stitch vs. Figma: How We Choose](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/claude-design-vs-google-stitch-vs-figma): Claude Design, Google Stitch, and Figma are three different bets on AI-era product design: prompt-first and code-native, free and fast, or the collaborative canvas. Here is how a studio actually chooses between them.
- [How to Turn Obsidian Into an AI Second Brain With a Claude Code Skill](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/obsidian-second-brain-claude-code-skill): An Obsidian vault is just a folder of markdown files, so a Claude Code skill can capture, file, link, and distill your notes for you. Here is how to turn Obsidian into an AI second brain, and where to keep a human in the loop.
- [What Is Vercel eve? The Filesystem-First Agent Framework, Explained](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/what-is-vercel-eve): Vercel eve is an open-source, filesystem-first framework for durable AI agents: you define an agent as files in a directory and eve compiles it into a deployable app. Here is how it works, what it costs, and what to harden before you ship it.
- [AI Agents vs. Automation vs. an AI Operating System: Which Do You Need?](https://www.sentientarc.com/blog/ai-agents-vs-automation-vs-ai-operating-system): AI automation runs a fixed path, an agent decides one, and an AI operating system composes many. Here is what each layer does and which one you need first.

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