--- title: "Blog // Field Notes, Page 11 · FoundrySoft" description: "Engineering notes from senior practitioners on generative AI, retrieval systems, and the real work of shipping LLM-powered software to production." image: "https://foundrysoft.co/api/og?type=page&title=Engineering+intelligent+software&st=Production-grade+software+and+AI+systems+for+teams+who+need+more+than+another+demo." url: "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/page/11" --- Field notes · 224 articles # Notes from the foundry Practical notes on AI, business software, and the decisions behind a production build. ## More field notes AI, software, and business [ Tutorial // DevTools ## Spin Up Sandboxed Subagents with the Antigravity CLI Google's Antigravity 2.0 CLI lets you delegate work to sandboxed subagents. A practical walkthrough of wiring it into a real dev workflow. 19 Jun 2026 11 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/antigravity-cli-subagents) [ Tutorial // MCP ## Build an MCP Server to Connect Claude to Your Database A practical tutorial on the Model Context Protocol: build a TypeScript MCP server that lets Claude query your database safely, with tools and guardrails. 19 Jun 2026 13 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/build-mcp-server-claude-database) [ Tutorial // Infrastructure ## Self-Host a Coding LLM with vLLM Open-weight coding models are good enough to self-host now. A practical guide to serving one with vLLM and calling it through an OpenAI-compatible API. 18 Jun 2026 12 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/self-host-coding-llm-vllm) [ Tutorial // Search ## Build a Semantic Search Engine with Embeddings and Qdrant A Python tutorial: embed your data, store it in Qdrant, and run semantic search that understands meaning, then add keyword hybrid search and reranking. 18 Jun 2026 12 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/semantic-search-embeddings-qdrant) [ Engineering // LLMs ## Shipping Generative AI Features Without Breaking Production A field guide to taking LLM-powered features from a flashy demo to a system you can trust on a Friday afternoon. 18 Jun 2026 8 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/shipping-generative-ai-features) [ Tutorial // Voice AI ## Build an AI Voice Agent with Twilio and a Realtime Model Wire a phone number to an AI: a Node tutorial connecting Twilio Media Streams to a realtime speech model so callers can talk to your agent. 17 Jun 2026 14 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/ai-voice-agent-twilio-realtime) [ Tutorial // MCP ## Build an OAuth-Secured MCP Server Secure a Model Context Protocol server with OAuth 2.1. A TypeScript walkthrough of bearer token validation, scopes, and protecting tools. 17 Jun 2026 13 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/oauth-secured-mcp-server) [ Tutorial // Workflows ## Build a Durable Multi-Step Workflow with Claude Opus 4.8 Opus 4.8 shipped with a dynamic workflow capability. Here's how to build a crash-safe, multi-step workflow that an LLM drives end to end. 16 Jun 2026 13 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/durable-workflow-opus-4-8) [ Tutorial // Evals ## Add an Eval Harness to Your LLM App Stop shipping on vibes. A TypeScript tutorial for building a lightweight eval harness: datasets, scorers, an LLM-as-judge, and a CI gate. 16 Jun 2026 12 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/llm-eval-harness-typescript) [ Tutorial // DevTools ## Build a Code Completion Backend with Codestral Codestral is Mistral's model built for code. Here's how to stand up a fill-in-the-middle code completion backend you can wire into an editor. 15 Jun 2026 11 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/code-completion-backend-codestral) [ Tutorial // Agents ## Build a Multi-Agent Workflow with LangGraph A Python tutorial: model a researcher, writer, and reviewer as a LangGraph state machine, with shared state, conditional edges, and a review loop. 15 Jun 2026 14 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/multi-agent-workflow-langgraph) [ Tutorial // DevTools ## Build an AI Code Review Bot for Your Pull Requests A TypeScript tutorial: a GitHub Action that sends your PR diff to Claude and posts a focused, useful review comment, without the noise. 14 Jun 2026 13 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/ai-code-review-bot-claude) [ AI // Retrieval ## RAG Is Not a Silver Bullet · It's a Retrieval Problem Why most retrieval-augmented generation systems underperform, and the unglamorous fixes that actually move the needle. 29 May 2026 6 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/rag-is-not-a-silver-bullet) [ Insights // Hiring ## How to Evaluate an AI Development Partner A practical checklist for CTOs vetting an AI development agency, covering evals, IP, security, cost, and the questions that separate builders from demo shops. 22 May 2026 9 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/how-to-evaluate-ai-development-partner) [ Insights // Architecture ## Vendor Lock-In with LLMs: How to Keep Providers Swappable Prices change, models get deprecated, and providers face export limits overnight. How to architect LLM features so you can switch providers without a rewrite. 15 May 2026 9 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/avoid-llm-vendor-lock-in) [ Insights // Cost ## Cutting LLM Cost 50% Without Wrecking Quality A practical playbook for bringing down LLM spend: model routing, prompt caching, context discipline, and batching, with the quality tradeoffs spelled out. 8 May 2026 9 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/cut-llm-cost-without-wrecking-quality) [ Insights // Cost ## What It Really Costs to Run an LLM Feature in Production Token bills are only part of it. The true cost of an LLM feature: inference, retrieval infra, evals, monitoring, and the engineering time nobody budgets for. 1 May 2026 10 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/real-cost-of-llm-feature-in-production) [ Insights // Infrastructure ## Should We Self-Host an LLM? A Cost and Control Framework Self-hosting an open-weight model can save money or quietly cost more. A CTO's framework for deciding based on volume, privacy, control, and the true total cost. 24 Apr 2026 9 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/should-we-self-host-an-llm) [ Insights // Architecture ## RAG vs Fine-Tuning vs Long Context: Which, and When Three ways to get a model to use your data, often confused. When retrieval, fine-tuning, or a big context window is the right call, and when to combine them. 17 Apr 2026 10 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/rag-vs-fine-tuning-vs-long-context) [ Insights // Strategy ## When AI Is the Wrong Tool (and Cheaper Options Win) Not every problem needs an LLM. A candid look at where rules, search, or plain software beat AI, and how to tell before you spend the budget. 10 Apr 2026 8 min read Read article ](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/when-ai-is-the-wrong-tool) [‹ Prev](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/page/10) [1](https://foundrysoft.co/blog) [2](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/page/2) [3](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/page/3) [4](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/page/4) [5](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/page/5) [6](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/page/6) [7](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/page/7) [8](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/page/8) [9](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/page/9) [10](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/page/10) 11 [12](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/page/12) [Next ›](https://foundrysoft.co/blog/page/12) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "name": "FoundrySoft", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co", "logo": "https://foundrysoft.co/logo.svg", "description": "FoundrySoft builds production-grade software and AI systems for US companies, from an India-based team of senior engineers.", "sameAs": [ "https://github.com/foundrysofthq", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundrysoft", "https://www.instagram.com/foundrysoft/" ] } ``` ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebSite", "name": "FoundrySoft", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co" } ``` ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Blog", "name": "FoundrySoft Blog", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/page/11", "blogPost": [ { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Spin Up Sandboxed Subagents with the Antigravity CLI", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/antigravity-cli-subagents", "datePublished": "2026-06-19" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Build an MCP Server to Connect Claude to Your Database", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/build-mcp-server-claude-database", "datePublished": "2026-06-19" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Self-Host a Coding LLM with vLLM", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/self-host-coding-llm-vllm", "datePublished": "2026-06-18" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Build a Semantic Search Engine with Embeddings and Qdrant", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/semantic-search-embeddings-qdrant", "datePublished": "2026-06-18" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Shipping Generative AI Features Without Breaking Production", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/shipping-generative-ai-features", "datePublished": "2026-06-18" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Build an AI Voice Agent with Twilio and a Realtime Model", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/ai-voice-agent-twilio-realtime", "datePublished": "2026-06-17" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Build an OAuth-Secured MCP Server", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/oauth-secured-mcp-server", "datePublished": "2026-06-17" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Build a Durable Multi-Step Workflow with Claude Opus 4.8", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/durable-workflow-opus-4-8", "datePublished": "2026-06-16" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Add an Eval Harness to Your LLM App", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/llm-eval-harness-typescript", "datePublished": "2026-06-16" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Build a Code Completion Backend with Codestral", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/code-completion-backend-codestral", "datePublished": "2026-06-15" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Build a Multi-Agent Workflow with LangGraph", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/multi-agent-workflow-langgraph", "datePublished": "2026-06-15" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Build an AI Code Review Bot for Your Pull Requests", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/ai-code-review-bot-claude", "datePublished": "2026-06-14" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "RAG Is Not a Silver Bullet · It's a Retrieval Problem", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/rag-is-not-a-silver-bullet", "datePublished": "2026-05-29" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "How to Evaluate an AI Development Partner", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/how-to-evaluate-ai-development-partner", "datePublished": "2026-05-22" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Vendor Lock-In with LLMs: How to Keep Providers Swappable", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/avoid-llm-vendor-lock-in", "datePublished": "2026-05-15" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Cutting LLM Cost 50% Without Wrecking Quality", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/cut-llm-cost-without-wrecking-quality", "datePublished": "2026-05-08" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "What It Really Costs to Run an LLM Feature in Production", "url": "https://foundrysoft.co/blog/real-cost-of-llm-feature-in-production", "datePublished": "2026-05-01" }, { "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Should We Self-Host an LLM? 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