Darkplane is built around the six levels of agentic software engineering. Each level describes who writes code, who reviews it, and what infrastructure must exist before the next level is safe.
The levels at a glance
| Level | Name | Shape |
|---|
| 1 | AI-Assisted | AI autocompletes; humans write and decide on each suggestion. |
| 2 | AI-Generated, Human-Reviewed | AI writes whole functions and PRs; humans review every PR before merge. |
| 3 | AI-Generated, Auto-Reviewed | AI generates from specs; tests, linters, and scans run automatically. Humans approve intent, not diffs. |
| 3.5 | Selective Auto-Merge | Routine PRs in qualifying services auto-merge; humans keep veto rights. |
| 4 | Mostly Autonomous | AI runs the full loop within a defined scope and notifies rather than asks. |
| 5 | Dark Factory | AI manages the end-to-end SDLC; humans write specs and improve the factory. |
No level can be skipped
The taxonomy is a sequence, not a menu. Each level builds the harness infrastructure the next one depends on. Teams that try to leap from Level 2 to Level 4 reliably hit the same failure mode: automation without the evidence to trust it.
Darkplane’s readiness score tells you which level your repository operates at today and exactly which gates are missing for the next one.
The human role moves, it does not shrink
- Level 1: Humans write code.
- Level 2: Humans approve diffs.
- Level 3: Humans approve intent.
- Level 4: Humans set scope.
- Level 5: Humans write specs and improve the factory.
