Agentic DevOps : AI Engineering for Infrastructure

Bret Fisher
Bret Fisher
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Technology
  • Updated Semimonthly

Where LLMs, AI Agents, and MCP tools meet DevOps and platform engineering. How can we humans use non-deterministic, often hallucinating LLMs to automate our infrastructure and help us with the job of software lifecycle management? I’m Bret Fisher, and this is the Agentic DevOps podcast. After the invention of AI Agents and the MCP standard in late 2024, I started this podcast in early '25 with a narrow topic focus… to document and advise how AI Agents, MCP tools, and large language models can be used in the real world for assisting with DevOps automation, platform engineering, and day to day systems operations… a podcast series hopefully without the hand-wavy AI hype or dreams of a pure AI workforce. I'm joined by my co-host, Nirmal Mehta, and expert guests trying to make use of crazy texting robots.

  1. 6h ago ·  Video

    AI-Native Engineering Culture from a CTO

    My friend Mike Rollins joins me for a chat about what it’s like leading a software engineering team that doesn’t read code anymore.Thanks to SpeechifyAI for sponsoring this podcast. Get started for free. Check the benchmarks for Best Provider Text-to-Speech 🙌 I've launched the Agentic DevOps Guild, which is my premium community for accelerating your AI adoption for DevOps, CI/CD, platform engineering, and SRE. It includes courses, regular meetups, workshops, and mentorship. Join the Guild and become your team's leader in AI for infrastructure automation https://www.bretfisher.com/theguild 🍾 ★Show Links★ https://github.com/rollinsio/delta-v-dev-container-boilerplatehttps://github.com/rollinsio/beyond-test-coverage (expand your testing strength)https://rollins.io/https://www.instagram.com/rollins.ioCreators & Guests Bret Fisher - Host Beth Fisher - Producer Cristi Cotovan - Editor Mike Rollins - Guest You can also support this podcast by subscribing to my YouTube channel and my weekly newsletter at bret.news! Grab the best coupons for my Docker and Kubernetes courses on Udemy. Join my cloud native DevOps community on Discord.Grab some merch at Bret's Loot BoxHomepage bretfisher.com (00:00) - MAIN - Video Podcast (02:14) - Welcome Mike (02:23) - Mike Rollins AI First Journey (06:55) - Speechify.AI (07:57) - Agentic Delivery and Safety Nets (17:50) - PR to Production (35:10) - Testing and PR Chaos (47:49) - Harness Safety and Cost (54:25) - Maturity Milestones and Wrap ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    AI-Native Engineering Culture from a CTO

  2. Jun 17 ·  Video

    Safer Agent Automation with GitHub Agentic Workflows

    A deep dive into GitHub’s Agentic Workflows feature, with Don Syme of GitHub Next & Peli de Halleux of Microsoft Research.  Check out the video podcast version here: https://youtu.be/zmM8VISTOwo 🙌 I've launched the Agentic DevOps Guild, which is my premium community for accelerating your AI adoption for DevOps, CI/CD, platform engineering, and SRE. It includes courses, regular meetups, workshops, and mentorship. Join the Guild and become your team's leader in AI for infrastructure automation https://www.bretfisher.com/theguild 🍾 ★Show Links★https://githubnext.com/projects/agentic-workflows/https://github.github.com/gh-aw/https://githubnext.com/projects/continuous-ai/https://github.com/githubnext/repo-assist-impact/blob/main/report.mdhttps://github.com/microsoft/apm Creators & Guests Bret Fisher - Host Beth Fisher - Producer Cristi Cotovan - Editor Don Syme - Guest Peli de Halleux - Guest You can also support this podcast by subscribing to my YouTube channel and my weekly newsletter at bret.news! Grab the best coupons for my Docker and Kubernetes courses on Udemy. Join my cloud native DevOps community on Discord.Grab some merch at Bret's Loot BoxHomepage bretfisher.com (00:00) - MAIN - Video Podcast (10:42) - Agentic Workflows Explained (17:43) - Toil, Repo Assist, and Guardrails (36:44) - Why Agents Need Guardrails (38:45) - Deterministic Security Box (57:16) - Repo Assist in Action (01:04:51) - Async Agent Workflow (01:10:16) - Workflow Optimization Tricks (01:12:03) - Agentic Enterprise Future ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    Safer Agent Automation with GitHub Agentic Workflows

  3. May 6 ·  Video

    AI SREs, Chat With Your Infrastructure with Anyshift

    Bret’s joined by the Anyshift.io co-founders, Roxane Fischer and Stephane Jourdan to discuss how an always-on SRE agent can help you proactively find risks and avoid incidents. 🙌 I've launched the Agentic DevOps Guild, which is my premium community for accelerating your AI adoption for DevOps, CI/CD, platform engineering, and SRE. It includes courses, regular meetups, workshops, and mentorship. Join the Guild and become your team's leader in AI for infrastructure automation https://www.bretfisher.com/theguild 🍾 This edited version is from my live stream show Apr 9, 2026: https://www.youtube.com/live/-DHZwxXigYI?si=9JnQYp8UZG27Bp2X&t=232  ★Show Links★ Anyshift websiteAnnie CLIBlog post: Agentic Context Engineering in Production: How AI Agents Build Institutional ExpertiseCreators & Guests Bret Fisher - Host Beth Fisher - Producer Cristi Cotovan - Editor Roxane Fischer - Guest Stephane Jourdan - Guest You can also support this podcast by subscribing to my YouTube channel and my weekly newsletter at bret.news! Grab the best coupons for my Docker and Kubernetes courses on Udemy. Join my cloud native DevOps community on Discord.Grab some merch at Bret's Loot BoxHomepage bretfisher.com (00:00) - Introduction (03:09) - Meet Anyshift and the big idea (03:29) - When Was Anyshift Created? (07:13) - Context graphs and agent workflows (24:31) - Permissions and Auditing (28:16) - Memory and Context Graph (47:07) - Roadmap and Wrap Up ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    AI SREs, Chat With Your Infrastructure with Anyshift

  4. Apr 29

    Can AI Agents Safely Become DevOps Engineers?

    Sam Alba, co-founder of Mendral, joins the show to discuss their new AI agents that act as “junior devops engineers” against GitHub Actions, security, failed tests, and more. Check out the video podcast version here: https://youtu.be/zHmE6VpWD7o 🙌 I've launched the Agentic DevOps Guild, which is my premium community for accelerating your AI adoption for DevOps, CI/CD, platform engineering, and SRE. It includes courses, regular meetups, workshops, and mentorship. Join the Guild and become your team's leader in AI for infrastructure automation https://www.bretfisher.com/theguild 🍾 ★Show Links★ Mendral websiteCreators & Guests Bret Fisher - Host Beth Fisher - Producer Cristi Cotovan - Editor Sam Alba - Guest You can also support this podcast by subscribing to my YouTube channel and my weekly newsletter at bret.news! Grab the best coupons for my Docker and Kubernetes courses on Udemy. Join my cloud native DevOps community on Discord.Grab some merch at Bret's Loot BoxHomepage bretfisher.com (00:00) - Introduction (05:16) - Why CI Needs Agents (18:01) - How Mendral Learns and Automates (42:04) - Trusting Auto Merge (49:35) - Guardrails And Delivery (58:00) - Harnesses And CLI Future (01:09:10) - Future of Mendral ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    Can AI Agents Safely Become DevOps Engineers?

  5. Apr 14

    Our Favorite Agent Setups

    My friend Brian Christner (Docker Captain alum) and I go through our AI harnesses, agents, models, and what we’re playing with right now. OpenClaw, OpenCode, Claude Code, Copilot, and all of it. Check out the video podcast version here: https://youtu.be/8AFE0kxaY2k 🙌 I've launched the Agentic DevOps Guild, which is my premium community for accelerating your AI adoption for DevOps, CI/CD, platform engineering, and SRE. It includes courses, regular meetups, workshops, and mentorship. Join the Guild and become your team's leader in AI for infrastructure automation https://www.bretfisher.com/theguild 🍾 ★Show Links★ Brian’s Newsletter Agents & Claude Code Setup Awesome Claude Code SubagentsAgency AgentsClaude Code CourseOpenClaw alternativeBrian’s OpenClaw Projects OpenClaw Security ChecklistGarmin Connect SkillOpenClaw Security Dashboard SkillCreators & Guests Bret Fisher - Host Beth Fisher - Producer Cristi Cotovan - Editor Brian Christner - Guest You can also support this podcast by subscribing to my YouTube channel and my weekly newsletter at bret.news! Grab the best coupons for my Docker and Kubernetes courses on Udemy. Join my cloud native DevOps community on Discord.Grab some merch at Bret's Loot BoxHomepage bretfisher.com (00:00) - Introduction (03:01) - AI Tools and Skills Deep Dive (30:52) - Securing OpenClaw Servers (36:58) - Safe Use Cases and Token Control (47:43) - OpenClaw DOs and DON'Ts (53:11) - NanoClaw and Container Future ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    Our Favorite Agent Setups

  6. Mar 26

    Four Months Felt Like Four Years

    It’s been 6 months since the last episode, and it feels like everything has changed. Bret and Nirmal catch you up on the increasing pace of AI change, how it will likely affect DevOps engineers and platform builders, and what’s coming on the podcast. Check out the video podcast version here: https://youtu.be/NkqAMAIW5ks 🙌 I've launched the Agentic DevOps Guild, which is my premium community for accelerating your AI adoption for DevOps, CI/CD, platform engineering, and SRE. It includes courses, regular meetups, workshops, and mentorship. Join the Guild and become your team's leader in AI for infrastructure automation https://www.bretfisher.com/theguild 🍾 ★Show Links★ Agent Harness Skills https://agentskills.ioVideo of Gradel CEO "You can write code faster, can you deliver it faster?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOXNJ9_sHuMIs your team still hand-chiseling code? https://www.geocod.io/code-and-coordinates/2026-01-21-hand-chiseling-code/Creators & Guests Bret Fisher - Host Beth Fisher - Producer Cristi Cotovan - Editor Nirmal Mehta - Host You can also support this podcast by subscribing to my YouTube channel and my weekly newsletter at bret.news! Grab the best coupons for my Docker and Kubernetes courses on Udemy. Join my cloud native DevOps community on Discord.Grab some merch at Bret's Loot BoxHomepage bretfisher.com (00:00) - ADOP - Feb 26, 2026 (02:23) - Introduction (03:00) - Season Two Kickoff (04:34) - Productivity Debate and Two AI Camps (06:48) - Ops View from Dev Retreats (10:05) - Automation Debt and App Tsunami (14:12) - Frontier Models Changed Everything (20:12) - Red Pill vs Blue Pill Skepticism (23:14) - Three Focus Areas for DevOps (25:34) - GitHub Copilot and Agentic Workflows (29:00) - Harnesses That Run Longer (29:34) - Skills As SOPs (32:13) - Guardrails For App Tsunami (34:13) - Agent Orchestration a nd Kubernetes (35:33) - Shadow IT Goes AI (36:13) - Inner Loop Diagram Breakdown (38:37) - AI Code Review Councils (40:52) - Context Layer And Docs Debt (47:06) - Career Waves to Agent Ops (55:12) - Future Guests and Episodes (58:28) - ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    Four Months Felt Like Four Years

  7. 09/25/2025

    AI Hype vs. Reality. Real Stats from Laura Tacho, CTO of DX

    Bret and Nirmal are joined by Laura Tacho, CTO at DX and long-time friend of the show, to discuss AI usage and success in teams adopting AI and Agents to generate code and perform tasks. 🙌 I've launched the Agentic DevOps Guild, which is my premium community for accelerating your AI adoption for DevOps, CI/CD, platform engineering, and SRE. It includes courses, regular meetups, workshops, and mentorship. Join the Guild and become your team's leader in AI for infrastructure automation https://www.bretfisher.com/theguild 🍾 We finally have some real data on this topic, and Laura Tacho in her role at DX, the developer experience company, has been studying AI successes and failures in the industry and has released a framework to measure AI impact in an orgs software lifecycle. Check out the video podcast version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G_TWLHkj7U ★Show Links★AI Measurement FrameworkDX Core 4 FrameworkApplying the Core 4 Framework Creators & Guests Bret Fisher - Host Beth Fisher - Producer Cristi Cotovan - Editor Nirmal Mehta - Host Laura Tacho - Guest (00:00) - Teaser (03:05) - Welcome (04:58) - AI Measurement Framework (07:40) - Distilling Fact from Fiction with AI (23:42) - Skepticism and Adoption of AI Tools (26:20) - Measuring AI Impact on Developer Work (47:30) - Assisted vs Agentic (54:22) - More Gains from Training Humans on AI (01:02:59) - Measuring AI's Impact (01:08:38) - Context Switching (01:12:03) - Navigating AI Hype and Reality You can also support this podcast by subscribing to my YouTube channel and my weekly newsletter at bret.news! Grab the best coupons for my Docker and Kubernetes courses on Udemy. Join my cloud native DevOps community on Discord.Grab some merch at Bret's Loot BoxHomepage bretfisher.com ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    AI Hype vs. Reality. Real Stats from Laura Tacho, CTO of DX

  8. 08/01/2025

    My Favorite AI Terminal, Prompt Injection, and More

    In this episode, I walk though some of my favorite new AI tools and content. 🙌 I've launched the Agentic DevOps Guild, which is my premium community for accelerating your AI adoption for DevOps, CI/CD, platform engineering, and SRE. It includes courses, regular meetups, workshops, and mentorship. Join the Guild and become your team's leader in AI for infrastructure automation https://www.bretfisher.com/theguild 🍾 Resources and Topics mentioned in this episode: My AI Skeptic Friends are All Nuts, blog post from fly.io by Thomas PtacekFrom Toil to Triumph: Harnessing Agentic AI to Streamline Infrastructure as Code, KubeCon video by Jody VarneyThe Dark Side of Just Hooking Up AI Agents to GitHub, blog post by Simon Maple from AI Native DevWarp 2.0Warp 2.0 walkthroughContainer Use projectDevstral release in MayThe latest Devstral releaseSWE Bench  Creators & Guests Bret Fisher - Host Beth Fisher - Producer Cristi Cotovan - Editor (00:00) - Intro (01:51) - High Fives Meetup (03:18) - Warp 2.0 Terminal (09:10) - Container Use and AI Agents (10:24) - Dagger's Container Use (12:53) - Comparing Free and Foundational AI Models on SWE Bench (19:52) - Insights from Videos and Blog Posts (22:54) - Security Concerns with AI Agents You can also support this podcast by subscribing to my YouTube channel and my weekly newsletter at bret.news! Grab the best coupons for my Docker and Kubernetes courses on Udemy. Join my cloud native DevOps community on Discord.Grab some merch at Bret's Loot BoxHomepage bretfisher.com ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

    My Favorite AI Terminal, Prompt Injection, and More
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About

Where LLMs, AI Agents, and MCP tools meet DevOps and platform engineering. How can we humans use non-deterministic, often hallucinating LLMs to automate our infrastructure and help us with the job of software lifecycle management? I’m Bret Fisher, and this is the Agentic DevOps podcast. After the invention of AI Agents and the MCP standard in late 2024, I started this podcast in early '25 with a narrow topic focus… to document and advise how AI Agents, MCP tools, and large language models can be used in the real world for assisting with DevOps automation, platform engineering, and day to day systems operations… a podcast series hopefully without the hand-wavy AI hype or dreams of a pure AI workforce. I'm joined by my co-host, Nirmal Mehta, and expert guests trying to make use of crazy texting robots.

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