All terms
Patterns
Scaffolding
The control logic, tools, and checks wrapped around a model to make a system reliable.
Definition
Scaffolding is the predictable, rule-based structure built around a model to make an overall system dependable: control logic, tool use, memory stores, output checking, retry mechanisms, and human-review checkpoints. Its purpose is to keep multi-step, long-running, or high-stakes tasks reliable even when the underlying model is imperfect. Most production agent platforms and complex retrieval-based (RAG) applications rely on heavy scaffolding rather than the model alone.