---
title: "What is a stateful agent?"
description: "A stateful agent chooses its next action from persisted history and artifacts, not only from the current prompt."
url: "https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-a-stateful-agent"
updated: "2026-09-29"
vertical: "Agents"
doc: "https://docs.pixeltable.com/overview/quick-start"
---

# What is a stateful agent?

A stateful agent chooses its next action from persisted history and artifacts, not only from the current prompt.

Updated: 2026-09-29
Part of [What is agent memory?](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-agent-memory).

## On this page

- [How it works](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-a-stateful-agent#how-it-works)
- [What it is not](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-a-stateful-agent#what-it-is-not)
- [Comparison](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-a-stateful-agent#comparison)
- [Where Pixeltable fits](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-a-stateful-agent#where-pixeltable-fits)
- [Questions](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-a-stateful-agent#questions)

## How it works {#how-it-works}


- Read memory rows.
- Call tools.
- Write the new turn back.

## What it is not {#what-it-is-not}

It is not a single chat completion, and it is not a workflow that forgets when the process exits.

## stateful agent: this, and the thing it is confused with {#comparison}

|  | This | Not this |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Depends on | Stored history | Only this prompt |
| After restart | Can continue | Starts blank |
| Audit | Query the turns | Scroll a terminal |

## Where Pixeltable fits {#where-pixeltable-fits}

Pixeltable is the store those turns and artifacts live in. The loop can be your code; the rows are the state.

## Questions {#questions}

### How does stateful agent work? {#faq-1}

Read memory rows. Call tools. Write the new turn back.

### What is stateful agent often confused with? {#faq-2}

It is not a single chat completion, and it is not a workflow that forgets when the process exits.

## In the blog

- [When AI Frameworks Become Roadblocks: Why We Need Infrastructure, Not Abstractions](https://pixeltable.com/blog/when-ai-frameworks-become-roadblocks)
- [AI Agent Architecture: A Practical Guide to Building Agents with State Management](https://pixeltable.com/blog/practical-guide-building-agents)
- [Agent Collaboration with Team Workflow: Pixelagent's Agent-as-Tool Approach](https://pixeltable.com/blog/pixelagent-team-workflows)
- [Pixelagent Launch: A Data-First Blueprint for AI Agent Engineering](https://pixeltable.com/blog/pixelagent-launch)
- [Kubrick Video Agent Course: Building Multimodal Agents with Pixeltable](https://pixeltable.com/blog/kubrick-video-agent-course)
- [What Is Jev? TypeSafe's System One Model — and Why the Decision Belongs in the Table](https://pixeltable.com/blog/jev-system-one-model)

## Related

- [Documentation](https://docs.pixeltable.com/overview/quick-start)
- [Building Memory-Powered AI: Creating Stateful Agents with Pixeltable](https://pixeltable.com/blog/building-memory-powered-ai-stateful-agents-pixeltable)
- [AI Agent Architecture: A Practical Guide to Building Agents with State Management](https://pixeltable.com/blog/practical-guide-building-agents)
- [Where Does the Agent Live?](https://pixeltable.com/blog/where-does-the-agent-live)
- [AI agents and MCP](https://pixeltable.com/use-cases/ai-agents-mcp)