Autonomous mode

By default the agent stops and asks before every file write and every command — that's the right posture for surgical changes in code you care about. Autonomous mode removes the stops for runs where you'd rather come back to a finished result.

The A⁺ toggle

The A⁺ chip sits on the left side of the agent input footer. Click it to toggle autonomous mode for the conversation:

• Off (default) — writes, edits, and commands each raise an approval card and the run blocks until you answer.
• On — approvals resolve automatically and the run proceeds hands-off. Everything else is unchanged: diff cards still record every change, tool cards still show every command and its output, and the usage summary still totals what happened.

Autonomy is per conversation, and it's about *permission*, not visibility — you can scroll the transcript at any point and see exactly what the agent did, or stop the run with the stop button.

When to use it

Autonomous mode shines when the interruption cost outweighs the review value:

• Long builds — "scaffold this app, install dependencies, and make the build pass" can take dozens of write/command cycles; approving each one defeats the point.
• Well-scoped mechanical work — bulk renames, formatting sweeps, applying a pattern across many files.
• Throwaway or sandboxed directories — scratch repos, generated projects, experiment branches.

Keep it off when the agent is touching production configs, anything destructive, or code you haven't committed. A useful middle ground: leave A⁺ off and use the Always allow checkbox on approval cards — it auto-approves one kind of action (edits, or commands) for the conversation while still gating the other.

Orchestration turns it on

Orchestration runs default to autonomous. A lead agent coordinating multiple workers needs to scaffold, spawn, assign, and poll without a human clicking Allow at every step — and its worker CLI agents are likewise launched in non-interactive, auto-approved modes so nested permission prompts can't stall the fleet. The one gate orchestration keeps regardless is the pre-spawn confirmation card: the lead always asks before starting additional agents.

Good hygiene for hands-off runs

• Start from a clean git state, so git diff afterwards shows exactly what the run did — and code review gives you a proper pass over it.
• Give acceptance criteria in the prompt ("build passes", "tests green") — the agent verifies its own work and keeps going until the criteria hold.
• Watch the ☰ n/m task chip in the footer for a glanceable sense of progress; Mel's notification bell will flag the conversation when it completes or blocks while you're in another tab.