Remove auto-approval of user input in autopilot mode

[DonJayamanne]

Eliminate the automatic approval of user input when in autopilot mode, requiring explicit user interaction for responses. This change enhances control over user input handling.

Fixes #307955

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR updates the Copilot CLI chat session integration to stop short-circuiting user_input.requested events with an automatic response when the session is in autopilot mode, aligning behavior with the intent to require explicit handling of user input prompts.

Changes:

• Removed the autopilot-only auto-response branch for user_input.requested in CopilotCLISession.
• Ensures user_input.requested follows the existing askUserQuestion/question-carousel flow instead of injecting a hardcoded response.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
extensions/copilot/src/extension/chatSessions/copilotcli/node/copilotcliSession.ts	Removes autopilot auto-response logic for user_input.requested, routing prompts through the question handler flow.

Copilot's findings

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (2)

extensions/copilot/src/extension/chatSessions/copilotcli/node/copilotcliSession.ts:535

• The PR description says user input in autopilot now requires explicit user interaction, but this handler routes user_input.requested through CoreAskQuestions (via askUserQuestion). The built-in AskQuestions tool auto-responds when request.modeInfo.permissionLevel is Autopilot, so user input may still be auto-approved. Either adjust the PR description to match the actual behavior, or change this flow/tool invocation so autopilot does not auto-answer and instead blocks until the user responds.

This issue also appears on line 522 of the same file.

			disposables.add(toDisposable(this._sdkSession.on('user_input.requested', async (event) => {
				if (!(this._toolInvocationToken as unknown)) {
					this.logService.warn('[AskQuestionsTool] No stream available, cannot show question carousel');
					this._sdkSession.respondToUserInput(event.data.requestId, { answer: '', wasFreeform: false });
					return;
				}
				const userInputRequest: IQuestion = {
					question: event.data.question,
					options: (event.data.choices ?? []).map(c => ({ label: c })),
					allowFreeformInput: event.data.allowFreeform,
					header: event.data.question,
				};
				const answer = await this._userQuestionHandler.askUserQuestion(userInputRequest, this._toolInvocationToken as unknown as never, token);
				flushPendingInvocationMessages();

extensions/copilot/src/extension/chatSessions/copilotcli/node/copilotcliSession.ts:545

• This behavior change (removing the autopilot short-circuit and always going through the question handler) isn’t covered by unit tests. Add a test that emits user_input.requested with session.setPermissionLevel('autopilot') and asserts the session delegates to IUserQuestionHandler.askUserQuestion and forwards the resulting selection/freeText to respondToUserInput (and does not send the previously hardcoded autopilot message).

			disposables.add(toDisposable(this._sdkSession.on('user_input.requested', async (event) => {
				if (!(this._toolInvocationToken as unknown)) {
					this.logService.warn('[AskQuestionsTool] No stream available, cannot show question carousel');
					this._sdkSession.respondToUserInput(event.data.requestId, { answer: '', wasFreeform: false });
					return;
				}
				const userInputRequest: IQuestion = {
					question: event.data.question,
					options: (event.data.choices ?? []).map(c => ({ label: c })),
					allowFreeformInput: event.data.allowFreeform,
					header: event.data.question,
				};
				const answer = await this._userQuestionHandler.askUserQuestion(userInputRequest, this._toolInvocationToken as unknown as never, token);
				flushPendingInvocationMessages();
				if (!answer) {
					this._sdkSession.respondToUserInput(event.data.requestId, { answer: '', wasFreeform: false });
					return;
				}
				if (answer.freeText) {
					this._sdkSession.respondToUserInput(event.data.requestId, { answer: answer.freeText, wasFreeform: true });
				} else {
					this._sdkSession.respondToUserInput(event.data.requestId, { answer: answer.selected.join(', '), wasFreeform: false });
				}
			})));

• Files reviewed: 1/1 changed files
• Comments generated: 1

[github-actions]

Screenshot Changes

Base: 8a73ca23 Current: c7634808

Changed (3)

chat/aiCustomizations/aiCustomizationManagementEditor/McpBrowseMode/Light

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editor/inlineCompletions/other/JumpToHint/Dark

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agentSessionsViewer/ApprovalRowLongLabel/Light

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