Copilot Modes

Copilot Modes

When GitHub Copilot is selected, three modes are available in the chat bottom bar.

Mode	Behaviour
Ask	Simple chat — SSE streaming, no tools
Agent	Tool-calling loop: read_file, write_file, list_files, search_in_files (max 10 steps)
Spec+Agent	Same as Agent, but injects .harness/specs/*.yaml as <spec> system context

Ask

Best for questions, explanations, and reviews without file edits.

Agent

The model can read and write files autonomously. Progress appears as:

• [Agent] Step N/10
• - Read \path/to/file.ts``
• - Wrote \path/to/file.ts``

File paths are clickable in the chat. See Chat Interface.

Spec+Agent

1. Define specs in .harness/specs/ (see SDD Specs)
2. Select Spec+Agent mode
3. Harness loads all *.yaml / *.yml / *.json specs into the system prompt before the agent loop runs

Use this for team conventions, skills, and workflows encoded as specs.

Stop

Click ■ during streaming to cancel via chat:cancel IPC.