autopilot

Autopilot takes a brief product idea and autonomously handles the full lifecycle: requirements analysis, technical design, planning, parallel implementation, QA cycling, and multi-perspective validation. It produces working, verified code from a 2-3 line description.

<Use_When>

• User wants end-to-end autonomous execution from an idea to working code
• User says "autopilot", "auto pilot", "autonomous", "build me", "create me", "make me", "full auto", "handle it all", or "I want a/an..."
• Task requires multiple phases: planning, coding, testing, and validation
• User wants hands-off execution and is willing to let the system run to completion </Use_When>

<Do_Not_Use_When>

• User wants to explore options or brainstorm -- use plan skill instead
• User says "just explain", "draft only", or "what would you suggest" -- respond conversationally
• User wants a single focused code change -- use ralph or delegate to an executor agent
• User wants to review or critique an existing plan -- use plan --review
• Task is a quick fix or small bug -- use direct executor delegation </Do_Not_Use_When>

<Why_This_Exists> Most non-trivial software tasks require coordinated phases: understanding requirements, designing a solution, implementing in parallel, testing, and validating quality. Autopilot orchestrates all of these phases automatically so the user can describe what they want and receive working code without managing each step. </Why_This_Exists>

<Execution_Policy>

• Each phase must complete before the next begins
• Parallel execution is used within phases where possible (Phase 2 and Phase 4)
• QA cycles repeat up to 5 times; if the same error persists 3 times, stop and report the fundamental issue
• Validation requires approval from all reviewers; rejected items get fixed and re-validated
• Cancel with /pepcode:cancel at any time; progress is preserved for resume </Execution_Policy>

1. **Phase 0 - Expansion**: Turn the user's idea into a detailed spec - Analyst (Opus): Extract requirements - Architect (Opus): Create technical specification - Output: `.pep/autopilot/spec.md`

2. Phase 1 - Planning: Create an implementation plan from the spec

   • Architect (Opus): Create plan (direct mode, no interview)
   • Critic (Opus): Validate plan
   • Output: .pep/plans/autopilot-impl.md

3. Phase 2 - Execution: Implement the plan using Ralph + Ultrawork

   • Executor-low (Haiku): Simple tasks
   • Executor (Sonnet): Standard tasks
   • Executor-high (Opus): Complex tasks
   • Run independent tasks in parallel

4. Phase 3 - QA: Cycle until all tests pass (UltraQA mode)

   • Build, lint, test, fix failures
   • Repeat up to 5 cycles
   • Stop early if the same error repeats 3 times (indicates a fundamental issue)

5. Phase 4 - Validation: Multi-perspective review in parallel

   • Architect: Functional completeness
   • Security-reviewer: Vulnerability check
   • Code-reviewer: Quality review
   • All must approve; fix and re-validate on rejection

6. Phase 5 - Cleanup: Delete all state files on successful completion

   • Remove .pep/state/autopilot-state.json, ralph-state.json, ultrawork-state.json, ultraqa-state.json
   • Run /pepcode:cancel for clean exit

<Tool_Usage>

• Before first MCP tool use, call ToolSearch("mcp") to discover deferred MCP tools
• Optionally use ask_gemini with agent_role: "architect" for Phase 4 architecture validation when changes span many files
• Agents form their own analysis first, then optionally consult Gemini for large-context cross-validation
• If ToolSearch finds no MCP tools, proceed without external validation -- never block on external tools </Tool_Usage>

User: "autopilot A REST API for a bookstore inventory with CRUD operations using TypeScript" Why good: Specific domain (bookstore), clear features (CRUD), technology constraint (TypeScript). Autopilot has enough context to expand into a full spec. User: "build me a CLI tool that tracks daily habits with streak counting" Why good: Clear product concept with a specific feature. The "build me" trigger activates autopilot. User: "fix the bug in the login page" Why bad: This is a single focused fix, not a multi-phase project. Use direct executor delegation or ralph instead. User: "what are some good approaches for adding caching?" Why bad: This is an exploration/brainstorming request. Respond conversationally or use the plan skill.

<Escalation_And_Stop_Conditions>

• Stop and report when the same QA error persists across 3 cycles (fundamental issue requiring human input)
• Stop and report when validation keeps failing after 3 re-validation rounds
• Stop when the user says "stop", "cancel", or "abort"
• If requirements were too vague and expansion produces an unclear spec, pause and ask the user for clarification before proceeding </Escalation_And_Stop_Conditions>

<Final_Checklist>

• All 5 phases completed (Expansion, Planning, Execution, QA, Validation)
• All validators approved in Phase 4
• Tests pass (verified with fresh test run output)
• Build succeeds (verified with fresh build output)
• State files cleaned up
• User informed of completion with summary of what was built </Final_Checklist>

## Configuration

Optional settings in .claude/settings.json:

{
  "pep": {
    "autopilot": {
      "maxIterations": 10,
      "maxQaCycles": 5,
      "maxValidationRounds": 3,
      "pauseAfterExpansion": false,
      "pauseAfterPlanning": false,
      "skipQa": false,
      "skipValidation": false
    }
  }
}

Resume

If autopilot was cancelled or failed, run /pepcode:autopilot again to resume from where it stopped.

Best Practices for Input

1. Be specific about the domain -- "bookstore" not "store"
2. Mention key features -- "with CRUD", "with authentication"
3. Specify constraints -- "using TypeScript", "with PostgreSQL"
4. Let it run -- avoid interrupting unless truly needed

Troubleshooting

Stuck in a phase? Check TODO list for blocked tasks, review .pep/autopilot-state.json, or cancel and resume.

QA cycles exhausted? The same error 3 times indicates a fundamental issue. Review the error pattern; manual intervention may be needed.

Validation keeps failing? Review the specific issues. Requirements may have been too vague -- cancel and provide more detail.