haiku-autopilot

Autopilot

Run the full H·AI·K·U lifecycle autonomously from description to delivery. Autopilot is one of the three intent modes (discrete | continuous | autopilot). It tells the workflow engine to promote ask review gates to auto, so the lifecycle advances without human intervention on stage gates. External gates and the intent-completion review still pause (structural signals the workflow engine can't synthesize).

Process

1. If no active intent exists, create one with /haiku:haiku-start, then set autopilot with haiku_select_mode { intent: "<slug>", modes: ["autopilot"] }. Passing a single mode auto-selects it (no picker pause) and writes mode: autopilot plus the studio's full stage list. Do NOT pass mode to haiku_intent_create — studio/mode/stage are engine-managed and start unset.
2. For an existing intent, set the mode with haiku_select_mode { intent: "<slug>", modes: ["autopilot"] } — a single-option list auto-selects with no picker pause and writes mode (+ stages) through the one engine-sanctioned path. Do NOT use haiku_intent_set { field: "mode" } or haiku_human_write — mode is an engine-managed field that both reject (intent_field_engine_only); haiku_select_mode is the ONLY mode setter. Do NOT set a separate autopilot: true boolean — that is a deprecated pattern. (If the intent has already started a stage, select_mode refuses transitions into/out of quick; surface that to the user.)
3. Optional: skip the final intent review by calling haiku_intent_set { intent: "<slug>", field: "intent_completion_review", value: false }. Do NOT set this unless the user explicitly wants truly headless completion; the completion review is the bookend that prevents silent intent-completion on stage-gate pass.
4. Drive the loop by calling haiku_run_next { intent: "<slug>" }. Repeat on every return. When a subagent returns, re-call haiku_run_next to advance.

What still pauses autopilot

• External gates (external or compound [external, ask]). They need a real PR/MR merge signal and cannot be auto-approved.
• await gates. Waiting for a non-review external event (customer response, pipeline, etc.).
• Elicitation-required decisions. Design-direction picks, visual approvals.
• Scope explosions (see guardrails below).
• Intent-completion review (unless intent_completion_review: false is set on the intent).

Guardrails

• Pause on blockers or ambiguity. If the workflow engine returns an error or a decision that can't be inferred from the intent's goals, stop and surface it to the user. Never guess.
• Pause on scope explosion. If elaborate produces more than 5 units in a single stage, stop and ask the user to confirm scope — that's a signal the task is bigger than it looked and autopilot may not be appropriate.
• Pause before mid-workflow PR creation. When haiku_run_next returns external_review_requested mid-lifecycle (e.g. per-unit MRs in discrete mode), surface the PR creation step to the user — don't open PRs autonomously. The final intent-completion delivery PR is the exception: after intent_complete, open the delivery PR (haiku/<slug>/main → main) directly. The intent-completion review gate is the human checkpoint; pausing again is redundant.
• Stop on phase-level failures. error, max_bolts_exceeded, unit_scope_violation not clearable after one retry, or any workflow engine rejection that persists across two calls → stop and report.

Combined with other skills

• /haiku:haiku-quick + autopilot: set stages: [<one>] AND mode: autopilot. Single-stage, no pauses except external/completion gates.
• Filing a stage_revisit feedback while in autopilot: the resulting feedback walk pauses autopilot at the target stage until the user confirms the corrective work.