Software & DevOpsDone with GitHub Copilot 2026-10-13
Iterate on tasks with Copilot CLI autopilot and fleet
The author used autopilot to iterate until done and /fleet to split work across parallel subagents, noting overhead on small tasks.
- What They Did
- Daniel Ward turned on /experimental, then used autopilot mode, which loops until a large task is done without the ask_user tool. He pairs it with /plan for a guiding plan and /fleet, which spins up parallel subagents, including custom agents. He caps loops with a flag when he can't watch the run.
- How It Went
- Autopilot lets Copilot finish a big task without repeated prompting, which suits quick proofs-of-concept. Fleet adds orchestration overhead that slows prompts, so small tasks may do better without it.
- Worth Knowing
- Set --max-autopilot-continues if you can't monitor the run. The CLI recommends yolo mode for autopilot, and Ward avoids autopilot for production work because it makes review harder.
Try it yourself with GitHub Copilot
Using Copilot CLI in [repo path], work on [task] in autopilot mode and keep iterating until [definition of done, e.g. all tests pass]. If the task has clearly separate parts, such as [part A] and [part B], use /fleet to split them across parallel subagents; otherwise stay with a single agent. When you finish, summarize what was done and flag anything you weren't sure about.