Autonomy & review
You control how much Archivo Pilot does on its own with two settings in the composer: the Mode (Assistant or Autopilot) decides how long and how far a run may go, and the approval mode (Auto, Ask or Review) decides how often it stops to ask you.
Two modes: Assistant and Autopilot
Section titled “Two modes: Assistant and Autopilot”Open the Mode menu (the pill beside the send button) to switch between them.
- Assistant Mode — answers and research, no file edits. It runs on your plan’s included allowance and has a small step budget per message, so it is the right choice for a question, a summary or a quick look at a document. When a task needs more steps or an edit, Pilot offers to continue in Autopilot.
- Autopilot Mode — long autonomous runs with the full set of editing tools and parallel sub-agents. It runs on Boosts (see Boosts & usage) and is available on the plans that include it.
Three approval modes: Auto, Ask and Review
Section titled “Three approval modes: Auto, Ask and Review”The same Mode menu holds the approval mode. Its name is shown on the pill while a chat is open.
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Auto | Runs tools without asking. Everything runs immediately and is logged; only always-confirm actions — destructive whole-file changes, membership changes, interactive widgets, image generation — still ask first. |
| Ask | Ask before each write. Reads run on their own; every write to a file or workspace shows what will change and waits for your approval. This is the default. |
| Review | Review every tool. Every tool call, reads included, waits for your approval. Finishing a run or asking you a question does not need a click. |
You can change the approval mode while a run is in progress. The change applies to the next tool call, and Pilot is told about it on its next step.
The same three modes, under the same names, govern external connectors in Settings → Connectors.
Reviewing edits
Section titled “Reviewing edits”When Archivo Pilot revises an existing document, it can show a before-and-after review with additions and removals marked, so you can accept all changes, accept them chunk by chunk, or undo. In Auto and Ask the edit is applied once approved; in Review the marked-up changes stay on screen until you accept or reject each one. This keeps AI edits to your existing work visible and reversible.
Approving a plan
Section titled “Approving a plan”In Plan Mode, Pilot proposes a plan before building. Approving it keeps the chat’s current approval mode unless you pick a different one from the Approve menu.