The art of simplicity

A while ago I blogged about how we could setup our own multi-agent workflow by using Git worktrees. With Git worktrees you can setup a branch as a separate folder. If you combine this with the GitHub Copilot CLI you could have multiple agents all working simultaneously on multiple branches while you can continue development as well. Although the process I described works quite well, it remained somewhat cumbersome and was not well integrated into the VSCode development experience. Not anymore with background agents… The problem with foreground-only agents By defaullt, the Copilot agent operates in the foreground. When you ask Copilot to refactor a function or write tests, you're essentially blocked until the task completes. Your editor is locked into that conversation, that context, that task. This works fine for quick queries, but what about: Running comprehensive test suites while you continue development Refactoring an entire module while you work on a new featu...

GHub Copilot gives you the option to create your own agents (before called chatmodes). Such a custom agent can pick up specific tasks and take on a role inside the development process e.g. a code reviewer, a tester, an architect, ... Custom agents are defined in an  .agent.md Markdown file and consists of the following elements: A name A description An (optional) model A set of tools that the agent can use And of course, a prompt Remark: For the full list of elements, have a look at the documentation here . Here is an example from the Awesome Copilot Github repo: Handoffs With the latest VSCode update an extra element was introduced, handoffs. Handoffs allow to create sequential workflows where after one agent has completed it’s job, it can handover the work to another agent. This handoff can happen automatically or through handoff buttons that let you choose how to continue. Let’s us create an example: First I create 2 agents   ...