/autopilot

description: Autonomous deploy loop — runs until zero open issues remain. Detects pipeline state and resumes from any position. Fully autonomous after invocation.
argument-hint: "[--dry-run | --recon-only]"
install: extras

<!-- SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) RapierCraft Studios --> <!-- SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later -->

/autopilot — Autonomous Deploy Loop

> **Skill names**: `{FORGE_SKILL_PREFIX}` is `forgedock:` (plugin install) or empty (`install.sh`), resolved once per run by `commands/work-on.md` § Skill Name Resolution. If the skill is not found under either name, STOP and report "skill not found" — never run the phase inline.

**Input**: $ARGUMENTS (default: full autonomous loop until zero open issues remain)

**Config variables used by this command** (set in `forge.yaml`):

• `{CREDENTIALS_FILE}` ← `paths.credentials.file` (optional) — path to credentials YAML for analytics APIs
• `{SERVER_SSH}` ← `services.server_ssh` (optional) — SSH target for production server health checks
• `{OPS_INBOX_PATH}` ← `services.ops_inbox_path` (optional) — path on production server to ops work-item files
• `{BILLING_ENABLED}` ← `billing.enabled` (optional, default `false`) — set to `true` to enable Stripe data in Analytics Snapshot
• `{RECON_SOURCES}` ← `autopilot.recon_sources` (optional, default `["ci","backlog"]`) — list of collectors to run in Phase 1. Built-in tags: `ci` (Phase 1B), `backlog` (Phase 1C), `analytics` (Phase 1D). Omit the key to run `ci` and `backlog` only.

**NEVER use plan mode (EnterPlanMode).** **NEVER use the Agent tool** — autopilot dispatches all work via `Skill(...)` calls only. The Agent tool bypasses the Skill pipeline's label state machine, investigation comments, and structured review — leaving no audit trail.

<!-- FORGE:SPEC_LOADED — autopilot.md loaded and active. Agent is bound by this spec. -->

You are a fully autonomous deploy loop for this project. Your job is to **detect the current pipeline state, work through all open issues, and deploy everything — without stopping for user confirmation**. Invoking `/autopilot` is the authorization to run to completion.

**Issue selection and priority**: Phase 2 (Fast Lane Loop) dispatches all eligible open issues **concurrently** via the durable engine — ordering is irrelevant at dispatch time because all issues start simultaneously. For scenarios requiring sequential, priority-ordered dispatch (P0 before P1 before P2, unlabeled excluded), use `scripts/select-fix-targets.sh` as the entry point. This script will be the substitution point when #1743 (economic scheduling) implements value/cost-based ordering. <!-- Added: forge#1752 -->

**Maintenance budget** (#4197, only with forge.yaml `maintenance.enabled: true`): the batch runner admits P0/P1 features > maintenance-labelled issues within `maintenance.share` of lane starts (0.2 = 1 in 5) > P2+ features, and `when_idle` drains maintenance when no feature is pending. When `maintenance.scan: weekly` and the newest issue carrying a `FORGE:MAINT` marker (open or closed: `gh issue list --state all --search "FORGE:MAINT in:body" --limit 1 --json createdAt`) is older than 7 days, or none exists, run `scripts/maintenance-scan.sh --print-issue-args` once before Phase 2 and file each printed line through `/issue` programmatic mode, `Skill(skill="{FORGE_SKILL_PREFIX}issue", args=<line>)`; never raw `gh issue create`. The scan is deterministic, already deduplicated by marker, and prints nothing under threshold.

**This command overrides the standard "never merge to main" rule.** `/autopilot` IS the authorized deploy system. It ships staging→main and milestone→staging→main as part of normal operation.

**This command resumes from wherever the pipeline is stuck.** It always reads current GitHub state before taking any action.

**Agent model policy**: `model: "{DEFAULT_MODEL}"` — resolved from forge.yaml `agents.default_model`, else "sonnet" (standard tier). Fallback: `model: "opus"` if rate-limited. User can override with `--model <name>`.

---

Argument Parsing

| Flag | Effect | |------|--------| | (none) | Full autonomous loop — state detection → recon → fast lane → milestone → report | | `--dry-run` | Run all phases but do NOT create issues, merge PRs, or modify state — report only | | `--recon-only` | Phase 0 (state detection) and Phase 1 (recon) only — no loop execution | | `--fix` | Enable autonomous fix dispatch for this run (requires `autopilot.headless: true` in forge.yaml; refused otherwise) |

Parse `$ARGUMENTS` and set:

DRY_RUN=false
RECON_ONLY=false
AUTOPILOT_FIX=false

for arg in $ARGUMENTS; do
  case "$arg" in
    --dry-run)     DRY_RUN=true ;;
    --recon-only)  RECON_ONLY=true ;;
    --fix)         AUTOPILOT_FIX=true ;;
  esac
done

---

Config Preamble (MANDATORY — run before any phase)

Read all `forge.yaml` config variables before any logic runs:

CONFIG_FILE="${FORGE_CONFIG:-forge.yaml}"
if [ ! -f "$CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
  echo "ERROR: forge.yaml not found. Run: npx forgedock init"
  exit 1
fi

GH_REPO=$(yq '.project.owner + "/" + .project.repo' "$CONFIG_FILE" 2>/dev/null)
GH_FLAG="-R $GH_REPO"
REPO_PATH=$(yq '.paths.root' "$CONFIG_FILE" 2>/dev/null || git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
STAGING_BRANCH=$(yq '.branches.staging // "staging"' "$CONFIG_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo "staging")
DEFAULT_BRANCH=$(yq '.branches.default // "main"' "$CONFIG_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo "main")

# Optional config — gracefully absent
CREDENTIALS_FILE=$(yq '.paths.credentials.file // ""' "$CONFIG_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo '')
SERVER_SSH=$(yq '.services.server_ssh // ""' "$CONFIG_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo '')
OPS_INBOX_PATH=$(yq '.services.ops_inbox_path // ""' "$CONFIG_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo '')
BILLING_ENABLED=$(yq '.billing.enabled // false' "$CONFIG_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo 'false')

# Hygiene counters — populated by Phase 1B.5 (/cleanup) and Phase 1A (/recover-orphans)
CLEANUP_LABELS_FIXED=0

# Autopilot ops issue — rolling iss