# Agent Mode and Tools Copilot Plus includes an **autonomous agent** that can reason step-by-step and decide which tools to use to answer your question. Instead of you specifying every step, the agent figures out what to do on its own. This feature requires a [Copilot Plus](copilot-plus-and-self-host.md) license. --- ## Overview When the autonomous agent is enabled, Copilot can: 1. Break down your request into sub-tasks 2. Use tools to gather information (search your vault, search the web, read a note) 3. Create or edit notes 4. Combine results and give you a comprehensive answer **Example**: Ask "What did I work on last week?" and the agent will automatically search your vault for dated notes from the past 7 days, read the relevant ones, and summarize your week. --- ## Enabling Agent Mode 1. Go to **Settings → Copilot → Plus** 2. Turn on **Enable Autonomous Agent** The agent activates automatically when you're in **Copilot Plus** mode. You don't need to do anything special — just ask your question. ### Max Iterations The agent works in iteration cycles (think → use a tool → think → use a tool → answer). You can control the maximum number of iterations before the agent stops: - **Default**: 4 iterations - **Maximum**: 16 iterations - **Setting**: **Settings → Copilot → Plus → Autonomous Agent Max Iterations** The agent also has a maximum runtime of 5 minutes per response, regardless of iteration count. --- ## Available Tools Copilot Plus has 13 built-in tools. Some are always active; others can be enabled or disabled. ### Always-Enabled Tools These tools are always available and cannot be disabled: #### Get Current Time Gets the current time in any timezone. Useful for time-aware queries like "what should I do today?" #### Get Time Range Converts natural time expressions (like "last week" or "yesterday") into exact date ranges. Usually called automatically before a time-based vault search. #### Get Time Info Converts an epoch timestamp to a human-readable date and time. #### Convert Timezones Converts a time from one timezone to another. Ask: "What time is 3pm EST in Tokyo?" #### Read Note Reads the content of a specific note. The agent uses this to inspect a note it found via search, or that you mentioned explicitly. Works on large notes by reading them in chunks. #### File Tree Browses the file structure of your vault. The agent uses this to find folder paths before creating new notes or to count files in a folder. #### Tag List Lists all tags in your vault with usage statistics. Useful for tag reorganization or finding notes by tag patterns. #### Update Memory Saves information to your memory when you explicitly ask the AI to remember something. See [Copilot Plus and Self-Host](copilot-plus-and-self-host.md#memory-system) for details. > **Requires**: **Settings → Copilot → Plus → Reference Saved Memories** must be enabled. If this setting is off, the tool is not registered and memory commands will not work. ### Configurable Tools These tools can be individually enabled or disabled in **Settings → Copilot → Plus → Tool Settings**: #### Vault Search Searches your vault notes by content. The agent uses this to find notes relevant to your question. - **Trigger**: Automatically for vault-related questions, or explicitly with `@vault` - **Uses**: Both semantic search (if enabled) and lexical search #### Web Search Searches the internet for current information. - **Trigger**: Automatically when your question implies web/online content, or explicitly with `@websearch` or `@web` - **Requires**: A web search service configured (Firecrawl or Perplexity in self-host mode, or handled by Plus) #### Write to File Creates a new note or overwrites an existing one entirely. - **Trigger**: Automatically for "create a note" requests, or explicitly with `@composer` (available in both Copilot Plus and Projects mode) - **Behavior**: Shows a preview of the content before writing. You can review and accept or reject the change. - **Auto-accept**: Enable **Settings → Copilot → Plus → Auto-accept edits** to skip the preview #### Replace in File Makes targeted changes to an existing note using search-and-replace blocks. - **Use case**: Small edits (adding a bullet, updating a section) — more precise than rewriting the whole note - **Behavior**: Shows a diff preview before applying the change - **Auto-accept**: Same setting as Write to File #### YouTube Transcription Fetches the transcript of a YouTube video. - **Trigger**: Automatically when you paste a YouTube URL in your message - **No extra setup needed**: Just include the URL in your message - **Self-host option**: Use your own Supadata API key for transcription in self-host mode --- ## Tool Settings Go to **Settings → Copilot → Plus → Tool Settings** to: - See all available tools - Enable or disable individual configurable tools - View what each tool does --- ## Using Tools Explicitly While the agent automatically decides when to use tools, you can also trigger them explicitly with @-mentions: ``` @vault find all notes about my reading list @websearch what is the latest version of Python? @composer create a new meeting notes template @memory remember that I prefer bullet points for lists ``` See [Context and Mentions](context-and-mentions.md) for the full @-mention reference. --- ## Tool Call Indicators While the agent is working, the chat shows status indicators for each tool call: - "Reading files" - "Searching the web" - "Reading file tree" - "Compacting" This lets you see what the agent is doing as it works. --- ## File Editing: Preview and Diff When the agent uses **Write to File** or **Replace in File**, it shows a preview before making changes: - **Split view**: Before/after shown side by side - **Side-by-side view**: Changes highlighted inline You can choose your preferred diff view in **Settings → Copilot → Plus → Diff View Mode**. Review the proposed change and click: - **Accept** — Apply the change to your note - **Reject** — Discard without making any changes - **Revert** — Undo a change that was already accepted ### Auto-Accept Edits If you trust the agent and don't want to review every file change, enable **Auto-accept edits** in **Settings → Copilot → Plus**. File changes will be applied immediately without a confirmation step. --- ## Related - [Copilot Plus and Self-Host](copilot-plus-and-self-host.md) — Licensing and memory - [Vault Search and Indexing](vault-search-and-indexing.md) — How vault search works - [Context and Mentions](context-and-mentions.md) — @-mention triggers for tools