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Agent skill

Autonomous Mode

by dxos in dxos/dxos

Working under AUTONOMOUS MODE — a pinned task the session must drive to a written definition of done without asking the user anything.

Custom licenceAuto-check: warningsAgent Workflows

Install Autonomous Mode

The automated check flagged lines worth reading first. See the safety section below.

skills CLI
$ npx skills add dxos/dxos --skill autonomous-mode -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install dxos/dxos autonomous-mode --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/dxos/dxos.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/autonomous-mode .claude/skills/autonomous-mode && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
autonomous-mode
GitHub stars
525
Token cost
~2.1k tokens
SKILL.md length
1,087 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
41
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Custom licence

At a glance

Working under AUTONOMOUS MODE — a pinned task the session must drive to a written definition of done without asking the user anything.

  • Works in 7 steps: Write the definition of done before you… → Resolve questions from evidence, in this… → Log decisions as you take them → …
  • An AUTONOMOUS MODE block appears in the turns context
  • SKILL.md covers 1. Write the definition of…, 2. Resolve questions from…, 3. Log decisions as you take… and 4. A blocker is work, not an…, plus 3 more sections
  • Calls bash, just and pnpm

What it does

Autonomous Mode is an agent skill from dxos/dxos. Working under AUTONOMOUS MODE — a pinned task the session must drive to a written definition of done without asking the user anything. Use when an AUTONOMOUS MODE block appears in the turn's context, when /autonomous is invoked, when you are about to ask a clarifying question about scope or PR size and cannot, when a blocker looks like a reason to stop, or before ending a run (the adversarial review and the stop command).

Its SKILL.md is about 2.1k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Agent Workflows, covering Requirements gathering. The repository describes itself as: TypeScript implementation of the DXOS protocols, SDK, toolchain and Composer.

When your agent uses it

  • An AUTONOMOUS MODE block appears in the turns context
  • /autonomous is invoked
  • You are about to ask a clarifying question about scope
  • PR size and cannot

Example prompts

  • “/autonomous-mode”

Workflow steps

7 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Write the definition of done before you touch anything
  2. Resolve questions from evidence, in this order
  3. Log decisions as you take them
  4. A blocker is work, not an exit
  5. Adversarial review before stopping
  6. Stopping
  7. What autonomous mode never overrides

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit f0fc12a. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • bash
    • just
    • pnpm

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use pnpm, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Autonomous Mode loads about 2.1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 111 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,087 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~111
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.1k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check: warnings

The automated check found patterns that need a careful read before installing.

  • WarningTells the agent its actions are pre-authorized / not to stop for confirmationSKILL.md:5
    definition of done without asking the user anything. Use when an `AUTONOMOUS MODE` block

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

Its licence (Custom licence) doesn't allow us to republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 1,087 words (~2,053 tokens).

“A run is one pinned task plus a definition of done, and a standing instruction: do not ask, decide. The mechanism is /autonomous [task]; this skill is how to behave while it is on.”

— opening of SKILL.md by dxos, Custom licence
name
autonomous-mode

Read the full SKILL.md on GitHub

Files

Just SKILL.md in .agents/skills/autonomous-mode of dxos/dxos.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit f0fc12a

Compare with similar skills

Autonomous Mode next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Autonomous Mode compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Autonomous Mode this skilldxos/dxos525—~2.1kAutomated safety check: WarnCustom licence
Using Superpowersfarm-fe/farm5.6k35 repos~1.4kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Interview Meaddyosmani/agent-skills103k6 repos~3.8kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Grillingpietheinstrengholt/rssmonster56432 repos~510Automated safety check: PassMIT
Agentic Workflow Designerdotnet/Open-XML-SDK4.6k2 repos~3.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Ask User QuestionMemTensor/MemOS12k—~1kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0

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Categories

Questions about Autonomous Mode

What does Autonomous Mode do?

Working under AUTONOMOUS MODE — a pinned task the session must drive to a written definition of done without asking the user anything. Autonomous Mode is an agent skill from dxos/dxos. Working under AUTONOMOUS MODE — a pinned task the session must drive to a written definition of done without asking the user anything.

When should I use Autonomous Mode?

Autonomous Mode fits situations like: an AUTONOMOUS MODE block appears in the turns context; /autonomous is invoked; you are about to ask a clarifying question about scope; PR size and cannot.

How do I install Autonomous Mode in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add dxos/dxos --skill autonomous-mode -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/autonomous-mode in dxos/dxos) into .claude/skills/autonomous-mode in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Autonomous Mode in Codex?

Run `npx skills add dxos/dxos --skill autonomous-mode -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/autonomous-mode in dxos/dxos) into .agents/skills/autonomous-mode in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Autonomous Mode in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add dxos/dxos --skill autonomous-mode -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/autonomous-mode, .gemini/skills/autonomous-mode, .github/skills/autonomous-mode and .opencode/skills/autonomous-mode in your project.

What does Autonomous Mode need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Autonomous Mode needs the command-line tools its instructions call (bash, just and pnpm).

Does Autonomous Mode access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Autonomous Mode safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md flagged 1 warning(s): tells the agent its actions are pre-authorized / not to stop for confirmation. Read the flagged lines before installing; the check is not a guarantee either way.

What licence does Autonomous Mode use?

Autonomous Mode has a licence file (the repository's licence) that doesn't match a standard licence. Read it on GitHub before reusing the skill.

How many tokens does Autonomous Mode use?

About 2.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 8.2k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Autonomous Mode?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Autonomous Mode: Using Superpowers (farm-fe/farm, 5.6k stars), Interview Me (addyosmani/agent-skills, 103k stars), Grilling (pietheinstrengholt/rssmonster, 564 stars) and Agentic Workflow Designer (dotnet/Open-XML-SDK, 4.6k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Autonomous Mode?

dxos (a GitHub organization) maintains it in dxos/dxos, which has 525 GitHub stars. The repository holds 41 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 8, 2026.

Source: dxos/dxos on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.