# Autopilot

> Use after a LEAF sprout's why / what / wireframe triple has been explicitly reviewed by the user and the user wants the remaining LEAF lifecycle to proceed automatically. Trigger on "$leaf:autopilot", "LEAF autopilot", "triple is approved, continue automatically", "run the rest of LEAF without asking", or "after this lock, handle the rest". Do not use for execution-ready direct work, unclear intent, destructive/external/credential/cost/security/privacy-sensitive work without explicit pre-authorization, or when the user wants normal per-gate approval.

- Skill: `hoetaek/autopilot` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add hoetaek/autopilot`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/hoetaek/autopilot/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Security
- Author: hoetaek (https://skillmd.com/u/hoetaek)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/hoetaek/autopilot

---


# LEAF Autopilot

`autopilot` carries a LEAF sprout after the human-reviewed `why / what /
wireframe` triple. It does not remove LEAF's judgment boundary; it keeps
automatic reviews, hard stops, and evidence. The **execution-ready 분기** belongs
to `work`'s direct path; autopilot does not wrap it in a lifecycle.
When `00-status.md` records `route: fast-track` and `autopilot approval:
approved`, autopilot also consumes the fast-track 절차 예산 in
`../using-leaf/references/fast-track.md`.

## Core Contract

- **Triple first.** Do not start autopilot
  unless `00-status.md` has human-reviewed `why`, `what`, and `wireframe`
  values. If they are missing, provisional, stale, or marked `USER REVIEW
NEEDED` / `LOCK CANDIDATE`, return to `learn`.
- **Delegation is durable but request-bounded.** For fast-track, require `route:
fast-track` and `autopilot approval: approved` in the status preamble, and
  verify this is the same request and still matches the locked `what`. Only fold
  when it also records `fold approval: eligible ④/⑤/⑦ approved`; missing,
  `not approved`, or `expired` fields grant no authority. `route: fast-track
(expired)` is history, not an active fast-track route; do not apply fast-track
  approval checks to ordinary autopilot on that basis.
- **Autopilot after the lock.** Once the triple is locked, proceed through
  `work` gates automatically: ③ Criteria, ④ Wireframe, ⑤ Design, ⑥ Critic,
  ⑦ Tasks, ⑧ Artifact / Execution, ⑨ Review / Sync, and ⑩ Retrospect.
- **Review still happens.** Gate reviews are automatic unless a hard stop or
  pre-authorization gap appears. Leave the review evidence in the gate file,
  `08-execution.md`, or `09-review.md`.
- **Polish at every formal phase boundary, gated by `leaf next`.**
  Use `leaf:polish` to check cumulative coherence at the end of each phase and
  before close-out. On either route, independent review is conditional on
  document-quality risk and authorized delegation; fast-track retains its budget.
  Then cross with `leaf next <slug>` and show it
  per `soul` only when the display trigger is present. Either pass removes the phase's
  `<!-- leaf:polish-pending -->` marker; if still present, `leaf next` **pauses
  (멈칫)** and `leaf doctor` flags `boundary_unpolished`. Treat that pause as a
  polish signal; don't bypass it by hand-creating the next phase. Don't let an
  un-polished draft reach review or close-out.
- **Fold with normal approval.** Gate folding (passing ④/⑤/⑦ as a one-line
  `folded:` record; see `../work/references/gates.md`) needs a human approval
  autopilot removes, so autopilot may fold only when the triple review
  pre-approved this work for short-loop folding — otherwise run the full loop.
  Details: `references/approval-policy.md` → Gate Folding Under Autopilot.
- **Do not duplicate LEAF.** Invoke and follow `leaf:work`, `leaf:polish`,
  `leaf:press`, `leaf:profile`, `leaf:soul`, and `leaf:using-leaf` when their
  contracts apply. This skill orchestrates them; it does not rewrite their gate
  rules.
- **Status is the dashboard.** Keep `00-status.md` current after every gate,
  return, hard stop, execution session, and sprout-to-leaf move.

## Start Checklist

Before doing work:

1. Read `../soul/SKILL.md` and apply its conduct rules.
2. Read `../using-leaf/SKILL.md` for routing boundaries and
   `../using-leaf/references/lifecycle.md` for close-out rules.
3. Run `git status --short --branch` and `leaf doctor`.
4. Read the sprout's `00-status.md`, `01-Learn/01-intent.md`, and
   `01-Learn/02-unknowns.md`.
5. Verify the triple is human-reviewed and internally consistent.
6. Read `references/approval-policy.md` when the request involves execution,
   external side effects, credentials, cost, security, privacy, or ambiguity
   about what autopilot may decide.
7. If the status records `route: fast-track`, verify `autopilot approval:
approved`, then read
   `../using-leaf/references/fast-track.md` and keep its request-scoped budget.

If any start check fails, stop with the smallest needed repair or user question.

## Workflow

1. **Consume Learn.** Treat the locked triple as the current contract. If ③ or
   later reveals the triple is wrong, return to `learn`, record the return, and
   do not continue on the old contract.
2. **Run Example.** Use `leaf:work` gates ③ and ④: write criteria that can reject
   a bad instance, then build the cheap wireframe promised by `wireframe`.
3. **Run Architect.** Use gates ⑤, ⑥, and ⑦. Design the generator, run at least a
   quick critic pass, and slice reviewable tasks.
4. **Execute only inside the delegated lane.** Gate ⑧ may start without asking
   only when the task graph, risks, first execution chunk, and hard-stop policy
   fit the locked triple and the user's pre-authorization.
5. **Audit completion.** Do not mark done because files exist. Map the locked
   triple and criteria to evidence: gate files, command output, tests, `leaf
doctor`, review notes, and unresolved assumptions.
6. **Move to Feedback.** After ⑧ is passed or delivered, move the sprout to
   `.leaf/02-leaves/<slug>/` using the LEAF lifecycle rule, update status, and
   run `leaf doctor`.
7. **Review and retrospect.** Run ⑨ and ⑩ automatically unless a hard stop
   appears. Complete route-appropriate cumulative polish first. Then, only if
   status still has exact `route: fast-track`, set it to `fast-track (expired)`
   with `autopilot approval: expired` and `fold approval: expired`. Follow
   `../using-leaf/references/lifecycle.md` ending rules: keep, press via `leaf:press`, or fall.

## Hard Stops

Stop and ask for explicit user direction when any of these appear without prior
authorization:

- the triple is missing, stale, contradicted, or not human-reviewed;
- destructive or hard-to-revert changes;
- credentials, secrets, external accounts, production systems, deployment, or
  cost-incurring actions;
- public or external sharing;
- security, privacy, legal, policy, or permission-boundary decisions;
- scope expansion, split decisions, or a changed core noun;
- user taste, risk tolerance, or organizational judgment that cannot be inferred
  from the locked triple;
- the same failure repeats three times;
- `leaf doctor`, tests, review, or completion audit fails.

## Completion Audit

Before reporting completion, show:

- consumed locked triple;
- the current LEAF path and stage;
- gates completed and evidence paths;
- commands run, including `leaf doctor` and any tests/build/lint;
- automatic review or critic verdicts;
- the cumulative boundary self-polish at each phase and before close-out, plus
  any full `leaf:polish` run the route triggered, with its evidence;
- hard stops checked and not triggered, or the stop that remains;
- files changed outside `.leaf/`, if any.

Do not hide unresolved assumptions. If something is delegated rather than
human-approved, say where the delegation was recorded.

## Anti-Patterns

- Starting before the triple is locked.
- **execution-ready direct path를 LEAF lifecycle로 바꾸지 않는다.** Autopilot은
  이미 direct로 분류된 작업을 gate work로 되돌리는 도구가 아니다.
- Treating "no human approval" as "no review".
- Consuming a stale gate because the next file already exists.
- Rewriting LEAF gate contracts inside this skill.
- Starting ⑧ execution when criteria, design, task graph, risks, or first chunk
  are missing.
- Calling the leaf complete without a completion audit.