How to Switch Modes in GitHub Copilot CLI【Shift+Tab】

Overview#

Sometimes you want Copilot to check with you at every step. Other times you just want to say “handle it” and walk away.

GitHub Copilot CLI has multiple modes for exactly this, and you switch between them with Shift+Tab.

Press Shift+Tab at the prompt to cycle through modes:

interactive → plan → autopilot → interactive → ...

Mode	Behavior	Best for
interactive	Asks for approval at each step	Careful, controlled work
plan	Creates a plan first, then executes after approval	Big changes where you want the big picture first
autopilot	Works autonomously until the task is done	Tasks you trust Copilot to handle end-to-end

Autopilot is an experimental feature. You need to enable it first with /experimental.

Once enabled, it appears in the Shift+Tab rotation.

Autopilot modifies files without asking — start with interactive or plan until you’re comfortable
You can switch modes at any time with Shift+Tab
Use /rewind to undo the last change if something goes wrong