Watchbird · autopilot & rulesRoutine allows itself.Everything else asks.
Rules decide what an agent may do without asking you — per project or for all. The autopilot lets “allow in autopilot” rules work for 15, 30 or 60 minutes.
- The situation
Your agent runs npm test for the twentieth time today, and each time you press Allow.
- What Watchbird does
A rule “Commands: npm test * → Allow” answers for you. Watchbird checks every request against your rules before the notch opens.
- How you use it
Settings → Rules & automation: choose the kind (commands, file changes, tools), the action, the project and the agent, then the pattern. Start the autopilot from the notch or there.
- What you need
An agent that can be approved in the notch: Claude Code, Codex CLI, Copilot CLI, OpenCode, Qwen Code or Devin (Cursor and Factory Droid with their opt-in gate).
- Your data
Rules live in Watchbird’s settings on your PC. Every automatic decision is logged locally (90 days).
Step by step
- 01Open Settings → Rules & automation.
- 02New rule: pick Commands, File changes or a tool; then Allow, Allow in autopilot, Always ask or Deny.
- 03Choose all projects or one, all agents or one, and type the pattern — * is a wildcard.
- 04Add the recommended autopilot rules with one click: file changes in the project, and commands that only read, build or test.
- 05Start the autopilot from the open notch: 15, 30 or 60 minutes. A green countdown shows while it runs; a click ends it.
Autopilot & rules
Examples
- Commands: npm test *
Allow — tests run without asking, in every project.
- File changes: src/**
Allow in autopilot — edits in src/ go through while the autopilot runs.
- Commands: git push *
Always ask — even in autopilot.
- Commands: rm *
Deny — the agent is told no, with your reason.
Order: deny wins, then the fixed block list, then “always ask”, then allow.
Security & data
- A fixed block list can never be allowed by a rule: rm -rf, git push --force, git reset --hard, curl | sh and more. Those always ask.
- Chained commands (&&, ||, ;, |) need a rule for every part. Substitutions and redirections into files are never allowed by rules.
- Files outside the project only match rules with an absolute path.
- The autopilot never survives a restart and ends by itself.
- Every automatic decision appears in History → Automatic, with the rule and the command.
FAQ
Questions about it
What does “allow in autopilot” mean?
The rule only works while the autopilot runs. The rest of the time the agent asks as usual.
What about Claude Code’s own “always allow”?
Claude Code decides those itself before Watchbird sees the request. Watchbird shows them read-only on the same page.
Can I see what was allowed?
Yes: History → Automatic lists every automatic decision with its rule.
More features
The agents are installed separately. Watchbird is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by their makers; all product names are trademarks of their respective owners.