Athas Agent
Use the built-in coding agent with project context, tools, permissions, and reviewable edits.
Updated
Athas Agent is the built-in coding agent. It can answer questions, inspect your workspace and use supported tools to make changes. Its model and connection come from your AI settings.
Start a task
- Open the AI panel or choose New Athas Agent in the command palette.
- Select a model with the capabilities your task needs.
- Describe the expected behavior, relevant files and constraints.
- Attach a selection with Add Selection to Agent Chat when it helps explain the task.
- Inspect tool requests and review the resulting changes.
For example: “Find why this test fails, fix the cause, and run the relevant suite. Preserve unrelated edits and summarize any remaining failure.”
Models and context
Choose the default model in Settings > AI, or override New chats under Other features. See Providers and Models for keys, Ollama and custom endpoints. Agent context and instructions explains project rules and excluded paths.
Permissions and review
Review the operation and scope when Athas asks for permission. Read a file diff before accepting an agent edit and inspect command results before assuming tests passed. A provider's capabilities and your organization policy can limit the tools or models available.
Follow Agent controls whether the editor follows files the agent opens. Steps before pausing limits model requests per turn before asking to continue. Both are in AI agent settings.
Extend or share a session
MCP servers can add tools. Share to Web creates a read-only snapshot; private cloud session sync is a separate opt-in feature. External agents run their own coding CLIs, while Cloud Agents run repository tasks in a hosted sandbox.