Auto-start agent on In Progress

Auto-start agent on In Progress

Overview

Auto-start lets KanbanAI automatically start an Attempt whenever a card is moved from Backlog to In Progress, using the project’s default agent/profile.

Configuration

• Global toggle:
  • Exposed in App Settings as Auto-start agent on In Progress.
  • Stored in the singleton settings row managed by the Settings module.
• Per-project defaults:
  • Projects can specify:
    • A default agent key.
    • An optional default profile ID.

Auto-start only triggers when both:

• The global auto-start toggle is enabled, and
• The project has a default agent configured.

Event flow

The behavior is implemented in the Tasks listeners:

• Listener subscribes to card.moved events.
• On each move:
  • It resolves the target column’s title and normalizes it.
  • If the target column is not In Progress, it returns early.
  • It ensures global app settings are loaded and checks autoStartAgentOnInProgress.
  • It fetches project settings for the board:
    • If there is no default agent, it returns.
  • It checks the latest Attempt for the card:
    • If there is an Attempt in running, queued, or stopping status, it returns.
  • Otherwise, it calls startAttempt with:
    • boardId, cardId.
    • The project’s default agent.
    • The project’s default profile ID, if set.

UX implications

• When enabled, moving a card from Backlog → In Progress:
  • Immediately queues an Attempt and moves the card into active work.
  • Keeps the board in sync with actual agent activity.
  • If the card inspector is open, it automatically refreshes and subscribes to the new Attempt’s event stream so messages, status changes, and logs appear in real time without reloading.
• Teams that prefer manual control can:
  • Leave auto-start disabled.
  • Start Attempts explicitly from the card inspector instead.

See also:

• core/quality-of-life.md for related automation and realtime updates.
• core/ai-attempts.md for Attempt lifecycle details.