YOLO Mode

YOLO Mode brings automated execution to Traycer, minimizing manual intervention and letting you focus on higher-level decisions. Traycer offers two flavors of YOLO:

• Smart YOLO for Epic Mode: Intelligent orchestrator that learns from implementation and adapts at runtime—updating specs and tickets, steering plans, and adjusting configurations as it executes Epics end-to-end
• YOLO for Phases Mode: Powerful automation using fixed configurations you define upfront for phase-by-phase workflows

Both leverage the same underlying configuration options, but Smart YOLO adaptively evolves your Epic (specs, tickets, plans, and settings) while regular YOLO executes with your predefined configurations.

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Smart YOLO for Epic Mode

Smart YOLO brings intelligent orchestration to Epic Mode, automatically executing entire Epics end-to-end while adapting specs, tickets, and plans based on implementation discoveries. It can run multiple executions in parallel when safe to do so, dramatically reducing overall execution time. Unlike fixed automation, Smart YOLO learns from each execution and steers the Epic dynamically with minimal human intervention.

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What Smart YOLO does

1. Evolves your Epic dynamically - updates specs and tickets at runtime based on implementation discoveries, refining requirements and acceptance criteria as the codebase reveals constraints or opportunities
2. Steers execution strategy - analyzes implementation progress and adaptively adjusts plans, breaking down complex tickets or merging related work items as needed
3. Runs executions in parallel - intelligently determines which specs and tickets can be executed concurrently without conflicts, significantly reducing overall execution time for independent work items
4. Creates Executions - each handoff to a coding agent is tracked as an Execution in your Epic, providing full visibility into plans, verification results, commits, and status
5. Makes smart handoffs - determines optimal execution strategy for each task based on dependencies and implementation context
6. Adapts all execution settings - adjusts plans, agents, templates, verification, timeouts, and commits based on requirements and implementation context
7. Runs verification loops - validates changes match intent after each execution
8. Coordinates iterative refinement - if verification finds issues or implementation reveals scope changes, orchestrates fixes, plan adjustments, and re-verification
9. Maintains context - preserves Epic context throughout the entire execution chain, using learnings from one execution to inform subsequent ones

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Triggering Smart YOLO

To start automated execution in Epic Mode:

• Use the /execute command in the Epic chat, or
• Simply tell Traycer to execute your tickets or specs (e.g., “Execute these tickets”)

Smart YOLO will take over from there, coordinating the entire execution process.

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When to use Smart YOLO

Smart YOLO is ideal when:

• You have specs and tickets ready for implementation (even if they need refinement during execution)
• You want to execute multiple tickets with minimal manual coordination
• You expect implementation to reveal scope changes or technical constraints
• You want an orchestrator that adapts to discoveries rather than blindly following a fixed plan
• You trust your coding agents to handle implementation details while Smart YOLO steers overall strategy
• You want automatic verification after each execution
• You want full execution tracking with plans, verification results, and commits

You describe the Epic and its requirements. Smart YOLO coordinates the rest - adapting specs, steering plans, and managing execution through verification. All handoffs are tracked as Executions in your Epic view for complete visibility.

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Smart YOLO FAQ

For more details on Epic Mode and execution tracking, see the Epic Mode documentation.

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YOLO for Phases Mode

YOLO Mode for Phases automates the entire phase workflow using fixed configurations you define upfront. Once configured, it executes phases consistently without changing settings mid-execution.

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How it works

YOLO Mode works with two types of workflows:

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Plan Workflow

For implementation tasks, YOLO Mode automatically executes these steps for each phase:

1. Planning - Traycer generates detailed plans or skips directly to coding (based on your config)
2. Coding - Automatically hands off to your selected coding agent with optional custom templates
3. Verification - Validates implementation and optionally hands off selected comment categories back to your agent
4. Next phase - Continues to the next phase automatically until all phases are complete

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Review Workflow

For code review tasks, YOLO Mode automatically executes these steps for each phase:

1. Review - Traycer analyzes code and generates review comments
2. Coding - Automatically hands off review comments to your selected coding agent for fixes
3. Next phase - Continues to the next phase automatically until all phases are complete

The entire cycle runs without manual intervention using your predefined configuration.

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Activating YOLO Mode

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Configuration options

Both YOLO for Phases and Smart YOLO use the same underlying configuration options. For regular YOLO, you set these configurations upfront and they remain fixed throughout execution. For Smart YOLO, the orchestrator goes beyond just configuration—it evolves your Epic based on implementation learnings: Epic evolution:

• Updates specs and tickets based on implementation discoveries
• Refines acceptance criteria and requirements
• Steers plans by splitting, merging, or reordering work items
• Propagates learnings from one execution to inform subsequent ones

Dynamic configuration adjustments:

• Skip or generate plans
• Select agents (plan, verification, review) from YOLO-compatible agents configured in your workspace
• Choose templates (plan, verification, review)
• Adjust execution timeouts
• Configure verification severity levels
• Select review categories
• Enable/disable verification
• Enable/disable auto-commits
• Configure custom commit scripts

The orchestrator analyzes each task, learns from implementation progress, and optimizes both Epic content and execution settings for the specific context.

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User query handoff

Skip detailed planning and send the phase query directly to your coding agent. Options:

• Skip plan generation: Check this to bypass detailed plan generation for this phase
• Execution Agent for user query handoff: Choose from YOLO-compatible agents (marked with )
• Template for user query: Optionally apply a custom user query template to wrap the query with additional instructions

When to use:

• Simple, straightforward implementation tasks.
• When the phase query is already detailed enough for direct coding.
• To speed up execution for phases with clear requirements.

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Plan handoff

Generate a detailed plan and automatically hand it off to your coding agent. This is the default mode when “Skip plan generation” is unchecked. Options:

• Execution Agent: Choose from YOLO-compatible agents (marked with )
• Template for plan generation: Optionally apply a custom plan template to include project-specific instructions, testing requirements, or coding standards

When to use:

• Complex implementations requiring structured guidance.
• When you want agents to follow specific architecture patterns.
• For tasks where detailed file-level plans improve code quality.

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Verification handoff

After Traycer verifies the agent’s implementation, automatically send selected comment categories back to the agent for fixes. Options:

• Skip verification: Check this to bypass verification for this phase
• Execution Agent: Choose from YOLO-compatible agents (marked with )
• Template for verification: Optionally apply a custom verification template to provide fix instructions
• Severity levels to verify: Choose which severity levels to hand off (multiple selections allowed):
  • Critical: Blocks core functionality or plan requirements
  • Major: Significant issues affecting behavior or UX
  • Minor: Small polish items that don’t block functionality

When to use:

• To automatically iterate on critical and major issues.
• When you want agents to polish implementations before moving to the next phase.
• To maintain quality standards across all phases.

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Review handoff

For Review workflow tasks, automatically hand off review comments to your coding agent for fixes. Options:

• Execution Agent: Choose from YOLO-compatible agents (marked with )
• Template for review: Optionally apply a custom review template to provide fix instructions
• Review categories: Choose which review categories to hand off (multiple selections allowed)

When to use:

• When working with Review workflow tasks in YOLO Mode
• To automatically address code review feedback
• To maintain code quality standards through automated review cycles

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Managing agents and templates

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Agents

YOLO Mode (both regular and Smart YOLO) only works with YOLO-compatible agents that support automated execution. These agents are marked with in the agents documentation. Available agents must be configured in your workspace settings. If your preferred agent isn’t available in the dropdown, see how to add additional agents. For more control over CLI-based agents, you can create Custom CLI Agents with custom arguments and permissions.

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Templates

To customize handoff prompts with your own instructions, see Templates documentation for creating user query, plan, and verification templates.

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Preventing interruptions

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Artifact slots and rate limits

YOLO Mode runs continuously across multiple phases, consuming artifact slots as it progresses. If you run out of slots during execution, YOLO Mode will pause until slots are available again.

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Keep your screen active

Important: YOLO Mode requires an active connection to your IDE. If your computer goes to sleep or the screen times out, the automation will stop. Recommendations:

• Disable screen timeout/sleep mode during YOLO Mode execution.
• Keep your IDE window active and visible.
• Consider running long YOLO Mode sessions when you can monitor progress.

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FAQ

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Related documentation