Agent dark mode

I have been exploring the new Agent mode for GitHub Copilot, currently available in Visual Studio Code Insiders.

UI Framework Migration

I tried migrating from Material UI to shadcn/ui in a template codebase. The agent made steady progress. One standout feature was its ability to install the necessary npm packages, or any shell command for that matter. Before doing so, it confirms with the developer. However, the task eventually got too complex, and I had to terminate the session. I could probably have broken it down into smaller steps to make it more manageable.

Adding Dark Mode

Another attempt involved adding dark mode to this site. The agent handled it smoothly on the first try. While the initial setup worked, it needed a few style tweaks. The solution also did not cover every page at first. Nothing a few additional prompts could not fix.

Observations on Agent Mode

It feels similar to Copilot Edit, but it stands out by automatically identifying the files that need changing, which saves time. The ability to run shell commands is a game-changer, and probably a first step towards more tool use. A slightly faster experience would be welcome, especially as the (slower) reasoning models are not available in Agent mode yet. To handle the first task unsupervised, Agent mode will at least require more powerful (reasoning) models than 4o or 3.5 Sonnet offered today. As soon as one of these becomes available, I will revisit the shadcn/ui challenge.