If an AI coding agent is stalled or changing the wrong things, first check whether it is waiting for approval, still running a command, or has gone off course. Stop it if the next action could cause harm; otherwise, inspect its activity and give a specific correction. Stopping prevents more work but does not undo actions already completed.
1. Check what the agent is doing now
Before retrying, identify the live state. An unanswered question or permission prompt can look like a stall, and a terminal command may still be running even if the agent appears idle in the editor. For a cloud agent, check its session log and the product’s status information; inactivity alone does not prove that the process has failed.
- Look for an approval request or a question that needs your answer.
- Check whether a command is still running and whether it has produced output or an error.
- Review recent tool activity to see whether the agent is making progress or repeating an unsuccessful action.
Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code documentation notes: “An AI agent might misunderstand the goal, repeat an unsuccessful action, change more files than expected, or lose track of an earlier decision.”
2. Stop imminent risk; steer safe work
Interrupt the session immediately if the next action could delete data, deploy a change, expose sensitive information, or modify an external service. If the current action is safe but the approach is wrong, a focused correction may be enough.
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Controls differ by product and version. In VS Code, Steer with Message waits for the current tool call to finish before applying your message; Stop and Send cancels the request and sends the correction immediately. The cited Claude Code FAQ says Ctrl+C cancels the current generation. GitHub documents Stop or Esc in the Copilot app and double-Esc in Copilot CLI for computer-use operations. Check the current instructions for the client you are using rather than assuming a shortcut works everywhere.
After stopping, ask the agent to report which commands completed and what effects they had. Interruption stops future work; it does not reverse completed actions, including changes outside the workspace.
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3. Find where the work went off course
Inspect the changes and activity before deciding whether to keep, revise, or discard anything. Start with the earliest point where the agent’s actions stopped matching your request, rather than treating the final diff as one undifferentiated block.
- Review the workspace diff and list of touched paths.
- Check recent tool calls, terminal output, and error messages.
- Separate useful edits from changes that need revision or removal.
- Determine whether the agent affected only local workspace files or also network resources, deployments, or external services.
This review matters because a workspace rollback cannot be assumed to reverse an external action.
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4. Correct the approach or restore a checkpoint
When some work is useful
Give the agent a bounded correction that identifies the mismatch, states the expected result, sets limits, and specifies how to validate the result. For example: “You changed files outside the requested module. Keep the existing parser changes, limit edits to src/parser/, do not modify configuration or make network calls, and run the parser tests. Report the files changed and test results.”
If a command failed, ask the agent to explain the first error and which assumption it disproved before it tries another approach. “Try again” or “fix it” does not tell the agent what to change or what to avoid.
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When workspace changes should be removed
In supported VS Code chat sessions, checkpoints are created automatically before each request. Restoring a checkpoint returns affected workspace files and chat history to that point. Review which changes would be removed before restoring, especially if the agent has made useful edits since the checkpoint. A checkpoint is not a rollback for deployments, network activity, or other effects outside the workspace.
When a Copilot cloud-agent session appears stuck
GitHub says a Copilot cloud-agent session that remains stuck times out after an hour. For that specific product and situation, GitHub’s documented retry is to unassign and reassign the issue; if the agent stalled while responding to a PR comment, post the same comment again. This is product-specific guidance, not a general timeout rule for coding agents.
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5. Reduce the chance of another wrong turn
Set boundaries before editing
For broad or risky work, ask for a plan or use a read-only mode to agree on the approach before permitting changes. State the permitted paths, excluded files or actions, and the test or smoke check the agent must report. Keep repository instructions short and explicit; Anthropic’s FAQ recommends placing hard rules near the top and using imperative wording when project instructions are being ignored.
Limit permissions to the task
Use the narrowest file, command, network, and external-service access that still lets the agent complete the work. GitHub documents directory-scoped access and prompts before Copilot CLI modifies files. Its app can run sessions in separate worktrees or cloud sandboxes. OpenAI describes Codex sandbox boundaries and approval policy as complementary controls.
There is a trade-off: permissions that are too restrictive can block a necessary tool request. GitHub notes that Copilot CLI’s --allow-all option lets the agent use tools, paths, and URLs that would otherwise require permission. That broader access is not a universal fix; consider it only when the task and risk justify it. In unattended workflows, use a continuation limit if the client supports one.
Keep work reviewable
Prefer sessions with visible tool activity, logs, and reviewable diffs. When available, use an isolated worktree or sandbox so that work is separated from your main working copy. After each meaningful stage, review the changes and run the specified validation before allowing the agent to continue.
Why recovery controls differ
Products expose different combinations of approval prompts, interruption controls, logs, checkpoints, permission scopes, and isolation. When choosing a workflow, check whether it lets you see pending approvals and active commands, inspect tool activity and diffs, restore workspace changes, scope permissions, and isolate a session. The documented controls do not establish a head-to-head ranking of agents.
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