Watch mode

Turn it on with /watch, the watch mode row in /settings, or watch = true.

Then end a comment with a trigger token, save the file, and koda picks it up:

# implement binary search over `items`, return the index or -1  AI!

Token	What koda does
AI!	Implement the request in that file. koda reads it, makes the change, and removes the trigger comment so it does not fire again.
AI?	Answer the question. Read-only; no edits.

Acting on an AI! comment100×30 · 0:24

With watch on, koda picks up an AI! comment the moment you save the file — no prompt typed.

When it fires

koda rescans the workspace every watch_interval_ms (default 1500), gitignore-aware, and only acts when it is genuinely idle: no turn running, nothing queued, and no prompt open. Only files whose modification time or size changed since the last sweep are actually read.

watch = true
watch_interval_ms = 1500

Why the comment is removed

An AI! left in the file fires again on the next sweep, and again after that. Removing it as part of the edit is what makes the trigger a one-shot instruction rather than a standing one — and it means the diff you approve includes the removal, so you can see it happen.

AI? does not edit anything, so its comment stays where you put it.

What it is good for

The trigger lives where the work is. Writing a function and leaving # handle the empty case AI! on the line above it carries context that a message in the composer does not: koda reads the file, so it sees the signature, the imports and the surrounding code without you describing any of it.

It pairs badly with FULL-AUTO. A trigger you left in a file yesterday and forgot about firing against auto-approved writes is exactly the surprise you do not want; keep approvals on while watch mode is.