---
title: "The agent"
description: "What the agent can do, which models power it, and how to steer it"
canonical_url: "https://hoplite.sh/docs/agent"
markdown_url: "https://hoplite.sh/docs/agent.md"
---

# The agent
URL: /docs/agent
LLM index: /llms.txt
Description: What the agent can do, which models power it, and how to steer it
Related: /docs/agent/models, /docs/agent/tools, /docs/agent/slash-commands

# The agent

Every Hoplite thread is driven by an agent: a frontier model wired to a [sandbox](/docs/sandboxes) full of tools. It reads and edits your code, runs commands, drives a browser, and talks to GitHub — streaming everything it does into the thread.

## What's in this section

- **[Models](/docs/agent/models)** — the model lineup, reasoning effort, speed tiers, and connecting your own ChatGPT subscription
- **[Tools](/docs/agent/tools)** — the full tool catalog, and which tools require your approval
- **[Slash commands](/docs/agent/slash-commands)** — composer shortcuts like `/pr`, `/model`, and `/retry`

## Shaping the agent's behavior

Beyond the per-thread model picker, projects carry standing configuration under **Settings → Project → Agent**:

- **Model default** — the model, reasoning effort, and speed new threads start with
- **Instructions** — project-level context prepended to every run: conventions, architecture notes, things the agent should always or never do
- **Skills** — reusable instruction bundles the agent can load on demand with its `load_skill` tool

The agent can also help configure itself: `project_settings_get` shows how the project's scripts and settings resolve, and `project_settings_update` proposes changes — which always require your approval. See [Project scripts](/docs/sandboxes/scripts).

## Feedback loop

If the agent hits a platform problem — a broken sandbox, a misbehaving tool — it files a structured report to the Hoplite team with its `report_platform_issue` tool, so failures get fixed at the source instead of being worked around silently.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/docs/sitemap.md) for all pages.
Well-known sitemap: [/docs/.well-known/sitemap.md](/docs/.well-known/sitemap.md).