You have a GitHub repository that uses GitHub Copilot Chat in Microsoft Visual Studio Code.

tools: [ ' search ' , ' read ' , ' fetch ' ]

send: false

The completed configuration is:

name: planner-agent

description: Planning

tools: [ ' search ' , ' read ' , ' fetch ' ]

handoffs:

- label: Start Implementation

agent: implementer

prompt: Now implement the plan outlined above.

send: false

The planner must be restricted to read-only capabilities, so [ ' search ' , ' read ' , ' fetch ' ] is the correct tool set. search locates repository information, read inspects file contents, and fetch retrieves supporting information without modifying source files. The other available tool combinations contain write-capable operations such as edit, commit, push, merge, or publish, which would violate the requirem ent that the planner must not alter the repository before approval. VS Code custom agents explicitly support scoping tools so that planning agents can be constrained to research and analysis capabilities.

The send property must be false. A handoff appears as an interactive transition after the planner produces its response. With send: false, selecting the handoff switches to the implementation agent and pre-fills the implementation prompt, but the prompt is not automatically submitted. This provides the necessary human approval gate: the plan can be reviewed before implementation begins. By contrast, send: true immediately submits the handoff prompt after the transition.

Study Guide Reference Topics: agent role separation, least-privilege tool assignment, planning versus execution, multi-agent handoffs, and human approval gates.

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