Agent Designer for VS Code

A powerful visual canvas extension for designing multi-agent workflows. Create, connect, and export GitHub Copilot agents with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.

✨ Features

🎨 Visual Design

• Interactive Canvas: Drag-and-drop interface powered by React Flow
• Agent Nodes: Visual representation of AI agents with customizable properties
• Connection Flows: Draw connections between agents to define handoff workflows
• Auto-Layout: Automatic grid arrangement for clean organization
• Zoom & Pan: Navigate large workflows with ease

🤖 Agent Configuration

• Rich Properties: Name, description, instructions, tools, and AI model selection
• Entry Points: Mark agents as workflow starting points
• Handoff Management: Define transitions with labels, prompts, and auto-send options
• Model Support: GPT-4, GPT-5, Claude Sonnet 4, and more
• Tool Integration: Configure available tools for each agent

📁 File Management

• Import/Export: Save and load agent workflows
• Directory Import: Load entire directories of agent files
• Drag-and-Drop: Drop .agent.md files directly onto canvas
• State Persistence: Automatic saving to .agentdesign.md files
• File Format: Generates .agent.md files compatible with GitHub Copilot

✅ Validation & Quality

• Real-time Validation: Catch errors before export
• Circular Dependency Detection: Prevent infinite loops
• Required Field Checks: Ensure complete agent definitions
• Entry Point Validation: Verify workflow has proper starting points

🚀 Getting Started

Installation

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for "Agent Designer"
4. Click Install

Quick Start

1. Open the Canvas

   • Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
   • Run: Agent Designer: Open Canvas

2. Create Your First Agent

   • Click "Add Agent" button
   • Fill in agent details (name, description, instructions)
   • Click "Save"

3. Connect Agents

   • Drag from one agent to another to create a handoff
   • Click the connection line to configure handoff details

4. Export Your Workflow

   • Click "Export" to validate and save
   • Files are created in .github/agents/ directory

📖 Usage Guide

Opening the Canvas

• Command: Agent Designer: Open Canvas
• Or right-click an .agentdesign.md file in Explorer

Creating Agents

Add New Agent:

• Click Add Agent button in toolbar
• Or use Add from File to import existing .agent.md files

Configure Agent:

1. Click Edit (✏️) on the agent node
2. Fill in properties:
   • Name: Agent identifier (max 100 chars)
   • Description: Brief overview (max 1000 chars)
   • Instructions: Detailed behavior guide (max 8000 chars)
   • Model: Select AI model (GPT-4, Claude Sonnet 4, etc.)
   • Tools: Comma-separated list (e.g., fetch, search, files)
3. Click Save

Agent Actions:

• Entry Point (⭐): Mark as workflow starting point
• Edit (✏️): Modify agent properties
• Delete (🗑️): Remove agent from canvas

Creating Handoffs

Connect Agents:

1. Click and drag from one agent to another
2. A connection line appears

Configure Handoff:

1. Click on the connection line
2. Edit properties:
   • Label: Button text in chat UI (e.g., "Start Implementation")
   • Prompt: Message sent on handoff (optional)
   • Auto-send: Automatically submit prompt (checkbox)
3. Click Save

Import & Export

Import:

• Import Files: Select multiple .agent.md files
• Load from Directory: Scan folder for all agent files
• Drag & Drop: Drop .agent.md files onto canvas

Export:

1. Click Export button
2. Review validation results
3. Files saved to .github/agents/ directory

Settings

Access Settings:

• Click Settings button in toolbar

Configuration Options:

• Export Path: Choose between .github/agents or .github/chatmodes
• File Format: Always exports as .agent.md files

📋 Requirements

• VS Code: Version 1.105.0 or higher
• Node.js: 22.x or higher (for development only)

🎯 Extension Commands

Command	Description
Agent Designer: Open Canvas	Open the visual designer
Agent Designer: Open Design File	Open existing .agentdesign.md file
Agent Designer: Export Agents	Export agents to .agent.md files
Agent Designer: Import Agents	Import agent files
Agent Designer: Open as Text	View design file as text

Note: Some commands (New From Template, Run Simulation, Customize Theme) are registered but not yet implemented. The Toggle Entry Point feature is available via the UI button on agent nodes.

📄 Generated File Format

Agent Designer exports .agent.md files compatible with GitHub Copilot:

---
description: Generate an implementation plan
tools:
  - fetch
  - search
  - usages
model: Claude Sonnet 4
handoffs:
  - agent: Implement
    label: Start Implementation
    prompt: Now implement the plan outlined above.
    send: false
---

# Plan

## Instructions

Generate an implementation plan for new features or refactoring.

Collect project context and create detailed implementation steps...

File Structure:

• YAML Frontmatter: Agent metadata and handoff definitions
• Markdown Body: Agent name (H1) and instructions (H2)
• Location: Exported to .github/agents/ directory

🛠️ Development

Setup

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/samueltauil/copilot-agentdesigner.git
cd copilot-agentdesigner

# Install dependencies
npm install

Build

# Compile extension
npm run compile

# Compile webview
npm run compile:webview

# Build for publishing
npm run vscode:prepublish

Development Mode

# Watch extension
npm run watch

# Watch webview (separate terminal)
npm run watch:webview

# Launch extension
Press F5 in VS Code

Project Structure

copilot-agentdesigner/
├── src/                      # Extension source
│   ├── extension.ts         # Extension entry point
│   ├── AgentDesignerPanel.ts # Webview panel controller
│   ├── AgentDesignEditorProvider.ts # Custom editor
│   ├── models/              # TypeScript interfaces
│   └── generators/          # File generation/parsing
├── webview-ui/              # React frontend
│   └── src/
│       ├── App.tsx          # Main canvas component
│       ├── AgentNode.tsx    # Agent node component
│       └── layout.ts        # Layout algorithms
├── out/                     # Compiled output
└── package.json             # Extension manifest

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

📝 Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for a list of changes.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built with React Flow for canvas visualization
• Powered by VS Code Extension API

📧 Support

For questions, issues, or feature requests:

• Open an issue
• View documentation

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Made with ❤️ for the VS Code community