Orbit — Routines

Give a conversation something to come back to.

Orbit turns recurring prompts into routines beside Chat in VS Code. Each routine returns to the same conversation, so you can read earlier results and add feedback between runs.

Preview. Requires desktop VS Code 1.136 or later, a trusted local workspace, and a signed-in Copilot Agent Host. Your workspace must stay open for routines to run.

Create a routine from Chat

Ask the agent:

Every day, check this project for outdated dependencies and summarize what changed. Don't install updates.

Orbit includes a create-routine skill and a Create Routine tool. The agent can discover the skill automatically. You can also enter /create-routine in Chat to select it explicitly. If the tool is disabled, enable Create Routine in Chat's tools picker.

The tool saves the schedule, creates a dedicated conversation, and starts the first run. Later runs return to that conversation. Repeating an identical request returns the existing routine without rerunning it or resuming a paused schedule.

Or use Routines beside Chat

Open Routines in VS Code's right sidebar and select New routine.
Enter what should happen and choose Daily, Hourly, Weekly, or a custom interval.
Optionally choose a Model and Effort, then select Create & run.

For a quick test, choose Every minute (test) and pause the routine after checking its result. Orbit: New Routine in the Command Palette opens the same form. Use an existing conversation lets you attach a routine to a compatible Agent Host conversation you already use.

If the form asks you to review workspace trust, open the trust editor and trust the folder only if you know its contents. Return to Routines to submit your saved draft.

Choose a model and effort

Available models come from your connected host. Effort choices appear when the selected model supports them. Keep Conversation default to use the conversation's normal model behavior.

You can request a model and effort in Chat, too. The agent uses Orbit's List Routine Models tool to discover supported choices before creating the routine. Orbit reports an unavailable selection instead of silently switching models.

Open a saved routine to change its instruction, interval, model, or effort. Changes apply to future runs. Each run retains the selection it started with.

Follow and manage your routines

Open the conversation to read results or leave feedback for the next run.
Use Filters to find routines by model, effort, status, or text.
Choose Run now for an extra run, or pause the schedule to prevent future starts.
Open a routine's details to see its last run, next due time, and saved run records.
Choose Stop current run to remove a queued Orbit request or open the conversation's native Stop control for an active turn.

How scheduling works

Schedules use elapsed intervals. Daily means every 24 hours from creation or the latest manual run. Calendar times, weekdays-only schedules, and one-time reminders are not supported in this preview.

Orbit runs while the local workspace is open in VS Code. It installs no background service. A missed interval produces one catch-up run when the workspace becomes available again. Resuming a paused schedule starts a new interval.

Busy conversations, queued human messages, and requests for approval or input defer execution. Orbit admits one active run at a time across windows sharing its storage. If a run exceeds 30 minutes, Orbit pauses its schedule and requests attention; an active turn still needs the conversation's native Stop control.

If a connection fails during dispatch, Orbit checks the saved request against the original conversation before continuing. An uncertain outcome can require inspection of that conversation. Scheduled execution does not guarantee exactly-once tool side effects.

Storage and permissions

The Marketplace extension ID is vegadevshop.orbit-routines. If you installed the earlier local development extension vegadevshop.orbit, uninstall that extension before installing this one. Your routines and run history remain in the same profile-local storage location.

Routine definitions and run records stay in Orbit's local extension storage, outside your workspace and Settings Sync. Conversations, tools, model access, and approvals belong to the Agent Host. Prompts run through your configured agent provider under its normal account and permission settings.

Orbit uses the host's protected local connection registry. It does not copy connection credentials into routines or diagnostics, and it does not approve tool requests for you.

This preview supports local desktop workspaces and Agent Host-backed Copilot conversations. Remote and virtual workspaces, cloud execution, and older extension-host chats are not supported.

Troubleshooting

Use Check connection in Routines or Orbit: Show Connection Diagnostics in the Command Palette. Confirm that your local folder is open and trusted, and that Copilot is signed in. Read a routine's status and its original conversation when a run needs attention.

License

Orbit is available under the MIT license. The extension includes LICENSE.txt and THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.txt with the full license notices for its bundled dependencies.