Two Modes of Operation

Sequant offers two ways to work: interactive in Claude Code chat, or autonomous via headless CLI.

Mode Comparison

Aspect	Interactive	Autonomous
Interface	Claude Code chat	Terminal CLI
Control	Review each phase	Hands-off
Best for	Complex issues, learning	Batch processing
Iteration	Manual /loop	Automatic quality loop

Interactive Mode

Use slash commands in Claude Code chat for step-by-step control.

Commands

/spec 123      # Plan implementation
/exec 123      # Build in worktree
/test 123      # UI verification
/qa 123        # Quality review
/loop 123      # Fix and retry

# Or all-in-one
/fullsolve 123

When to Use

• Learning Sequant — See each phase’s output
• Complex issues — Review plans before implementation
• Sensitive changes — Need human oversight at each step
• Debugging — Investigate issues between phases

Example Session

You: /spec 42

Claude: I've analyzed issue #42 and drafted a plan...
[Shows implementation plan]

You: Looks good, but let's use a different approach for the database query.

Claude: Updated plan. Ready for /exec?

You: /exec 42

Claude: Implemented in worktree feature/42-add-caching...
[Shows changes and test results]

You: /qa 42

Claude: QA complete. All AC items satisfied. Ready to merge.

Advantages

• Full visibility into each phase
• Can intervene and redirect
• Better for learning and understanding
• Collaborative decision-making

Autonomous Mode

Use the CLI for batch processing without interaction.

Commands

# Single issue
npx sequant run 123

# Multiple issues in parallel
npx sequant run 1 2 3

# Sequential processing
npx sequant run 1 2 3 --sequential

# With quality loop (auto-fix)
npx sequant run 123 --quality-loop

# Custom phases
npx sequant run 123 --phases exec,qa

# Preview without execution
npx sequant run 123 --dry-run

When to Use

• Batch processing — Multiple issues at once
• CI/CD integration — Automated workflows
• Simple issues — Bug fixes, docs updates
• Overnight runs — Queue work and review later

Example: Batch Processing

# Process sprint backlog overnight
npx sequant run 45 46 47 48 --quality-loop

# In the morning, review PRs
gh pr list

Quality Loop

Autonomous mode can automatically fix issues:

npx sequant run 123 --quality-loop --max-iterations 5

How it works:

1. Runs phases (spec → exec → qa)
2. If QA fails, runs /loop to fix
3. Re-runs failed phases
4. Repeats up to N iterations

Smart Defaults

Quality loop auto-enables for issues with these labels:

• complex
• refactor
• breaking
• major

Advantages

• Process multiple issues efficiently
• No manual intervention needed
• Consistent execution
• Good for overnight batch work

Hybrid Workflow

Combine modes for the best of both:

# Start with interactive spec
/spec 123
# Review and approve plan

# Run implementation autonomously
npx sequant run 123 --phases exec,qa --quality-loop

# Review results in chat
/assess 123

Mode Selection Guide

Scenario	Recommended Mode
First time using Sequant	Interactive
Complex feature with unclear requirements	Interactive
Simple bug fix	Autonomous
Sprint batch processing	Autonomous
Security-sensitive change	Interactive
Documentation updates	Autonomous
Refactoring with breaking changes	Interactive (spec), then autonomous

Configuration

Default Settings

Configure in .sequant/settings.json:

{
  "run": {
    "qualityLoop": false,
    "maxIterations": 3,
    "sequential": false
  }
}

Override Per Run

# Override settings with flags
npx sequant run 123 --quality-loop --max-iterations 5 --sequential

CLI flags always override settings file values.