AWS amazonq documentation change
Summary
Added documentation for new experimental features including checkpointing, context usage monitoring, task delegation, TODO lists, enhanced thinking mode, and settings integration. Removed original thinking mode section and expanded with detailed workflows.
Security assessment
The Delegate feature documentation mentions security considerations with agent approval flows and elevated permissions ('Delegate tasks run with elevated permissions. Review agent details carefully before approving task execution'). Checkpointing includes warnings about permanent file deletion risks. While these document security-aware practices, there's no evidence of addressing existing vulnerabilities.
Diff
diff --git a/amazonq/latest/qdeveloper-ug/command-line-experimental-features.md b/amazonq/latest/qdeveloper-ug/command-line-experimental-features.md index 35a3423ee..1756c3960 100644 --- a//amazonq/latest/qdeveloper-ug/command-line-experimental-features.md +++ b//amazonq/latest/qdeveloper-ug/command-line-experimental-features.md @@ -5 +5 @@ -Managing experimental featuresKnowledge managementTangent modeThinking modeAdditional resources +Managing experimental featuresKnowledge managementTangent modeCheckpointingContext usage percentageDelegateTODO listsEnhanced thinking modeSettings integrationAdditional resources @@ -143 +143 @@ Avoid using tangent mode for completely unrelated topics or long, complex discus -## Thinking mode +## Checkpointing @@ -145 +145 @@ Avoid using tangent mode for completely unrelated topics or long, complex discus -Thinking mode enables complex reasoning with step-by-step thought processes. When enabled, Amazon Q shows its reasoning process when working through complex problems or multi-step reasoning, helping you understand how conclusions are reached. +Checkpointing enables session-scoped snapshots for tracking file changes using Git CLI commands. This feature creates a shadow bare git repository to manage file state across your chat session. @@ -147 +147,313 @@ Thinking mode enables complex reasoning with step-by-step thought processes. Whe -This feature is useful for debugging and learning, providing transparent decision-making processes for complex tasks. +Enable checkpointing with: + + + q settings chat.enableCheckpoint true + +### Features + + * Snapshots file changes into a shadow bare git repository + + * List, expand, diff, and restore to any checkpoint + + * Conversation history unwinds when restoring checkpoints + + * Auto-enables in git repositories (ephemeral, cleaned on session end) + + * Manual initialization available for non-git directories + + + + +### Basic usage + +Once enabled, use `/checkpoint` commands within your chat session: + +/checkpoint init + + +Manually enable checkpoints (required if not in a git repository) + +/checkpoint list [--limit N] + + +Show turn-level checkpoints with file statistics + +/checkpoint expand <tag> + + +Show tool-level checkpoints under a specific turn + +/checkpoint diff <tag1> [tag2|HEAD] + + +Compare checkpoints or compare with current state + +/checkpoint restore [<tag>] [--hard] + + +Restore to checkpoint (shows interactive picker if no tag specified) + +/checkpoint clean + + +Delete session shadow repository + +### Restore options + +**Default restore behavior:** + + * Reverts tracked changes and deletions + + * Keeps files created after the checkpoint + + + + +**Hard restore (`--hard` flag):** + + * Makes workspace exactly match the checkpoint state + + * Deletes tracked files created after the checkpoint + + + + +###### Important + +Checkpointing creates temporary git repositories that are cleaned up when the session ends. Use caution with `--hard` restore as it permanently deletes files. + +## Context usage percentage + +Context usage percentage displays your current context window consumption as a percentage in the chat prompt, helping you monitor how much of the available context window is being used. + +Enable context usage percentage with: + + + q settings chat.enableContextUsageIndicator true + +### Features + + * Shows percentage of context window used in prompt (e.g., "[rust-agent] 6% >") + + * Color-coded indicators for quick visual reference + + * Helps monitor context window consumption during long conversations + + + + +### Visual indicators + +The percentage display uses color coding to indicate usage levels: + +Green: Less than 50% usage + + +Normal operation with plenty of context space available + +Yellow: 50-89% usage + + +Moderate usage, consider context management + +Red: 90-100% usage + + +High usage, context window nearly full + +## Delegate + +Delegate enables launching and managing asynchronous task processes, allowing you to run Amazon Q chat sessions with specific agents in parallel to your main conversation. + +Enable delegate with: + + + q settings chat.enableDelegate true + +### Features + + * Launch background tasks using natural language + + * Run parallel Amazon Q chat sessions with specific agents + + * Monitor task progress independently + + * Agent approval flow for secure task execution + + + + +### Usage + +Use natural language to ask the model to launch a background task: + + + Can you create a background task to analyze the performance of our API endpoints? + +Once a task is ready, check on results: + + + Check the status of my API analysis task + Show me the results from the background analysis + +### Agent approval flow + +**Tasks with agents:** Require explicit approval and show agent details before execution + +**Tasks without agents:** Run with a warning about trust-all permissions + +Once delegated, tasks work independently and you can: + + * Check progress at any time + + * Read results when complete + + * Delete tasks when no longer needed + + + + +###### Important + +Delegate tasks run with elevated permissions. Review agent details carefully before approving task execution. + +## TODO lists + +TODO lists enable Amazon Q to create and modify task lists automatically, while providing you with commands to view and manage existing TODO lists. + +Enable TODO lists with: + + + q settings chat.enableTodoList true + +### Features + + * Amazon Q automatically creates TODO lists when appropriate or when asked