What to say instead of Continue

Hah, I know, I know. The app’s literally called Auto-Continue, and here I am telling you not to always say Continue.

Hear me out. Claude Code stopped at its limit halfway through a migration, and you’re about to schedule Continue for 03:00. For one turn that’s usually fine: if the agent stopped mid-task and the plan’s in the thread, Continue is all it needs. Over several turns, it thins out. Then say what done looks like, what to do when blocked, and what to leave you for the morning.

An open Claude Code session can also pick itself up after its limit, no message needed.

One message, every turn

In Agent Auto-Continue, the message is Continue unless you hover the message line and press Edit. With Up to a number of turns or Until done, every turn sends that same message.

So write a message that still makes sense on turn five. “Now fix the login bug” is fine once, odd the fourth time.

After the first turn the message is locked, so new words mean Stop and schedule again.

Messages worth keeping

Situation	Send this	Why
Stopped mid-task at a limit, plan in the thread	Continue	It knows what’s next
Several turns, you want it to stop itself	Carry on with the plan. Run the tests before you stop, and end with TASK COMPLETE when everything passes.	Defines “done” in words the app can see
You’ll review it in the morning	Carry on. Commit after each step and end with a two-line summary of what changed.	Morning review is a git log, not a scroll
Nearly done, might wander	Finish the current task only. Don't start anything new.	Guards the last few turns
Likely to hit a permission wall	Carry on. If something's blocked, note it in TODO.md and move to the next step.	One block doesn’t waste the night

That’s prompting advice, not vendor behaviour, and agents don’t always listen.

Make it end itself

A stop phrase finishes the run when a completed turn’s last message contains it.

1. Before you leave, ask the agent to end its final message with TASK COMPLETE once the task is done.
2. In the app, choose Up to or Until done and type the same phrase into Or stop at. A one-turn limit with a phrase is refused.

How it matches:

• Case and spacing don’t matter: Task complete. matches TASK COMPLETE.
• Whole words only: Task completed doesn’t match, and abandoned doesn’t match DONE.
• 3 to 200 characters.
• Only a completed turn counts; a failed or interrupted one pauses the chain, phrase or not.
• The app never stores the agent’s message, only whether it matched.

The catch: “I’ll write TASK COMPLETE once the tests pass” contains the phrase too. Words can mislead, so the turn limit and Stop stay the real safeguards.

When the app steps in anyway

• Three completed turns in a row that each took under a minute pause the chain (the task may be done).
• Three usage-limited turns in a row pause it too.
• Turns that end at a usage limit don’t count toward the turn limit.
• Type in the conversation and a chain pauses (a one-off is cancelled), so you can always step in.

Permission prompts while you’re asleep

• Claude Code in headless mode denies requests nobody can answer, and the turn carries on without that action. The app reuses the session’s last permission mode, so pick one you’d leave overnight.
• Codex approval requests get the answer that stops the turn, so the chain pauses until you’re back. No wording gets past that; the approval policy decides when Codex asks.

Whether to stay in this thread at all is its own question.

The stop phrase is a convenience. The turn limit is the guard, so when you’re unsure, pick Up to 5 over Until done.

And when Continue really is all it needs, send Continue. It’s in the name, after all.