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Plan Mode

Let the agent interview you, write a spec under specs/, and implement it in one click.

In Plan Mode the agent does not build anything. It asks you questions, writes the answers into one Markdown spec in your project, and stops. When the spec says what you want, Implement this spec hands it to the agent in normal mode.

Use it before work where a wrong assumption is expensive: a new board, a product with a battery or enclosure, a firmware architecture, anything you would otherwise describe over several messages.

Turn Plan Mode on and off

Where How
Chat composer Press Shift+Tab to switch. A Plan chip appears in the composer toolbar
Leaving Press Shift+Tab again, or click the Plan chip (Exit Plan Mode · Shift+Tab)
Home screen A new project started from the Home prompt opens its first chat in Plan Mode

The mode belongs to the thread: other threads keep their own mode. Plan Mode works in the desktop app and in the browser.

The interview

The agent first looks at the project only enough to avoid asking what it already shows. Then it asks rounds of questions in the composer area, most consequential first. Typical topics:

  • what the device is for and who uses it,
  • where it is used: environment, enclosure, power source,
  • hard limits: size, battery life, cost, quantity, certifications, deadline,
  • interfaces and connectors,
  • for a custom PCB, who fabricates it and with which process,
  • which goals win when they conflict,
  • how finished the result must be: proof of concept, working prototype, or production.

A detailed first message gets fewer rounds; a vague one gets more.

Answering a question

Each round has one to four questions; the header shows "2 of 4". Each question has two to four options, and the best default is marked Recommended.

Option What it does
A listed option Your answer. If the question says "Select all that apply.", pick several
Something else Opens a box ("Describe what you have in mind"); Cmd/Ctrl+Enter moves on
You decide "The agent picks a sensible default and notes it as an assumption."

Clicking a single-choice option moves straight to the next question. For multi-select and Something else, click Continue. Back returns to an earlier question in the round. On the last question, click Send answers (or Send answer when there is only one). The timeline keeps a record of each round: "Asked 1 question", Answered, Custom response, or Not answered if the run was interrupted.

The agent asks the same way outside Plan Mode whenever it needs a decision only you can make.

The spec file

The agent keeps one spec per conversation under specs/ in the project, for example specs/greenhouse-sensor-node.md. It updates the same file after every round and re-reads it first, so edits you make between turns are kept.

my-project/
  specs/
    greenhouse-sensor-node.md
  embedr.yaml
  src/
  pcb/

Sections:

Section Contents
Intent What you are building and why
Requirements Each marked [confirmed] (you said or chose it), [assumed] (the agent chose it, or you answered You decide), or [open] (still undecided)
Decisions Choices made, each with its reason
Out of scope What this work will not do
To research Questions to settle during implementation: parts to compare, datasheets to read, limits to check
Plan Written once no open item would change the design: the architecture, the work in order, and how each part will be checked

An excerpt:

## Requirements

- Runs 12 months on 2x AA cells. [confirmed]
- Reports temperature and humidity every 10 minutes over LoRaWAN (EU868). [confirmed]
- IP54 enclosure, wall mounted. [assumed]
- Fabricated by PCBWay, standard 2-layer process. [confirmed]
- External antenna connector. [open]

## To research

- Lowest-power humidity sensor with a ±2 % RH spec.
- LoRa module with a sleep current under 2 µA.

Each turn ends with a short message: what changed in the spec, what is still open, and the spec's path. The spec itself is not repeated in chat.

The spec card and implementation

When a Plan Mode reply finishes, it shows a card with the spec's title and path, and an Open button that opens the file in the editor.

Below the last reply, the composer area asks Ready to start implementation?:

Button Effect
Implement this spec Switches the thread out of Plan Mode and sends the agent to implement the spec
Keep refining Hides the card and returns to the composer so you can keep planning

You can edit the spec directly before you click Implement this spec. When implementing, the agent:

  1. reads the spec first,
  2. treats every [confirmed] requirement as binding, including named parts, values, ratings, packages and the board's fabricator,
  3. settles the To research items before building,
  4. asks you before changing or substituting a confirmed requirement, and updates the spec to match,
  5. verifies the finished work.

If the reply did not produce a spec file, the buttons read Implement this plan and Revise the plan.

What Plan Mode will and won't do

Plan Mode will Plan Mode won't
Read project files to avoid redundant questions Edit any file except Markdown files under specs/
Ask you questions Run terminal commands, builds, uploads or flashes
Create and update the spec Install libraries or dependencies
Offer realistic options from engineering knowledge Change PCB sources, schematics, boards or rules, or run placement, routing or exports
Run simulations, index datasheets or build mechanical models
Do web research, read datasheets, search the component library or compare parts; these go under To research

If the agent tries a blocked action, the call is not executed and it is told why. Leave Plan Mode, or click Implement this spec, to let it act.

Tips

  • Say what you already know in the first message ("2-layer, PCBWay, USB-C powered, ESP32-S3"); the interview gets shorter.
  • Use You decide freely for things you do not care about; they are recorded as [assumed] so you can review them later.
  • Keep one thread per spec. A new thread in Plan Mode starts a new spec.
  • Commit the spec with your project; it is a readable record of the design intent.
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