Plan vs Build Modes
What each mode can do — Plan, Build and Agent — and when to use which.
The mode switch is always visible in the chat toolbar. It decides what CodeProso is allowed to do, not just how it behaves.
At a glance
| Plan | Build | Agent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read & search files | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Propose diffs | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Apply changes | — | After you approve | Automatically, with checkpoints |
| Run formatter / tests | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Keeps going on its own | — | — | ✓ until goal or stop condition |
Plan mode
Read-only by design. CodeProso can read, search and reason, and it will describe what it would change — but it cannot write to disk. Use it to:
- Understand an unfamiliar codebase.
- Scope a change before committing to it.
- Review a branch or a pull request.
Build mode
CodeProso can propose edits and run your configured tools. Every change arrives as a diff you can apply or reject, file by file. Nothing is written until you click Apply, and a checkpoint is saved first.
Agent mode
For well-defined goals — “make the invoice tests pass”, “migrate these components to the new API”. CodeProso loops on its own: edit, run, read the output, fix, repeat.
Agent mode stops when:
- the goal is met (for example, tests pass),
- it reaches the attempt limit you set,
- it needs to act outside the project folder, or
- you press Pause.
A checkpoint is taken before each change, so you can review the run afterwards and roll back any step.
Checkpoints and undo
Checkpoints are listed in the sidebar. Choose Undo to checkpoint to restore every file touched since then. Checkpoints are local to your machine and separate from git — commit when you’re happy.