Plan mode

Plan mode is a way to agree on the approach before Oda changes anything: Oda explores the task first, presents its plan for your review, and carries the plan out only after you approve. Use it for larger tasks, where the approach matters more than speed.

Turn plan mode on

1. In the message box, type /plan, or choose Plan from the Command menu (the + menu in the message box). The menu describes it as Enter or leave plan mode, with the input hint [off|message]. Commands are listed in Chat with Oda.
2. To give Oda the task together with the switch, add it after the command, for example /plan prepare the quarterly review. Any text after /plan passes to Oda as the task; a bare /plan simply turns the mode on.
3. Attachments are allowed when you enter plan mode, so you can add files to the message if the task needs them.
4. The chat confirms the switch. When Oda is idle, plan mode is on at once: Plan mode on. Use /plan off to leave. While a step is already running, it applies from the next step: Entering plan mode (applies from the next step). Use /plan off to leave.

While plan mode is on, a Plan chip shows in the message box, and the hint there invites you to describe your task so Oda can draft the plan.

Review and approve the plan

With plan mode on, Oda explores first, then presents its plan for review in the chat. The plan appears as a Plan review card, and takes its title from the plan's first heading (or Plan when it has none). The review asks one question: Approve this plan and leave plan mode?

• Approve leaves plan mode, and Oda carries the plan out from its next step. The result reads Plan approved - plan mode exited; carry out the plan starting with your next step.
• Keep planning stays in plan mode: your feedback goes back to Oda, and it revises the plan and presents it again. The result reads The user chose to keep planning; revise the plan and present it again., or The user chose to keep planning; their feedback: <feedback> when you add your words.
• Closing the review to type instead. Oda stays in plan mode and waits for your message: The user dismissed the plan review to speak instead; stay in plan mode, stop here, and wait for their message.

To approve, choose Approve itself: approving takes exactly that choice and no written answer. The approval applies at Oda's next step: the rest of the step in progress still finishes under the plan.

A review opens only when Oda has a plan to present: a plan is non-empty Markdown that starts with a heading. If a chat cannot show the review, Oda reports the problem instead of a card, and /plan off remains the way out. Presenting a plan does not end the mode on its own: the review waits for your decision. Reading the full plan, the card's side panel view and its other controls are covered in Plan review.

Turn plan mode off

1. Click the Plan chip in the message box, or type /plan off. The chip's icon becomes a cross when you point at it, showing that pressing it turns the mode off.
2. The chat confirms the switch: Plan mode off. when Oda is idle, and Leaving plan mode (applies from the next step). while a step is running.
3. If you changed your mind, /plan off also cancels an entry that has not taken effect yet: Plan mode entry cancelled. When the mode is already off, the chat answers Plan mode is already inactive.

• Attachments cannot come with the exit. /plan off refuses attachments and the mode does not change: Attachments cannot accompany /plan off.
• If the exit fails. The message box shows Failed to exit plan mode; point at the message to read the reason, and try the chip or the command again. The chip stays until the chat confirms the change, and while the exit runs, a second click does nothing.
• You do not need a review to leave. /plan off works at any time, including when no plan review appears.

When a switch takes effect

• Idle or busy. With Oda idle, the change applies at once. While a step is running, the step finishes as it is, and the change applies from Oda's next step.
• Waiting changes are not kept. A change that has not taken effect yet lives only while the app is running: if you close DataMind Oda before it applies, it does not apply later, and the chat keeps the mode that last took effect. A change that has taken effect is part of the chat and survives restarts.
• One state per chat. Each chat keeps its own mode. Inside a chat, the newest change wins, and the settled mode reads the same in every tab.
• A switch is noted in the conversation. When the mode changes while a step is running, a short notice records that the session was switched, to plan mode or back to the default mode.

What plan mode does not do

• It does not lock Oda's tools. Plan mode is guidance, not enforcement: every tool stays available, and the tool list is the same with the mode off and on. Oda can still act while the mode is on. What Oda may do without asking you is set by the chat's access mode and its approval prompts: see Workspaces, files and permissions and Command sandboxing and approvals.
• It is not an access mode. Entering plan mode does not change the mode button in the message box, or what Oda may change on your computer.
• A new chat cannot start in plan mode. There is no plan option when a chat is created; open the chat, then run /plan.
• A helper that is still running cannot open a plan review.

Questions, answered

How do I turn plan mode on?

Type /plan in the message box, or choose Plan from the Command menu. Add your request after it (/plan ...) so Oda starts with the task, or run it bare and describe the task in your next message. Attachments are allowed with the entry, and the chat confirms the switch.

How do I turn it off?

Click the Plan chip in the message box, or type /plan off. You can leave this way at any time, including when no plan review appears. If an entry has not taken effect yet, /plan off cancels it, and the chat answers Plan mode entry cancelled.

What if I want changes to the plan, not approval?

Choose Keep planning in the review: Oda stays in plan mode, takes your feedback, and presents a revised plan. If you close the review to type instead, Oda also stays in plan mode and waits for your message.

Does plan mode stop Oda from changing my files?

No. Plan mode is guidance, not a lock: the tool list is the same with the mode off and on. What Oda may change without asking you is set by the chat's access mode and its approval prompts; see Command sandboxing and approvals.

When does a plan-mode change take effect?

When Oda is idle, the change is immediate. While a step is running, nothing stops mid-step: the step finishes as it is, the change applies from Oda's next step, and the chat says so in its confirmation.

What happens if I leave the plan review unanswered?

Nothing is approved: the review waits, and Oda stays in plan mode until you answer it or write a message. Closing the review to type does not approve the plan.

What if the plan review does not open?

A review opens only when Oda has a plan to present: non-empty Markdown that starts with a heading. If a chat cannot show the review, Oda reports the problem in the step instead of opening a card, and you can leave plan mode yourself with /plan off. Leaving never needs a review.

Does a waiting mode change survive if I close Oda?

No. A change that has not taken effect yet lives only while the app is running: if you close DataMind Oda before it applies, it does not apply later, and the chat keeps the mode that last took effect.

Does plan mode apply to all my chats or just one?

Just the chat where you set it; every chat keeps its own mode. The settled mode is part of the chat: it survives a restart, and it reads the same in every tab.

Can Oda leave plan mode on its own?

No. Presenting a plan does not end the mode: the review waits for your decision. Plan mode ends when you approve the plan, or when you leave it yourself with /plan off.

Is plan mode still on after I approve a plan?

No. Approving leaves the mode from Oda's next step, and the plan is carried out from there. To plan another task, turn the mode on again with /plan.

Can I start a new chat in plan mode?

No. There is no plan option when a chat is created; open the chat and run /plan.