Plan mode

Plan mode keeps DataMind Oda in a planning posture: Oda investigates the task and presents a plan before it changes anything, and it carries the plan out once you approve it. This page is the reference for how the mode behaves: what entering and leaving change, when a switch takes effect, and what plan mode does not enforce. For the walkthrough with the message box controls, see Using plan mode.

Enter and leave plan mode

/plan is the command that switches the mode. The Command menu describes it as Enter or leave plan mode. Its input hint is [off|message]; the full command list is in Chat with Oda.

• /plan on its own turns plan mode on. Describe the task in your next message.
• /plan <message> turns the mode on and sends your message as the task, so Oda starts with your request.
• /plan off turns the mode off. It works at any time, including when no plan review is waiting, and it also cancels an entry that has not taken effect yet.
• Attachments are allowed with an entry. /plan off refuses them, and the mode does not change: Attachments cannot accompany /plan off.

The chat answers each switch with one line:

• Plan mode on. Use /plan off to leave., or, while a step is running, Entering plan mode (applies from the next step). Use /plan off to leave.
• Plan mode off., or, while a step is running, Leaving plan mode (applies from the next step).
• Plan mode entry cancelled. when an entry was cancelled before it took effect, and Plan mode is already inactive. when the mode was already off.

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.
• A waiting entry can be cancelled. /plan off before an entry takes effect cancels it: Plan mode entry cancelled.
• 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.

The plan review

When Oda has a plan to present, it arrives in a Plan review card with one question: Approve this plan and leave plan mode?

• Approve leaves plan mode: the plan is carried out from Oda's 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, which 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.
• Approving takes exactly the Approve choice, with no written answer.
• The approval applies at Oda's next step: the rest of the step in progress still finishes under the plan.
• Closing the review to type instead does not decide it: Oda stays in plan mode and waits for your message.

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. The card, its side panel view and reopening a plan are covered in Plan review.

What plan mode does not enforce

• It is guidance, not enforcement. Every tool stays available while the mode is on, and the tool list is the same with the mode off and on: the mode shapes how Oda works toward the task, not what it may do.
• It is not an access mode. Entering plan mode does not change what Oda may do without asking you; that is set by the chat's access mode and approval prompts, covered in Command sandboxing and approvals.
• A new chat cannot start in plan mode. There is no plan option when a chat is opened: open the chat, then run /plan.
• A helper cannot show you a review. A helper that runs below another agent cannot open a plan review for you.

Questions, answered

Does plan mode change which tools Oda can use?

No. The tool list is the same with the mode off and on: plan mode adds planning guidance to how Oda works, not limits. What Oda may do without asking you is set by the chat's access mode and its approval prompts; see Command sandboxing and approvals.

What if the plan review does not open?

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 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. You can also cancel a waiting entry yourself with /plan off.

Does plan mode apply to all my chats or just the one where I turned it on?

Just that chat. The mode belongs to the conversation where you set it; every chat keeps its own. Inside a chat, the newest change wins, and the settled mode reads the same in every tab and survives restarts.

What happens to the step that is already running when I switch modes?

Nothing stops mid-step: the step finishes as it is, and the change applies from Oda's next step. The conversation also adds a short notice that the session was switched, to plan mode or back to the default mode.

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; to keep planning instead, choose Keep planning in the review.