Create and edit agent presets

A mode is an agent preset: the instructions Oda follows, the capabilities and skills it may use, and the model it starts on. Agent modes introduces the modes that come with DataMind Oda. This page shows how to build one of your own in Settings > Agent presets, and how to change or remove it later. To choose a mode for a task instead, see Choose a mode for a new task.

Create a preset

1. Open Settings > Agent presets.
2. Click New preset, or open a preset's card menu (for example Actions for Standard mode) and choose Duplicate to start from that preset. A duplicate arrives named <name> copy and keeps the source preset's description.
3. Use Start from to choose which preset the new one copies: it takes that preset's model, capabilities and instructions, and the original stays unchanged.
4. Fill in the fields below, then click Save. While it saves, the button reads Saving…; Cancel closes the editor without saving.

Presets that come with DataMind Oda, and presets installed for you, are read-only: a change to one is refused with Built-in and installed presets cannot be changed. Duplicate the preset and edit the copy. Duplicate it and edit your copy; the presets you make sit under Custom.

To build a preset by conversation instead, use Creator mode: it starts a task where you describe the preset and Oda creates it.

The fields in the editor

• Name: required, up to 64 characters. The placeholder reads For example, Data analyst.
• Description: up to 500 characters. It appears with the preset on its card.
• Model: keep Use the default model (the field shows which model that is), or pick one of the models offered to you. Type to filter the list (Search models); No model matches appears when nothing fits. A model that is no longer offered is marked not available, with a warning. A chat on this preset starts on the model the preset names, until you choose another model for that chat.
• Instructions: up to 32,768 characters. They say how Oda should work under this preset. Instructions add to Oda's own guidance and never replace it. You can insert {{model}}, {{cwd}} (the folder the chat works in) and {{provider}}; Oda fills them in for each chat.
• Capabilities: one switch per row; switch off anything tasks on this preset should not use. The rows are labelled: Project instructions (AGENTS.md), Terminal commands, Read and edit files, Search files, Background jobs, Skills from folders, Use skills, The /goal command, Goals, Plan mode, Long conversation compaction, Subagents and workflows, Ask you questions, To-do list, Web search and pages, Inspect the app configuration, Show files to you, Programmatic tool calling, Install and manage plugins.
• Skills: choose which skills Oda may use under the preset: All skills (every skill, including ones installed later), Only selected, or All except selected. The search box filters the list, and the field shows how many are selected, for example 3 selected. An empty list reads No skills are installed yet. or No skills match your search. A skill that is no longer installed stays listed as Not installed and stays selected. While Use skills is off, the section is locked, and a preset with no skills settings gets them when you switch Use skills on; the hint names the switch to turn on: Turn on “Use skills” to choose skills. Skills in chat covers how Oda picks and runs skills.

If the model or skill lists cannot be read, the editor says so with the reason, for example Could not read the models: <reason>.

Save and delete

• A save applies at once: chats that start afterwards use the saved version, and a new chat that is still blank picks it up. A chat that has already started keeps the version it began with, and the helpers it starts join that version.
• If a save is refused, the editor stays open and shows Could not change the preset: <reason>. If the app cannot save presets, the save is refused: This application cannot save presets.
• Edit opens a preset you can change, in the editor titled Edit <name>. Delete opens a confirmation (Delete <name>?), and Delete preset removes the preset.
• Deleting a preset clears it as your new-task default if you had set it there, and new tasks use the application default again. A chat that ran on a deleted preset cannot be resumed after it closes.

Questions, answered

Why can't I edit a preset that comes with DataMind Oda?

Presets that come with DataMind Oda, and presets installed for you, are read-only. A change to one is refused: Built-in and installed presets cannot be changed. Duplicate the preset and edit the copy. Duplicate it, edit the copy and save; your presets live under Custom.

Why was my save refused?

The editor checks the preset before saving and shows what to fix:

• Enter a name. when the name is empty.
• Use at most 64 characters for the name. when the name is over 64 characters.
• Use at most 500 characters for the description. when the description is over 500 characters.
• The instructions are too long. when the instructions pass 32,768 characters.
• Double braces can only insert {{model}}, {{cwd}} or {{provider}}. when the instructions contain another double-brace word.
• The skill selection is not valid. when the skills choice cannot be saved.
• Choose a model from the list or use the default model. when the model choice cannot be saved.

If the change itself cannot be saved, the editor stays open with the reason: Could not change the preset: <reason>. If the app cannot save presets at all, it says This application cannot save presets.

What can I write in the instructions?

Your own guidance for chats on this preset: how the work should be done, what to check first, what to avoid. Instructions add to Oda's own guidance and never replace it. You can insert {{model}}, {{cwd}} (the folder the chat works in) and {{provider}}; Oda fills them in for each chat. Any other double-brace word is refused when you save, and the instructions can run up to 32,768 characters.

Why can't I change the skills on a preset?

The preset's Use skills capability is off, so the Skills section is locked while it stays off. Its hint names the switch to turn on: Turn on “Use skills” to choose skills. Switch Use skills on, then pick the skills for the preset.

What happens to a selected skill that is no longer installed?

It stays in the list, marked Not installed, and stays selected; the preset saves as usual. Deselect it if you no longer want it.

What if the model a preset names is no longer available?

The editor and the preset's card mark it not available and warn about it. Pick another model from the list, or go back to Use the default model. A model saved earlier that has since left the list is kept, and the preset still saves unchanged; a newly picked model that is not offered is refused with The model "<name>" is not available. Choose one of the listed models or use the default model.

Do my changes reach chats that have already started?

No. A chat that has already started keeps the version it began with, and the helpers it starts join that version. Chats that start after the save use the new version, and a new chat that is still blank picks the change up as well.

What happens to my default when I delete a preset?

Deleting the preset you set as your new-task default clears that choice, and new tasks use the application default again. A chat that ran on the deleted preset cannot be resumed after it closes. Choose a mode for a new task covers the default for new tasks.