A preset is the way Oda runs a chat: the instructions it follows, the capabilities and skills it may use, and the model it starts on. Pick one when you start a chat. To build your own, see Create a custom preset.
In the VS Code extension the chip is not shown; choose the preset in the message box menu instead, under Mode.
These presets come with Oda:
| Preset | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Standard mode | Everyday work: reading and editing files, search, terminal commands and other tools as needed. This is the default. |
| Relentless | Long unattended work: Oda keeps going until the task is done, blocked, or it needs a real decision from you. |
| PTC mode | Tasks that call tools in batches and then filter, group, count or summarise the results. |
| Minimal mode | A bare setup with a terminal tool only, useful for testing and comparisons. |
| Creator mode | Building new capabilities through chat: Oda can write a plugin that adds a feature or a UI, or combine tools and prompts to create your own mode. |
While the switch is off, the default card reads Application default; your saved choice waits and comes back when you turn the switch on again.
On the same page:
Fixed once the chat has started); start a new chat to run under another one.Relentless is for a large task you want finished without checking in. Its card says: Works for hours until it is done, blocked, or needs a real decision. Best in Full access.
Oda turns the request into a goal and keeps going in rounds: it plans with acceptance criteria, runs independent parts in parallel, and loops build, test and fix. Progress goes to a progress file and the to-do list rather than the chat, so it does not stop to ask whether to continue.
A Relentless chat stops at only three points:
It then closes with a short report: what was built, the evidence, the decisions taken, the open risks and what is left.
Worth knowing:
Long runs can use many tokens and change many files, so start from a clean workspace.
No. A chat keeps the preset it started with: the choice is fixed once the chat's first turn has run (Fixed once the chat has started). Start a new chat to run under another preset.
The Choose a mode for new tasks setting is off, so new chats start on the application default. Turn the setting on in Settings > Agent presets; your saved default comes back with it.
No. The access mode (Read Only, Workspace Write, Full access) decides what Oda may do without asking, and the preset decides how it works: its instructions, tools, skills and starting model. See Workspaces, files and permissions.
Yes. The preset belongs to each chat; the default only decides what new chats start in, so changing it does not touch chats that are already open.
At one of three points: a wall (the same blocker survived three genuinely different approaches, or a missing resource blocks the rest), a decision only you can make, or a verified finish. It then writes a report with the evidence, the decisions taken, the open risks and what is left.
Each goal is capped at 300 rounds and 72 hours. A blocker that survives three rounds in a row marks the goal blocked, with the condition and what was tried.
No. Choosing Relentless never changes the chat's access mode; it works best in Full access, where approval prompts do not interrupt the run. It still stops to ask you before anything irreversible or off this computer.
Choosing Relentless is the opt-in for the Ralph autonomous loop, so it works without the switch in Settings > Developer > Advanced features. If your company has locked that feature off, or this computer cannot run it, it stays off. See Advanced features catalog.
The chat keeps running while it is open, but once it closes it cannot be resumed, because the preset it ran under is gone. Deleting a preset also clears a saved default that named it.
No. A saved change applies to chats started afterwards; a chat that has already begun keeps the version it started with.