# Modes PurrCode separates two kinds of modes: **task modes** and **permission modes**. Both are shown in the header and travel with the session, so a read-only mode is a constraint the daemon enforces rather than a hint. ## Task modes `Ctrl+K` / `/mode` switches between: | Mode | Meaning | |---|---| | **Ask** | Conversation and read-only inspection. Nothing is written. | | **Plan** | Produces a plan and pauses. The plan stays open to a reply — say what to change and it is rewritten as a numbered revision and paused again, for as many rounds as you need. Nothing is written to disk in any of them. | | **Build** | Carries out the settled plan: implements, tests, and validates. | | **Review** | Reviews the current work and diff. | To start executing a plan you settled on, use `Build this plan` or `/resume` in the same session. ## Permission modes `/permission` switches between: | Mode | Meaning | |---|---| | **Ask** | Every proposed action requires explicit human approval. | | **Auto** | Actions authorized by durable policy proceed without interrupting for each one. | | **Full Access** | Uses the full authority the process already holds. Grants nothing the process does not already have, and the UI says so. | Full Access does not grant any permission the process does not already hold. Read-only modes refuse mutation; the daemon enforces the boundary. ## Adaptive workflow New sessions use a daemon-resolved `auto` task mode. Based on task evidence, the daemon selects a workflow profile: | Profile | Meaning | |---|---| | **Direct** | Single specialist lane for straightforward work. | | **Standard** | Balanced plan/build/test flow. | | **Ultra** | Bounded parallel specialist lanes for complex work. | The TUI header also shows the current workflow and search policy; `/usage` exposes the recorded token/cost ledger.