Modes

Choose how V3Code should talk, investigate, plan, debug, coordinate, or build.

V3Code’s mode picker changes what the agent is allowed to do with a turn. Your selected model, keys, and project stay the same; the tool and approval boundaries change. Open the picker in the chat composer to switch modes.

Built-in modes

Mode	What it does	Reach for it when
Chat	Conversation without callable tools.	You want a quick answer or want to discuss attached context without the agent taking action.
Read	Read-only investigation with search, index, memory, and structural tools but no source edits or terminal commands.	You want the agent to inspect the real project and report back.
Plan	Read-only investigation plus Markdown plan documents.	You want a grounded implementation plan before execution.
Debug	Reproduces, localises, proves, fixes, and guards one bug with a bounded tool surface.	A failure needs evidence and a minimal verified repair. See Debug mode.
Multitask	Acts as a foreman: plans, dispatches work agents, and reconciles their results. The coordinator does not directly edit source or run terminal commands.	A larger job can be divided into independent pieces.
Agent	Full execution — reads, edits, runs commands, the whole tool set.	You’re ready to ship a change end to end.

Custom agents appear below the built-in modes. Configure Custom Agents opens the agent setup screen, including compatible ACP agents. See External agents in native chat.

Approvals: what needs your OK

Modes control what class of action the agent takes; approvals control whether a given action runs automatically. Reads are automatic. Actions that change things ask first, grouped into a few classes:

Edits — creating, deleting, rewriting, or editing files, renaming symbols, generating images.
Terminal — running commands, the test runner, the sandbox, and any git write (commit, push, checkout…).
Browser & notes — navigating/typing/clicking in the browser, and saving persistent notes.

Read-only tools (reading files, searching, structural lookups, git status/diff) do not prompt. Modes can narrow the available tools further. Debug, for example, allows a small approval-gated repair surface but withholds deletes, git writes, browser mutation, and MCP tools.

Modes vs. the V3 / IDE layout

Don’t confuse the agent’s modes with the V3 / IDE pill in the title bar — that switches the layout (full-screen chat vs. classic editor), not the agent’s behavior.