Plan mode

Not the same as a read-only mode

Plan mode blocks edits to your source, not activity. Claude still reads files and runs shell commands to explore the project before it writes the plan, so it is a mode for deciding, not a mode in which nothing happens.

Where it bites

Approving the plan is the last checkpoint: it exits plan mode and switches the session to a mode where Claude starts editing straight away. Read the plan for what it will touch and what it leaves out before you say yes, and pick “keep planning” to change it rather than approving and correcting afterwards.

In practice

Press Shift+Tab until the status bar shows plan mode on, or start a session in it with claude --permission-mode plan.

Covered in these lessons

• How a turn works
• Permission modes and Shift+Tab
• Ask for a plan before any code
• From request to commit

Related terms