Modes

OpenMLR uses two modes — Plan and Execute — to keep the agent focused on the right kind of work.

Plan Mode (P)

Purpose: Gather context, ask questions, create structured plans before doing any work.

What the agent can do:

• Ask clarifying questions via ask_user (structured options UI)
• Create and update task plans via plan_tool
• Read files and search the codebase (read-only filesystem tools)
• Search the web and papers for quick feasibility checks (budget: 5 calls before warning)
• Generate PLAN.md (auto-saved to .project-meta/plans/PLAN.md in the workspace)

What the agent cannot do:

• Write or edit files
• Execute code (bash, sandbox)
• Write paper sections
• Use the research sub-agent

Visual indicator: Messages have an amber border.

When to use: Start here. Let the agent understand the problem, ask questions, and build a plan before switching to Execute.

Research budget

Plan mode has a research call budget. After 5+ research tool calls (papers, web_search, GitHub, HuggingFace), the agent is warned to save comprehensive research for Execute mode tasks.

Execute Mode (E)

Purpose: Do the work. Follow the plan built in Plan mode.

What the agent can do:

• All tools except ask_user
• Research papers, crawl citations, spawn sub-agents
• Write and edit files (auto-targeted to the project workspace)
• Draft paper sections with auto-save (to papers/ in workspace)
• Run code in bash or sandboxes (Docker/SSH/Modal)

What the agent cannot do:

• Use ask_user (no structured questions -- it should be working, not asking)

TODO approval

In Execute mode, creating a new task plan or adding tasks requires user approval. The agent proposes the changes and a review UI lets you approve, edit, or reject before they take effect.

Visual indicator: Messages have a blue border.

When to use: Once you have a plan and the agent knows what to do.

Switching Modes

Method	Action
P/E button	Click the mode toggle above the input area
Cmd+M (Mac) / Ctrl+M (Windows/Linux)	Toggle between Plan and Execute modes

The mode applies per-message. You can switch freely between messages.

Mode Enforcement

Mode restrictions are enforced at three layers:

1. System prompt — The agent is instructed about what it can and cannot do in the current mode
2. Tool filtering — The tool router only presents mode-allowed tools to the LLM
3. Runtime blocking — If a tool call somehow bypasses filtering, the router returns an error message instead of executing

When a blocked tool is called, the agent receives:

Tool 'bash' is not available in PLAN mode.
Plan mode is for planning and asking questions only.

PLAN.md

When the agent creates a plan in Plan mode, it auto-generates a PLAN.md file that is pinned in the resources panel. This plan persists across context compactions and serves as the agent's reference during Execute mode.