Do you use plan mode for everything or only big stuff?

Open · 264 views · asked 4 days ago by wendy_l · edited

I just found out about plan mode (shift+tab twice). It's great for bigger things but for "make the button blue" it feels like extra steps. How do you decide? Is there a downside to always planning?

What I’ve tried

Used it for my last 3 tasks. It's slower but I had fewer surprises. For small ones I skipped it and it was fine.

Comment

Same question. I plan everything now because the one time I didn't it rewrote my auth. max_ships_it 3 days ago · edited

3 answers

tom_brewer4 days ago · edited

My rule: plan mode when the change touches more than one file or when I can't describe the end result in one sentence. "Make the button blue" is neither.

Downside of always planning: you get used to skimming plans. A plan you don't read is just a slower prompt.

Comment

'A plan you don't read is just a slower prompt' is going on a sticky note. wendy_l 3 days ago · edited

sergio_ruiz3 days ago · edited

Slight disagreement with Tom: I plan for small things too when they touch data (migrations, auth, anything with delete). Not because it's big but because a wrong guess there is expensive.

The real value isn't the plan, it's that you can say "no, not like that" before any file changed.

Comment

Fair, 'touches data' is a better rule than file count. Stealing it. tom_brewer 3 days ago · edited

thandeka3 days ago · edited

Another point: in plan mode it reads a lot of files first. On big repos that eats context before any code is written. For small edits, just point it at the exact file.

Comment

True on big repos. I tell it which folder to look at in the plan prompt. sanne_dev 3 days ago · edited

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Do you use plan mode for everything or only big stuff?

What I’ve tried

3 answers

Your answer