# Modes
URL: /en-US/docs/agent/modes

Switch among Agent, Plan, Ask, and Debug. The same workspace, different permissions.



Spirit has four agent modes. Desktop and the CLI cycle them with Tab: **Agent → Plan → Ask → Debug → Agent**.

| Mode      | What it does                                                                                                                                                                           |
| --------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Agent** | The default. Reads, edits, runs commands, and verifies.                                                                                                                                |
| **Plan**  | Plans only. Clarifies with [ask\_questions](./ask-questions.mdx), writes a plan with `create_plan`, then asks you to start implementing or switch back to Agent.                       |
| **Ask**   | Read-only. Explains and searches. File edits, shell, patches, and media generation are unavailable. Switch to Agent to change code.                                                    |
| **Debug** | Investigates a bug: ranks hypotheses, inserts NDJSON logs under `.spirit/logs/` (wrapped in `#region agent log`), and waits for you to say the issue is resolved or still reproducing. |

Use Plan when the change is large or the goal is fuzzy. Use Ask when you only want to understand the repo. Use Debug when you can reproduce a failure and want a systematic pass. Leave Agent on for ordinary edits.

Tab completion in the editor is a different feature. It lives under Settings → Tab, not in this cycle.