Plan Mode - Claude Code
Explore and propose changes without executing them.
Plan mode lets Claude think out loud, read code, and propose a full plan before it makes any changes. It's the deliberate, measure-twice-cut-once mode.
What it does
In plan mode Claude can run read-only tools (Read, Grep, Glob, WebFetch) but is blocked from Edit, Write, and most Bash. The output is a plan - what it would do, in what order, and why. You review the plan, tweak it, then exit plan mode to execute.
When to use it
- Large refactors where a wrong first step is expensive.
- Exploring a new codebase before touching anything.
- Planning a multi-file change you want a human to sign off.
- Any task where the cost of a bad edit is higher than the cost of a slower first turn.
Gotchas
- Plan mode can still read sensitive files. It's about preventing writes, not reads.
- A great plan still needs a careful execution turn. Don't skip the review.
- Exiting plan mode without executing is fine - you can use it as pure pre-reading.
Official docs: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/permission-modes.md#analyze-before-you-edit-with-plan-mode
Technical content at the intersection of AI and development. Building with AI agents, Claude Code, and modern dev tools - then showing you exactly how it works.
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