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Plan and Act

Dline has two modes: Plan for investigating and discussing an approach, and Act for doing the work. Both share the same conversation within a task, and you can switch at any time.

Switching modes

Section titled “Switching modes”

The Plan / Act toggle at the bottom-right of the input area shows the current mode; click it to switch. Hovering over the toggle shows:

  • Plan: “In Plan mode, Dline will gather information to architect a plan”;
  • Act: “In Act mode, Dline will complete the task immediately”.

The tooltip also shows the keyboard shortcut for switching (“Toggle w/ …”). A new installation starts in Act mode.

Selecting the Plan / Act switch at the bottom right of the input area toggles between the two modesSelecting the Plan / Act switch at the bottom right of the input area toggles between the two modes

Plan mode

Section titled “Plan mode”

In Plan mode, Dline reads files, searches code, maps the architecture, and discusses an implementation approach with you. It is instructed not to implement or run state-changing commands; under the Standard prompt profile it may still run read-only commands or write planning documents.

When Dline finishes a plan in Plan mode, a Plan Created result appears in the chat. Once you agree with the plan, use the toggle to switch to Act mode and start implementing.

Act mode

Section titled “Act mode”

In Act mode, Dline can create and edit files, run commands, and run tests. Whether each action needs your approval depends on your auto-approve settings.

For small, well-defined changes you can start directly in Act mode. When requirements are unclear or the change is broad, agreeing on an approach in Plan mode first is usually safer.

What happens when you switch

Section titled “What happens when you switch”

Switching modes does not create a new task; the conversation stays in the same task.

  • Context check: if Plan and Act use the same Profile, the switch completes immediately. If the modes use different Profiles, Dline estimates the size of the request after the switch. When it exceeds the target model’s compaction threshold, a Compact context before switching? dialog explains that the context will be compacted with the target Profile before the switch. Choose Cancel or Compact & Switch.
  • Switch status: while switching, the toggle is disabled and shows states such as Checking…, Confirm, Compacting…, and Switching….
  • Failed switch: Switch not completed appears with Dismiss and Retry; the original mode stays active.
  • Input drafts: text, images, and files in the input box travel with the switch. In an existing task they are sent once after the switch completes; if Dline is waiting for you to answer a question or confirm a plan, the draft becomes your reply to that interaction. On the welcome screen the draft stays in the input box until you send it. Cancelling or a failure never discards the draft.

Using different models for Plan and Act

Section titled “Using different models for Plan and Act”

Plan and Act can use different Profiles (that is, different providers and models):

  1. Click the model selector in the input area.
  2. Next to Available Models, turn on the Split Model toggle (tooltip “Use different models per mode”). It is off by default.
  3. Pick a Profile on the Act tab and on the Plan tab.

With the toggle off, both modes use the same Profile. To create and manage Profiles, see Model configuration.

/deep-planning

Section titled “/deep-planning”

Type /deep-planning in the input box to have Dline plan more systematically before writing code. The menu describes it as “Create a comprehensive implementation plan before coding”. The command instructs Dline to:

  1. investigate the codebase first (including read-only terminal commands where needed);
  2. ask clarifying questions only when necessary;
  3. write an implementation plan document;
  4. create a follow-up task for the implementation.

The command uses different instructions depending on the active prompt profile (Standard or Lite). It guides the model’s behavior but cannot guarantee that every affected file is identified.

Exception: YOLO mode

Section titled “Exception: YOLO mode”

If Yolo Mode is on under Settings → Features (off by default), Dline tries to switch from Plan to Act automatically after creating a plan and continues executing. See auto-approve.

Section titled “Related”