Agent Modes

XibeCode features a set of core agent modes (personas) optimized for different types of tasks. Each mode has a unique personality, set of allowed tools, and behavioral characteristics.

Quick Reference

Switching Modes

# Via CLI flag
xibecode run "task" --mode plan
xibecode run "task" --mode debugger

# In chat mode
xibecode chat
> /mode plan
> /mode agent

Development Modes (Core)

Agent Mode (Default)

Full autonomous coding with all capabilities enabled.

Best For: Building new features, full-stack development, multi-step coding tasks, installing dependencies, running tests and commands.

Capabilities: Read and modify files, create new files and directories, run shell commands, execute tests, git operations (read and write), web search and fetch.

xibecode run "Add a user authentication system" --mode agent

Engineer Mode

Persona: Alex the Implementer

Focused implementation mode for building features.

Best For: Implementing specific features, writing clean maintainable code, following specifications, writing tests for implementations.

xibecode run "Implement the checkout flow" --mode engineer

Planning & Analysis Modes

Plan Mode

Persona: Strategic Planner

Interactive planning mode with web research, clarifying questions, and structured implementations.md generation.

Best For: Creating detailed implementation plans, researching solutions, breaking down complex features into tasks, generating step-by-step plans with code snippets.

How It Works:

1. Reads the codebase and researches online
2. Asks clarifying questions (multiple-choice in WebUI, inquirer prompts in CLI)
3. Generates implementations.md with checkbox tasks, file paths, and code snippets
4. Shows a plan preview with "View Plan" and "Build" buttons
5. On "Build", switches to Agent mode to execute the plan automatically

Tools Available: File reading, web search, fetch URL, git read, context search, and write to implementations.md only.

xibecode run "Plan how to add authentication to this app" --mode plan

Architect Mode

Persona: Anna the Designer

System design and high-level architecture planning.

Best For: System design documents, component architecture, tech stack selection, design patterns, scalability planning.

xibecode run "Design the microservices architecture" --mode architect

Researcher Mode

Persona: Sanvi the Scholar

Deep research and investigation mode.

Best For: Investigating complex topics, reading documentation, analyzing papers and specs, synthesizing information.

xibecode run "Research best practices for API rate limiting" --mode researcher

Quality & Testing Modes

Debugger Mode

Persona: Dex the Detective

Systematic debugging and root cause analysis.

Best For: Finding and fixing bugs, analyzing error messages, root cause investigation, targeted surgical fixes.

Approach:

1. Reproduce the issue
2. Isolate the root cause
3. Apply minimal fix
4. Verify the fix works

xibecode run "The login form is not working. Fix it." --mode debugger

Tester Mode

Persona: Tess the QA Engineer

Comprehensive testing and quality assurance.

Best For: Writing unit tests, integration testing, test coverage improvement, TDD workflows.

xibecode run "Write tests for the user service" --mode tester

Review Mode

Persona: Nova the Critic

Code review and quality analysis (read-only).

Best For: Code quality review, best practices check, performance analysis, maintainability assessment.

Restrictions: Cannot modify files.

xibecode run "Review the authentication module" --mode review

Security Mode

Persona: Sentinel the Guardian

Security analysis and vulnerability detection (read-only).

Best For: Security audits, vulnerability scanning, injection attack detection, authentication review, data exposure analysis.

Restrictions: Cannot modify files, requires confirmation.

xibecode run "Perform a security audit" --mode security

Specialized Modes

Team Leader Mode

Persona: Arya the Leader

Task coordination and delegation to other modes.

Best For: Complex multi-step projects, coordinating multiple concerns, breaking down large tasks.

The Team Leader delegates tasks to specialized agents (Engineer, Architect, Tester, etc.) rather than implementing directly.

xibecode run "Build a complete e-commerce system" --mode team_leader

Product Mode

Persona: Agni the Strategist

Product requirements and user stories.

Best For: Requirements gathering, user stories, feature prioritization, PRD creation.

xibecode run "Create user stories for the dashboard" --mode product

SEO Mode

Persona: Siri the Optimizer

SEO and web optimization.

Best For: Keyword research, on-page SEO, meta tag optimization, web performance.

xibecode run "Optimize the landing page for SEO" --mode seo

Data Mode

Persona: David the Analyst

Data processing and analysis.

Best For: Data analysis, log processing, metrics definition, data visualization prep.

xibecode run "Analyze the server logs for errors" --mode data

Pentest Mode

Pentest Mode

Persona: Penetration Tester

Dynamic penetration testing and exploit simulation for running applications.

Best For: Running HTTP-based attacks (SQL injection, XSS, auth bypass, traversal) against a dev instance of your app, then generating a detailed pentest-report.md with findings and a security score.

Workflow:

1. Start your app (or let the agent start it via run_command).
2. Use HTTP and agent-browser (via run_command) to probe endpoints and UIs.
3. Write pentest-report.md with vulnerabilities, attack vectors, and a 0–100 score.
4. Optionally switch to debugger/agent modes to fix findings.

xibecode run "Pentest this project and generate pentest-report.md" --mode pentest

Tool Permissions by Mode

Each mode has access to specific tool categories:

Mode Transitions

Modes can automatically transition based on the task:

• Plan mode may suggest switching to Agent mode for implementation
• Team Leader delegates to Engineer for coding tasks
• Agent can switch to Debugger when encountering bugs

Configure auto-approval policy in your config:

{
  "autoApprovalPolicy": "always"
}

Best Practices

• Start with Plan mode for complex tasks to understand the codebase first
• Use Debugger mode for bugs rather than Agent mode for more targeted fixes
• Use Security mode before deploying to production
• Use Review mode for code quality checks without modifications
• Use Team Leader for complex projects that span multiple concerns

Next Steps

• Tools Reference — Explore all 40+ tools
• Configuration — Configure mode behavior
• Examples — See modes in action