> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.plungeai.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Plan mode and todos > Two separate things share the word "plan": the step list the model keeps as it works, and plan mode, an agent that researches and writes a plan file before anything is changed. Two separate things share the word "plan": the **step list** the model keeps as it works, and **plan mode**, an agent that researches and writes a plan file before anything is changed. For the full design and the code paths, see PLAN-MODE.md (`apps/ocean-coding-agent-rust/docs/PLAN-MODE.md` in the repository); this page is the operator's summary. ## The step list (todos) For work with three or more distinct steps the model keeps a todo list — one item per step — and Ocean pager's todos pane shows it live. A single edit, one command or a plain question gets no list: the same rule Claude Code, opencode, Kilo Code and Grok Build use. Each row ticks through four states: | Glyph | Meaning | |---|---| | `[ ]` | pending | | `[»]` | in progress | | `[✓]` | completed | | `[✕]` | cancelled | The model writes the list as a fenced ` ```todo ` block in its reply (or through its todo tool); the newest complete block replaces the whole list, so the pane always reflects the latest one. In the pager, `ctrl+t` toggles the todos pane (see [19 · Ocean pager](/oceancode/pager)). If the model skips the list and then does real multi-step work anyway (twelve or more tool calls with no plan), the next step carries a reminder to write it; a plain answer is never reminded. A settled turn that still has open items is worked off (see [08 · Bounding a long run](/oceancode/bounding-a-long-run)). `OC_PLAN=off` turns the directive, the reminder and the work-off off for a run; the todos pane and `/plan` keep working. ### The always-plan floor If the model has not planned yet, `oceancode` shows one synthesized row — your prompt text — so the list is never empty. The moment the model writes a real plan, that floor steps aside and does not come back for the session. ### Editing the plan yourself — `/plan` You can edit the list while a step runs; the model merges your changes with its own on the next step. | Command | Effect | |---|---| | `/plan add ` | Add a pending row. | | `/plan done ` | Mark row `n` completed. | | `/plan cancel ` | Mark row `n` cancelled. | | `/plan edit ` | Rewrite row `n`. | | `/plan remove ` | Delete row `n`. | A row you add is open work: the run keeps going until it is done or a bound trips (see [08 · Bounding a long run](/oceancode/bounding-a-long-run)). If you add a to-do while the agent has already finished, it counts as progress — the run picks the work back up for one more turn instead of stopping. ## Plan mode Plan mode is a distinct **agent**, not a key. In it the model researches and writes a plan, and may change nothing else: it may read and search, run read-only commands and send out explore agents, and its one writable place is the plan folder, `.oceancode/plans/` (`.md` and `.html` files only). - **Enter it** by selecting the `plan` agent — in Ocean pager, a bare `/plan` or `/plan `, or Shift+Tab to `Plan` (the row-edit verbs above are the only `/plan` forms that do not switch mode). - **The plan file.** Every plan-mode session writes one file, `.oceancode/plans/--.md`, where `` comes from the session id. It holds: - the goal and the research findings, with `file:line` references; - the chosen approach; - a Mermaid workflow diagram; - the to-dos as one ` ```todo ` block, with sub-steps indented; - a verification check per to-do, and any open questions. The model updates the same file as the plan changes. It writes an `.html` page beside it only when you ask for one. The folder lives in your project, so the plan is there to read, edit or commit. - **Review and leave it.** When the plan is ready the model calls `plan_exit`. That refuses until the plan file exists with its to-do block, then asks you to review it. In Ocean pager the plan opens in the plan viewer, where you can comment on lines and then: - **approve** (`a`): the plan's to-dos become the session's to-do list, the file is marked `status: approved`, and the session switches to the `build` agent. Build first checks the plan's findings against the code, splits large to-dos into sub-to-dos, and then implements them one by one, keeping the file's status current. The run keeps going until every to-do is done (see [08 · Bounding a long run](/oceancode/bounding-a-long-run)); - **send it back** (`s`, type your notes, Enter): the model stays in plan mode, revises the file with your notes and line comments, and asks again; - **abandon** it (`q`): plan mode ends and nothing is built. Other editors (Xcode) show the same choice as a question: `Build`, `Keep planning` or `Abandon`. You can type feedback there too. The step list keeps working throughout: plan mode changes *what the model may do*, not how progress is tracked. ## See also - [06 · Session ledger and export](/oceancode/session-ledger-and-export) — where the plan and turns are recorded.