Ask, Plan, and Agent modes - Brightstack Intro Tutorial

At the bottom left of the chat input, you’ll see a mode dropdown: Agent, Plan, and Ask. These modes control how much Bright is allowed to change in your workspace. Mode selector showing Agent, Plan, and Ask

Mode selector showing Agent, Plan, and Ask

Ask Bright to explain

There’s a dropdown menu at the bottom left that says: Agent, Plan and Ask. What’s the difference between the three?

Bright explaining Ask, Plan, and Agent modes

Mode comparison

Mode	Use it when you want to…	Can Bright change your workspace?
Ask	Research, explore, or get answers	No — read-only
Plan	Organize work, set goals, map steps, ask clarifying questions	No — planning only
Agent	Create issues, docs, projects, labels; run sandbox commands; change the workspace; generate code	Yes — full access

Mental model: Ask = questions. Plan = strategy. Agent = getting things done.

In some responses Bright may describe Agent mode as Act. The UI label is Agent — that’s the name to use when teaching or writing docs.

When to stay in one mode

You don’t have to move through every mode every time. Many people work predominantly in Agent whether they’re asking basic questions or planning a major refactor. Limiting scope with Ask or Plan is a good way for non-developers to keep Bright from creating or changing project artifacts until they’re ready.

Next

Continue to Meet the agents.