Using Contral
Agent modes & plan approvals
When to use Fast, Plan, Deep and Recursive modes, which plans include them, and how plan approval works.
Contral's Build agent has four modes: Fast, Plan, Deep and Recursive. Pick one from the mode chip in the prompt row before you send a message.
Contral agent modes at a glance#
| Mode | Best for | How it works | Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fast | Quick edits, single files, small fixes, "how do I…" questions | Answers and edits in a single pass | All plans |
| Plan | New features, bigger changes, anything you want to see before it happens | First turn is read-only and produces a plan; you approve or reject it, then it executes | Pro and above, all AppSumo tiers |
| Deep | Hard bugs, multi-file refactors, architecture decisions | Uses a reasoning model with a longer thinking loop | Pro and above, all AppSumo tiers |
| Recursive | When quality matters more than speed | Generator → Critic → Revisor loop that reviews and revises its own output | Free: 1 run per day. Pro and above, all AppSumo tiers: no daily cap |
On the Free plan, Plan and Deep show a PRO badge and can't be selected.
Fast mode#
Fast is the default. It's the quickest way to get an edit or an answer, and it's right for most day-to-day work. If Fast decides a task needs a short plan, it applies the plan automatically and moves on.
Plan mode and plan approvals#
Plan mode shows you the strategy before any file changes.
- Select Plan and send your request.
- Contral reads your project without changing anything, then shows a Review plan card with the steps it intends to take.
- Choose:
- Approve and run to carry out the plan.
- Reject to discard it ("Plan rejected."). You can then send a new message with corrections.
You can also approve by typing a reply such as "yes", "ok", "approve", "go ahead" or "looks good", or reject with "no", "cancel", "reject" or "stop".
To change a plan, reject it and describe what you want differently in your next message. Even after you approve, every file edit still comes to you for review hunk by hunk. See Build mode.
Deep mode#
Deep mode uses a slower, higher-quality reasoning loop for hard problems. Use it when Fast gives a shallow answer, or when a change touches many files. Deep takes longer per message.
Recursive mode#
Recursive mode drafts a solution, critiques it, and revises it, repeating until the result passes its own review. By default it makes 3 passes; on Pro+, Teams, AppSumo Tier 3, or with your own API key, it can make up to 5.
Turn on the contral.recursive.runTests setting to have Recursive mode run your tests as part of its self-review.
Each Recursive turn uses one AI message and one recursive run. On the Free plan you get 1 recursive run per day; when it's used up you'll see "Recursive mode is limited to 1 run per day on the Free plan."
Which model each Contral mode uses#
Contral routes each request to a model based on your mode and plan. On the Free plan requests use a fast model. On Pro (and AppSumo Tiers 1 and 2), Deep mode uses a reasoning model. On Pro+, Teams and AppSumo Tier 3, Contral uses its best reasoning model (premium model access). Type /model to see the current routing and any BYOK providers you've added.
If you bring your own key, you choose the model yourself.
Errors when choosing a mode#
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Plan mode is a Pro feature. Upgrade to unlock plan-then-execute workflows… | You're on the Free plan. |
| Deep mode is a Pro feature. Upgrade to run the slower, higher-quality reasoning loop… | You're on the Free plan. |
| Recursive mode is limited to 1 run per day on the Free plan. | Wait for the daily reset (00:00 UTC) or upgrade. |
| Could not reach the usage server to authorise recursive run. Try again. | A network problem. See Model & response errors. |
Still stuck? Ask the support assistant in the corner of this page, or open a support ticket.