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Choose a modeLovable has two modes:
  • Plan mode → think through the problem, explore options, and decide on an approach
  • Build mode → implement changes and verify the outcome
Plan mode is for decision-making. Build mode is for execution.The two modes are designed to work together, and you can switch between them at any time.

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Overview

is Lovable’s planning and reasoning mode, designed for moments when thinking, exploration, or clarity is more valuable than immediate execution. It can reason across multiple steps and inspect files, logs, or other relevant project context as needed. In Plan mode, you can explore ideas, investigate issues, and reason about changes before any code is written. Lovable often asks clarifying questions to better understand your goals and constraints. When there is a clear implementation to propose, Lovable creates a formal plan that you can inspect, edit, and refine. Plan mode never modifies your code. Every message in Plan mode deducts one credit.

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What Plan mode is for

You can use Plan mode to:
  • Explore product or feature ideas before committing to a direction
  • Ask questions about your codebase or existing behavior
  • Investigate bugs, errors, or confusing behavior safely before making code changes
  • Compare multiple approaches and understand tradeoffs
  • Design architecture or database schemas
  • Understand the impact of potential changes before making them
Many Plan mode conversations are exploratory and end with clarity or direction. When a conversation does lead to a concrete change, Plan mode provides a safe way to review and refine the proposed approach before anything is implemented.

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How to use Plan mode

You can use Plan mode in two ways:
  • Start in Plan mode when beginning a new project or exploring an idea
  • Switch to Plan mode at any point during development to pause execution and think
Plan mode is intentionally interactive. Lovable may ask clarifying questions to understand requirements, constraints, or tradeoffs before proposing a plan.

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Activate Plan mode

Click Plan next to the message input, then describe what you want to explore or decide. Be specific about what you want
Use it for exploration
Use it for debugging
Request detailed breakdowns
Ask for reviews and improvements

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When Plan mode creates a plan

Plan mode does not always produce a structured implementation plan. A plan is created only when there is a clear implementation to propose. If a plan is generated, it appears in a dedicated Plan view as a readable, structured document. You can open it in full screen to review the entire approach before anything is implemented. A plan typically includes:
  • A high-level overview of the approach
  • Key decisions, assumptions, and constraints
  • Components, data models, and APIs
  • Step-by-step implementation sequencing
  • Optional diagrams such as schemas, flows, or architecture
From the Plan view, you can:
  • Edit the plan directly as markdown to add constraints, remove steps, or rewrite sections
  • Highlight any part of the plan and describe what should change about that section
  • Approve the plan when you are satisfied with the approach
  • Skip the plan to move on without approving it
You can ask follow-up questions or request changes directly in the chat, and Lovable will update the plan accordingly. When you approve a plan:
  • Lovable switches to Build mode
  • Implementation begins based strictly on the approved plan
You can return to Plan mode at any time to generate a new plan based on the current state of your codebase.

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Revise a specific part of the plan

Instead of describing a change in the chat, you can point at it. Select any part of the plan and a small box appears next to your selection with Describe the change…. Type what should change and press Enter, and Lovable edits just that section rather than rewriting the whole plan. Press Escape to dismiss the box without sending. Each revision is a Plan mode message, so it costs one credit. When Lovable revises a plan, the Plan view opens the new version as a diff so you can see what moved: removed wording is struck through and new wording is highlighted, down to individual words. Use Show changes and Edit plan above the plan to switch between the diff and the editable plan. You can highlight text in the diff as well, and send feedback on it the same way.
The diff appears once a plan has been revised at least once in the same round of planning, so the first version of a plan has nothing to compare against. The diff is not available in the plan view on mobile.

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Plans and persistence

While you are working on a plan, it lives in .lovable/plan.md. When you approve it, Lovable archives that file to a dated copy in the .lovable/plan/ folder, named after the plan, and .lovable/plan.md starts fresh for your next plan. You can inspect both the current plan and the archived ones like any other project file. Previous plans are not lost. Approved plans stay in the .lovable/plan/ folder, and every plan remains available in your chat history, where it can be reopened in the Plan view for reference or comparison. This allows you to:
  • Iterate on ideas over time
  • Compare different approaches
  • Re-plan safely as requirements evolve
  • Help new collaborators understand the reasoning behind implementations

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FAQ

No. Code changes only happen after you approve a plan and Lovable switches to Build mode.
Yes. Every message in Plan mode deducts one credit.
The plan you are working on is saved to .lovable/plan.md. When you approve it, Lovable archives it to a dated copy in the .lovable/plan/ folder. Earlier plans also remain accessible from chat history.
Yes. Earlier plans remain accessible from chat history.
Yes. Plans are fully editable before approval.
Yes. Plan mode is well suited for investigating issues and deciding on fixes before implementation.
Plan mode was previously called Chat mode. The name was changed to better reflect how the mode is intended to be used before implementation.
Yes. You can reference code files from your current project directly in chat to make edits and discussion faster and more precise.Type @ and select a file, or use the Reference file in chat button in the code editor. For example:
This only references files within your current project. To reference another project, see Cross-project referencing.
Yes. Lovable supports cross-project referencing within the same workspace.You can use @ mentions to reference another project directly, or simply ask Lovable to reuse an existing implementation. The agent can access relevant code, files, assets, and chat history from other projects and adapt them to your current one.Cross-project access is read-only and respects workspace permissions.

Related topics

FAQImplement changes in Build modeDashboard overviewDebug and improve your appManage training data and privacy