Discussion mode

In Discussion mode, the agent answers your questions or proposes a plan, without changing anything in your app. It’s useful for thinking before building: understanding how a part works, comparing two approaches, or validating a plan before launching it.

Switch to Discussion mode

1. In the chat input, click the mode button (Building by default), to the right of +.

2. Choose Discussion: “Ask questions, explore ideas or request a plan, without changing your app.”

   Shortcut: Alt + P switches from one mode to the other.

3. The button is highlighted and shows Discussion, and the input reads Ask a question or request a plan…

4. Type your question and send it.

Your message shows in the history with a Discussion tag, so you know later that it didn’t change anything. The mode stays on for the next messages, until you switch back to Building.

What the agent does in Discussion

The agent can read all your project’s code (and your connected context sources, such as Notion or Linear) to answer you precisely. Depending on your request, it:

• answers a question: “How does the contact form work? Where do the messages go?”;
• explains a choice or a problem: “Why is the Pricing page slow to show up?”;
• proposes a numbered plan: the steps it would follow to make the change, without making it.

I want to add a members area with sign-in. Give me a plan, without building anything for now.

It never claims to have changed anything: in Discussion, its writing tools refuse any change.

Apply the plan

Once the agent has replied in Discussion mode, an Apply this plan button shows up below its latest reply.

1. Read the plan. If it doesn’t suit you, keep discussing (“Keep it simpler: no roles, just one account per person”) until it’s right.
2. Click Apply this plan.
3. Highwind switches back to Building mode and sends “Apply the plan you just proposed.” The agent then builds what it described, like any other request, and a new version is created.

You can also simply switch back to Building and write your own request, based on the plan.

What’s disabled in Discussion

During a message in Discussion mode, the agent cannot:

• create, edit or delete files;
• install dependencies;
• generate images;
• change your app’s database;
• add a server or wire a connector;
• show you the data choice card (“Your call”);
• change anything in your connected accounts (Kameleoon, for example), even if you allowed it to.

It can, however, read the code, search the project, check the logs and ask you questions with a form (see The agent’s questions).

Good to know

• No version is created: a Discussion reply doesn’t change your project, so there’s nothing to restore.
• Credits: a Discussion reply uses credits like any agent reply, based on the work done (often little, since it only reads and answers). See Credits.
• Unsaved code: in Discussion, you can send a message even with unsaved changes in the Code tab, since nothing will be changed. To Apply this plan, save or discard those changes first.
• Selected element: you can attach an element of the preview to a question (“Why isn’t this button aligned?”). See Select an element.
• Mentioned connectors: if you mention a connector with @, the agent takes it into account in its answer or plan, without wiring it.

Tip

For a big new feature (user accounts, payments, several pages), start with a plan in Discussion: you adjust course before the agent writes any code, and you save round trips.

See also

Chatting with the agentBuilding mode, steps, cards.

Writing good requestsPhrase a clear request.

The agent's questionsThe agent's forms, in Discussion too.

How the agent worksWhat happens during a run.