Plan mode in Claude Code is a permission boundary. It lets Claude inspect and reason without immediately editing files.

Use it when the task is unclear, risky, or broad.

What Plan Mode Should Produce

A useful plan includes:

• The files Claude inspected.
• The implementation options.
• The chosen path and why it is smallest.
• The files expected to change.
• The verification commands.
• The stop conditions.

Prompt:

Enter plan mode. Research the smallest safe way to add refresh-token rotation.
Compare at most two implementation paths. Do not edit files.

Approving the Plan

Before switching from planning to implementation, check the file list and verification command. If either is missing, the plan is not ready.

Good handoff:

Implement option B only. Write the regression test first. Run the targeted test
and bun run lint. Stop on unrelated failures.

Plan Mode Versus Opus Plan

Plan mode controls permissions. opusplan controls model routing. They combine well for complex tasks, but they solve different problems. Plan mode says “do not edit yet.” opusplan says “use a stronger model for planning.”