Session modes

Understand provider-defined session modes such as Plan, how they differ from permissions, and how Happier handles plan approval flows.

Session modes are a separate control surface from permissions.

In Happier:

Permissions decide how approvals are handled
Session modes decide how the provider should behave for the current session

This distinction is important because a session can be in Mode = Plan while still asking you for permission prompts.

What a session mode is

A session mode is a provider-defined operating mode for the current session.

Examples:

build
plan
provider-specific defaults or overrides

Happier only shows the Mode control when the active provider/backend supports session modes for that session.

If the provider does not expose modes, the Mode control is hidden.

Mode vs permissions

These two settings solve different problems:

Mode changes what kind of turn the provider is trying to run
Permission mode changes how Happier and the provider handle approvals

That means these combinations are valid:

Mode = Plan + Permission = Default
Mode = Plan + Permission = Read Only
Mode = Build + Permission = YOLO

Mode does not replace permissions.

Plan mode

Plan mode is the most important session-mode example in current Happier builds.

When a session starts or switches into Plan:

the provider is expected to reason about the work and propose a plan
Happier keeps the session in plan mode until the provider asks to exit it
permission prompts can still appear if the provider/runtime requests them

Plan mode should be read as:

“work in planning mode for this session”

It should not be read as:

“auto-approve tools”

Starting a session in plan mode

From the CLI:

happier claude --agent-mode plan
happier opencode --agent-mode plan
happier kilo --agent-mode plan

From the app:

start a new session
open the input controls
pick Mode
choose Plan when it is available

Exiting plan mode

When the provider is ready to leave planning and begin execution, Happier surfaces an Exit Plan Mode user-action request.

This is intentionally a user-action request, not a plain permission prompt.

Common choices are:

Approve Plan
Request changes
provider-specific approval variants

Claude plan mode

Claude’s plan flow is the main provider-specific case today.

In Happier:

Claude Plan is shown under Mode
Claude can still request permissions while in plan mode
the plan-review step is surfaced as Exit Plan Mode

Claude can expose these approval choices:

Approve Plan: leave plan mode and continue normally
Request changes: stay in plan mode and revise the plan
Approve Plan (Accept Edits): leave plan mode and continue with an edit-friendly permission posture
Approve Plan (Bypass All Permissions): leave plan mode and continue with a YOLO-style permission posture

These choices affect what happens after Claude leaves plan mode.

What happens after approval

After you approve a plan:

Happier clears the session’s plan-mode override
the session returns to the provider’s normal working mode
the chosen post-plan permission posture becomes the active permission mode

Example:

Mode = Plan
Approve Plan (Bypass All Permissions)
session returns to build/default mode
permission mode becomes the YOLO-equivalent for the provider

If you choose Request changes, Happier keeps the session in plan mode and sends the revision request back to the provider.

Notifications and inbox behavior

Plan review is also treated consistently across the UI:

it can appear in the transcript
it can appear in Inbox
it can trigger a user-action request notification

Happier keeps plan review separate from generic permission requests so it is easier to understand what decision is actually being requested.

Session modes

On this page