Plan Mode was introduced by Cursor in October 2025. Plan Mode assists AI Agents in executing Complex Projects and long-term tasks by providing clear Context and Direction right from the start. In other words, Plan mode sets up a plan before execution in Cursor AI.
1. What Plan Mode does?
- Does not execute immediately - AI will NOT automatically edit files, run commands, or change your system
- Plan Mode does deep research into your codebase
- Plan Mode asks you for clarification on requirements (to avoid misunderstandings).
- Plan Mode Creates a detailed plan (It lets you review/edit the plan like a design document.)
- Only then does it generate the code.
2. How to use Plan Mode
- Start planning by pressing Shift + Tab in the agent input.
- Answer clarifying questions on your requirements for the best output quality.
- Review or edit the detailed plan, then build directly from your plan when ready.
- Optionally, save the plan as a Markdown file in your repository for future reference.
3. Example in my demo project
I have a plan to change language from English to Vietnamese in my demo project.
Start planning by pressing Shift + Tab in the agent input.
" change language from English to Vietnamese"
Cursor will ask you a few questions to Clarify your Requirements .
you only select the Answer and click Continue
Cursor will create a detailed plan (Markdown file)
It lets you review/edit the plan like a design document.
Then click to Build the plan when ready.
You can Review the results once more before applying them
As you can see, Plan Mode will be very useful when you have the following needs:
- For complex, multi-step tasks
- When there are Major changes in the codebase:
- When you want to preview what the Cursor AI (Agent) will do before execution
- When you need to ensure the Cursor AI (Agent) correctly understands the requirements.
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