Kiwi Code DocsRoles & Modes
Switch the AI's behavior with roles and modes to match your current task.
Roles & Modes
Kiwi Code lets you change how the AI approaches your task by switching roles and modes. Roles define who the AI acts as. Modes define how it works.
Roles
A role tells the AI to adopt a specific skillset and persona. Switch roles based on what you're building.
| Role | Command | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Software Engineer | /role senior-software-engineer | General-purpose coding, architecture, debugging, refactoring |
| Zero-to-Ship Engineer | /role xero-to-ship-engineer | Rapid prototyping, getting a project from idea to working code |
| Browser Wizard | /role browser-wizard | Browser automation, web scraping, UI testing |
The default role is senior-software-engineer.
Check or change your role
/role
# Shows: Current role: senior-software-engineer
/role browser-wizard
# Switched to: browser-wizardModes
A mode tells the AI what phase of work you're in. This changes how it responds — whether it plans, builds, or validates.
| Mode | Command | What the AI does |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | /mode plan | Analyzes requirements, outlines approach, asks clarifying questions — doesn't write code yet |
| Build | /mode build | Writes and edits code, runs commands, makes changes to your project |
| Validate | /mode validate | Reviews code, runs tests, checks for bugs and issues — doesn't make changes |
The default mode is build.
Check or change your mode
/mode
# Shows: Current mode: build
/mode plan
# Switched to: planMode availability depends on role
The Zero-to-Ship Engineer role only supports build and validate modes (no plan). The other roles support all three modes.
Recommended Workflow
Use roles and modes together for a structured development workflow:
Plan
Start in plan mode to think through the approach before writing code.
/mode planAsk the AI to analyze requirements:
I need to add rate limiting to the API. What's the best approach?Build
Switch to build mode and let the AI implement the plan.
/mode buildImplement the rate limiting approach we discussedValidate
Switch to validate mode to review what was built.
/mode validateReview the rate limiting implementation for bugs and edge casesQuick Reference
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
/role | Show current role |
/role <name> | Switch role |
/mode | Show current mode |
/mode <name> | Switch mode |