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Overview
Build mode (previously Agent mode) is RShift Sites’s autonomous execution mode, designed to implement changes directly in your project.
When you give RShift Sites a task, it takes ownership of execution end to end. It understands your intent, explores the codebase for context, applies changes across files, and resolves issues that appear during development. While it works, you can see progress through visible tasks and review the results before moving on.
What Build mode is for
You can use Build mode to:
- Implement features or changes once an approach is decided
- Fix bugs or errors end to end
- Refactor code across multiple files
- Apply coordinated changes across frontend, backend, and configuration
- Debug issues that arise during implementation
- Inspect logs and network activity to identify problems
- Fetch external documentation or assets when needed
- Generate or edit images and videos for use in your project
- Verify results before finishing
All changes are applied directly to your project and surfaced through file diffs and summaries. You can follow along step by step in the Details view.
How to use Build mode
Build mode is active unless you switch to Chat mode or Plan mode.
To use it, describe what you want and send your message. Clear requirements and constraints help RShift Sites produce better results.
Be specific about what you want
Add a contact form with name, email, and message fields. Validate email format and show error messages inline.Describe expected behavior
When users click ‘Add to Cart’, show a success message and update the cart count in the header. Store cart items in local storage.Provide context for complex changes
Update the dashboard to show sales data from the last 30 days. Use the existing Chart component and match the styling used on the analytics page.Set guardrails for sensitive areas
Add a new feature to @src/pages/dashboard. Do not modify @src/shared/Layout.tsx or the existing authentication logic.Tasks and execution visibility
While RShift Sites is working, tasks appear in the project chat showing:
- Current step being executed
- Files being modified
- Tools being used (search, web fetch, image generation)
- Progress through multi-step implementations
For a closer look, click the activity card while RShift Sites works, or Details on a finished change. The Details view opens where the preview usually appears. Its Timeline tab lists every step RShift Sites took, including tool calls, and its Changes tab shows the resulting file changes. Click Hide details to return to the preview.
This visibility helps you:
- Follow progress on complex builds
- Understand the steps being performed
- Stay oriented during complex changes
- Spot issues early if something seems off
Send follow-ups mid-build
RShift Sites working on a request doesn’t block you. Send a follow-up, a correction, or a new idea at any time to steer the work, and RShift Sites picks it up at its next natural stopping point without losing completed work. Some messages, like Try to fix and inline text edits from the preview toolbar, run as their own request after the current one. See Send follow-ups while RShift Sites works for details.
If you still have the now-deprecated message queue, your messages keep queueing in order instead. Send now on a queued message sends it into the running task like a follow-up, and RShift Sites picks it up at its next natural stopping point. The Message queue setting in Settings → Your account lets you disable the queue and switch to follow-ups. Only accounts that still have the queue see this setting.
Debugging and verification
When using Build mode, RShift Sites does more than ensure code compiles.
As part of investigation and problem solving, the agent can:
- observe build errors and failures from test runs
- inspect console output and network requests when verification tools are used
- reproduce reported issues using browser testing or targeted backend calls
- verify that fixes work as expected by running appropriate checks
RShift Sites has access to verification tools such as browser testing, frontend tests, and edge function verification to help understand system behavior, validate user workflows, and ensure backend logic works as expected. Most of these tools run only when you ask for them.
For a detailed explanation of testing and verification capabilities, see Test and verify your app.
How long RShift Sites works on one message
RShift Sites works on one Build mode message for up to 10 hours, so a large task, like a refactor across multiple files or a long cycle of testing and fixing, is more likely to finish in a single message. This applies automatically, and there is nothing to turn on. Most messages finish well before the limit.
In the final half hour, RShift Sites wraps up: it finishes what is in progress instead of starting new work, and summarizes what is done and what remains, so you can ask it to continue in a new message.
Because a Build mode message is billed on the work RShift Sites does, a message that runs for hours costs more credits than a short one. Credit check-ins still apply, so a long message pauses when it crosses your check-in level and asks whether to continue, and the stop button stops it at any time. The 10-hour limit applies to Build mode messages only. To have RShift Sites keep working until a large task is completely finished, set that message as a goal. Credit check-ins apply to goals too.
Pricing
Pricing for Build mode is usage-based. Cost depends on factors such as:
- Number of files modified
- Complexity of logic changes
- Amount of codebase exploration required
- Use of tools such as verification, browser checks, web search, or image generation
Many requests cost less than one credit, while more complex tasks may cost more. RShift Sites does not show an upfront credit estimate before a Build mode request runs, because cost depends on work that is discovered during execution. To follow the cost, open the More options menu below RShift Sites’ response: it shows Credits used while the request is still running, and the final cost when it finishes. See Credits and usage and Time and cost while RShift Sites works.
If your workspace runs out of credits while RShift Sites is working on a message, the message pauses rather than ending. A card in the project chat lets you add credits and resume where RShift Sites left off, or have RShift Sites wrap up what’s in progress. See What happens when you run out of credits.
Control the cost of a Build mode request
You have several controls to shape the cost of a Build mode request:
- Scope each prompt narrowly. Ask for one change at a time and name the specific files or areas to touch, as shown in How to use Build mode. Broad prompts like “clean up the app” tend to explore more of the codebase and modify more files, which costs more than a scoped prompt like “add email validation to the sign-up form in @src/pages/signup.tsx”.
- Plan first for large or unfamiliar changes. Switch to Plan mode to review the intended approach, files involved, and steps before any code is changed. A Plan mode message costs one credit, plus the cost of any subagent research RShift Sites runs while planning, so you can check the approach before you spend Build mode credits on implementation.
- Let credit check-ins catch expensive messages. When a single message crosses your check-in level, 20 credits by default, RShift Sites pauses with the cost so far, and you choose whether to continue, adjust the level, or have RShift Sites wrap up. Manage check-ins in account settings. In beta. See Build costs.
- Stop a request in progress. Click the stop button while RShift Sites is working to halt the current task immediately. Stopped requests are charged only for work completed up to that point, and completed changes are kept. Use the undo button to revert to the previous state if you want to discard the changes as well.
- Watch progress in the Details view. While RShift Sites works, click the activity card in the project chat to open the Details view, which shows each step, tool, and file change as it runs, so you can stop early if the task is expanding beyond what you intended.
- Check your balance before starting large tasks. Open Settings → Plans & credit usage to see your remaining credits, or click your workspace name at the top of the editor’s sidebar to see the credit bar. See View your credit balance.
- Be deliberate with goals. A message you set as a goal keeps RShift Sites working until the goal is achieved, which can use a large number of credits. Set a goal only for a large task you want finished completely.
FAQ
Does RShift Sites modify my project directly when in Build mode?
Yes. RShift Sites applies changes directly to your project when using Build mode. All modifications are visible through file diffs and summaries.
What happens if errors occur during implementation?
RShift Sites can inspect logs, runtime output, and network activity and iterate on fixes until the issue is resolved or clarified. See Test and verify your app for more information.
Can I see what RShift Sites is doing while it works?
Yes. Visible tasks show each step of execution, including progress and which files are being modified.
Can multiple messages be sent while working in Build mode?
Yes. While RShift Sites is working, keep typing: RShift Sites picks up each message at its next natural stopping point and includes it in the work without losing anything it has already done. See Send follow-ups while RShift Sites works. If you still have the message queue, your messages keep queueing in order instead. Send now on a queued message sends it into the running task like a follow-up, and you can disable the queue in Settings → Your account.
How do I stop a request, and what happens when I do?
Click the stop button while RShift Sites is responding to immediately halt the current task. This lets you stop a request to provide more context or correct the agent.
RShift Sites keeps all changes made up to that point, so you won’t lose completed work. Stopped requests are charged based on the work completed so far.
If you want to remove the changes, use the undo button to revert to the previous state.
What happens if I run out of credits while RShift Sites is working?
The message pauses rather than ending, and a card appears in the project chat. Choose Add credits to resume where RShift Sites left off, or Finish up to have RShift Sites finish the work in progress and stop. Paused work waits until you decide. See What happens when you run out of credits.
When should I switch to Plan mode?
Switch to Plan mode when you want to:
- Think through a complex change before implementation
- Compare multiple architectural approaches
- Review or edit a plan before any code is changed
- Investigate an issue and decide on a solution first
Can I reference a specific file in the project chat?
Yes. You can reference code files from your current project directly in the project chat to make edits and discussion faster and more precise.
Type @ and select a file, or use the Reference file in chat button in the code editor. For example:
@src/components/UserProfile.tsx add a loading state hereThis only references files within your current project. To reference another project, see Cross-project referencing.
Can RShift Sites reuse code or features from another project?
Yes. RShift Sites supports cross-project referencing within the same workspace.
You can use @ mentions to reference another project directly, or simply ask RShift Sites to reuse an existing implementation. The agent can access relevant code, files, assets, and project chat history from other projects and adapt them to your current one.
Cross-project access is read-only and respects workspace permissions.