Build, Plan and Chat modes
In shortPick a mode with the switch above the prompt box. Build (the default) changes your app. Plan asks you a few questions with suggested answers, then builds from them. Chat explains and investigates — it reads your code, data, pages and logs — but never changes anything; its Build this button turns a proposal into a build.
Not every message is a change request. Sometimes you want MonstarX to build something, sometimes you want to think a feature through first, and sometimes you only have a question. The three modes let you say which, so MonstarX does exactly what you meant.
Where is the mode switch?
Section titled “Where is the mode switch?”Right above the prompt box, on the left: Build, Plan and Chat. The words on the right of the row say what the chosen mode does, and the send button changes its name to match — Send, Plan or Ask.
Which mode should I use?
Section titled “Which mode should I use?”| Mode | What it does | Changes your app? | Use it when… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build (default) | Writes and changes code, pages, data and settings | Yes | You know what you want: “Add a pricing page”, “Make the header green” |
| Plan | Asks a few questions with suggested answers, then builds from your answers | Only after you answer | The request is big or vague: “Add a members area” |
| Chat | Explains and investigates: reads your code and data, looks at pages, reads the logs | Never | You have a question: “Why is the booking form not saving?” |
Build is chosen again after every Plan request, so you never stay in Plan by accident. Chat stays chosen until you switch back.
What does Build mode do?
Section titled “What does Build mode do?”Build is the normal way to work. Describe a change and MonstarX makes it: it writes the code, updates the database, checks that the app still works and then tells you in plain words what changed.
After a Build request that changed files, MonstarX saves a version you can go back to, and may suggest a QA run depending on your project settings. If your project is linked to GitHub, the change is pushed there too.
What does Plan mode ask?
Section titled “What does Plan mode ask?”Plan mode is for requests where a few decisions change what gets built. MonstarX first plays your idea back in a sentence or two, then asks its questions one at a time.
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Switch to Plan, describe what you want and click Plan.
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Answer each question. Click a suggested answer (the first one is marked Recommended), press its number key, or type in Or write your own answer…. Questions where several answers can apply show tick boxes and a Next button.
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Change your mind? Your earlier answers stay listed above the current question with a Change button. The questions after it follow your new answer.
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After the last question you can add a note in Anything else I should know? (optional). Click Start building.
The questions are about what matters to your app — who uses it, the must-have features, accounts and data, the main pages, the look — never about technology. A follow-up question can depend on an earlier answer, so the count (“Question 2 of 5”) can change as you go.
You can also skip: Skip this question leaves it to MonstarX’s judgment (for the app’s name or look the button reads Pick a name for me or Choose for me), Skip questions skips them all before you start, and Skip the rest and build starts building with what you have answered so far. Typing a new message in the prompt box instead moves on without the answers.
Your answers are kept in the browser while you work through them, so reloading the page does not lose them. People you shared the project with see the questions with “Waiting for the owner to answer.”
What can Chat mode do?
Section titled “What can Chat mode do?”Chat mode is a conversation about your app. MonstarX can read the code, query the app’s database, open a page of the preview and read the preview logs to answer you — but it cannot change anything. There is no new version, no QA and no GitHub push after a Chat answer.
Good Chat questions:
- “How does the booking form save a booking?”
- “Why does the schedule page show an empty week?”
- “Which pages does the site have?”
- “What would it take to add online payments?”
Chat questions are tinted blue and marked Chat in the conversation, and each answer ends with Chat mode · nothing was changed.
How do I turn a Chat answer into a change?
Section titled “How do I turn a Chat answer into a change?”Click Build this under the latest Chat answer. MonstarX switches to Build and sends “Build what you proposed in your last reply.” — so whatever it suggested in Chat gets built.
Can I use Chat or Plan while a build is running?
Section titled “Can I use Chat or Plan while a build is running?”Yes. Chat and Plan requests only read your app, so they do not wait for a build to finish: they answer beside it. While a build runs, the hint reads Answers now, while it builds (Chat) or Asks now, while it builds (Plan). Plan questions answered during a build end with Build next, which queues that build to start when the current one is done. See Keep working while it builds.
Frequently asked questions
Section titled “Frequently asked questions”Does Chat mode use credits?
Yes. Every request, in any mode, uses the model and counts toward your plan's usage. Chat answers are usually small because they change nothing. See Usage and limits.
Can Chat mode ever change my app by mistake?
No. In Chat mode MonstarX is only given tools that read — the code, the database, pages and logs. A tool that changes something is refused even if the model asks for it.
Why did the switch go back to Build after my Plan request?
Plan is used once per request: after you send it, the switch returns to Build so your next message changes the app as usual. Chat stays selected until you change it.
Do I have to answer every Plan question?
No. Skip this question lets MonstarX decide that one, and Skip the rest and build starts building straight away. Skipped questions are sent as "No preference — use your judgment".
Which mode is best for fixing a bug?
Use Chat first if you are not sure what is wrong — MonstarX can read the logs and the code and explain the cause. Then click Build this, or switch to Build and ask for the fix.