How to Use Plan Mode in Bolt.new (Guide)

Highlights

Plan mode is a chat mode in Bolt.new where you plan and ask questions without changing your code.
Turn it on with the Plan button in the bottom-right corner of the chatbox. It turns blue when it's on.
It uses fewer tokens than Build mode, because it doesn't make changes to your project.
The fill-in plan below covers what a good first plan needs: purpose, users, pages, data, logins, and the first feature.
When the plan is ready, the "Implement this plan" button switches you to Build mode.

Bolt.new builds your app from a description. Plan mode is where you work out the description.

Once your project exists, Plan mode is the one place in Bolt.new where a prompt doesn't change your app. You can ask the wrong question, change your mind three times, and throw the whole idea out, and your project stays the way it was. That makes it the place to settle the decisions every later prompt depends on.

What is Plan mode in Bolt.new?

Plan mode is a chat mode in Bolt.new, an AI app builder, where you can plan and ask questions without making changes to your code (Bolt.new docs, 2026). As of October 2026, you turn it on with the Plan button in the bottom-right corner of the chatbox. The button turns blue while Plan mode is on, and clicking it again returns you to Build mode.

Build mode is the default: every prompt there writes or changes code. Plan mode answers instead of building. It can read your existing project, research tools and services online, suggest design changes, help you debug, and write out an implementation plan. Some Bolt.new help pages also call it Discussion mode.

How is Plan mode different from Build mode?

Plan mode talks through your app; Build mode changes it. In Build mode, every prompt you submit updates your code and uses tokens (Bolt.new docs, 2026), while Plan mode uses fewer tokens because it doesn't make changes to your project.

This table compares the two modes:

	Plan mode	Build mode
What happens to your code	Nothing changes	Bolt.new writes or edits it
Token use	Fewer tokens	Uses tokens on every prompt
Best for	Deciding what to build, debugging, choosing tools	Building what you've decided
How to switch	Click Plan (it turns blue)	Click Plan again, or use "Implement this plan"

One exception: if you start in Plan mode from the Bolt.new homepage, before a project exists, Bolt.new starts by creating the base structure of your app and then shares the plan (Bolt.new docs, 2026). After that first step, Plan mode leaves your code alone.

When should you use Plan mode?

Use Plan mode before any change you'd regret building wrong. That's the start of a new app, the start of a big feature, and any time something breaks and you don't know why. It's also the first step of building your app in layers: settle what the app does before you build any of it.

The moments it pays off most:

Before a new app: work out the pages, the data, and who logs in.
Before a big feature: find out what it needs and what it might break.
When something breaks: track down the cause before you change any code.
When you're choosing a payment, email, or map service: compare what fits your app.
When a page feels hard to use: get design ideas before you commit to one.

What should you put in a plan?

A good first plan answers six questions: what the app is for, who uses it, what pages it has, what it stores, who logs in, and what it does first. Add two more that keep the plan honest: how it should look, and what waits for later. Answer them in one Plan mode prompt and Bolt.new can turn them into an implementation plan you can check before anything gets built.

Copy this into Plan mode and fill in the brackets:

I want to plan an app before building anything.

What it's for: [the problem it solves for your business]
Who uses it: [customers, staff, you, and what each person needs to do]
Pages: [the screens you expect, even if you're not sure]
What it stores: [the information it has to remember, like bookings or orders]
Who logs in: [who signs in, and what each person can and can't see]
The first feature: [the one thing it has to do on day one]
How it should look: [a few words: simple, bold, matches my logo colors]
Not in version one: [ideas to save for later]

Turn this into a step-by-step implementation plan. Tell me what's missing or
what I should decide before we build. Don't build anything yet.

Two lines do the most work. "Not in version one" keeps the plan small enough to build one feature at a time. "Tell me what's missing" asks Plan mode to find the gaps before any code exists to fix.

Here's the template filled in for an example business (an example, not a customer): a three-person house-cleaning company.

What it's for: customers book cleanings online instead of calling me.
Who uses it: customers book; my two crew members see their jobs; I see
everything.
Pages: home, services and prices, book a cleaning, crew jobs.
What it stores: customers, services with prices, bookings with a date and
a morning or afternoon window.
Who logs in: me and the crew. Customers book without an account. Crew only
see their own jobs.
The first feature: the booking form.
How it should look: clean and friendly, green and white.
Not in version one: payments, reminders, reviews.

How do you turn a plan into a build?

When the plan looks right, click "Implement this plan," and Bolt.new switches to Build mode and applies the changes (Bolt.new docs, 2026). Other quick action buttons, like "Show an example" or "Refine this idea," vary by project.

For anything bigger than a small change, build the plan in pieces instead of all at once. Ask Plan mode to number the steps, implement the first, test it, and save a version. Then return to Plan mode before the next piece if you have questions, or stay in Build mode if you don't. That keeps each change small enough to check, which is the point of building one feature at a time.

A plan also changes as you build, and that's fine. When a new idea touches what the app stores or who logs in, switch back to Plan mode and work it out there before you prompt the change.

What doesn't Plan mode do?

Plan mode doesn't change your code once a project exists, so it can't fix anything on its own. It tells you what to do; Build mode does it. It also isn't free: Plan mode uses fewer tokens than Build mode, not zero. And on a brand-new project started from the homepage, it builds your app's base structure before sharing the plan.

The cheapest change to an app is one you talk through before Build mode writes it.

Start building free: bolt.new

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Bolt.new's help center uses both names: one guide covers "Plan or Discussion Mode," and the main Plan mode page calls it Plan Mode. Either way, you chat with Bolt.new about your app without changing your code, then switch to Build mode when you're ready to make the change.

Yes. Plan mode in Bolt.new reads your project for context, so you can ask about the app you've already built: why a page is slow, what a feature would affect, or where a bug is coming from. It answers without editing anything.

You can use Plan mode in Bolt.new to find the bug and decide on the fix, but not to make the change. Describe what's going wrong, ask what's causing it, and agree on a fix. Then switch to Build mode, or click "Implement this plan," to apply it.

Yes. Say it's a mobile app in your first Plan mode prompt; Bolt.new's docs recommend that you name it as a mobile app in your prompt (Bolt.new docs, 2026). Planning for a phone changes the pages, the navigation, and how people sign in, so settle it before Bolt.new builds anything.

Both. Plan the whole app once in Bolt.new's Plan mode so the pages, data, and logins are settled, then come back before each big feature. The first plan sets the order; the shorter plans keep each feature small enough to build and test on its own.