Daily Use & Modes

OpenCode Multi-Agent provides three primary orchestrator modes and direct access to 17 specialized domain agents.

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Code mode (default)

@code is the default entry point — direct developer; writes, modifies, tests, and verifies code itself without unsolicited delegation:

> @code Fix off-by-one error in pagination logic
> @code Add input validation to registration form

You can still manually delegate auxiliary subagents (@advisor, @explorer, @code-review, @vision) when needed. If a task is cross-cutting, @code will recommend switching to @build.

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Build mode (orchestration)

Switch to @build for cross-cutting tasks — it routes work to the right specialist:

> Add a Spring Boot user registration endpoint with JPA and BCrypt
  → @build routes to @java-dev

> Review my recent commits with focus on security
  → @build routes to @code-review (adds @security if sensitive)

> Design the architecture for a new payment service
  → @build routes to @architect (presents multi-step plan first)

You don't need to specify which agent — just describe the task. For cross-cutting tasks, @build presents an execution plan before starting.

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Plan mode (read-only)

Switch to @plan for analysis-only tasks (no code modifications):

> @plan Audit the codebase for technical debt and security vulnerabilities
  → @plan dispatches @architect, @security, @code-review, @qa in parallel
  → Aggregates findings into a prioritized report

Switch between modes via Tab or @code / @build / @plan.

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Calling specialists directly

You can bypass the orchestrator and call any specialist directly:

> @dba Optimize the indexes on the orders table
> @frontend-dev Create a reusable Button component with design tokens
> @code-review Review PR #42

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Multi-step workflow example

For complex features, @build creates and executes a plan:

## Execution Plan

1. [@architect] — Design event sourcing architecture → ADR + design doc
2. [@dba] — Design event store schema → DDL + migration scripts
3. [@java-dev] — Implement producer and consumer → code + tests
4. [@qa] — Write integration tests → test suite
5. [@security] — Security review → report
6. [@code-review] — Code review → findings
7. [@tech-writer] — Documentation → README + API docs

Proceed?