When you send a message in the chat panel, Caffeine can either build immediately or ask you clarifying questions first. This behavior is controlled by the build mode selector, which appears at the bottom-left of the chat input box.
There are three modes: Instant, Thinking, and Pro. Your selection persists across sessions and applies to all projects on your account.
Instant
Caffeine builds immediately without asking questions.
This is the default mode. Use it when your request is clear enough that you don't need the AI to check its understanding first — or when you prefer to iterate quickly and course-correct after seeing the result.
The only exception is if your request is unsafe or genuinely impossible to build without clarification. In those cases, the AI will ask regardless of mode.
Thinking
Caffeine asks at least one round of clarifying questions before building.
After you send your message, the AI responds with questions about anything that's ambiguous in your request. You answer, and then it builds. If your answer introduces new ambiguities, the AI may ask one more round before proceeding — but it caps at two rounds and then builds with what it has.
Use Thinking when your request has real design decisions buried in it: which user can do what, how should conflicts be handled, what should happen in edge cases. Surfacing those questions before the build tends to produce a more accurate first result.
Pro
Caffeine asks up to three rounds of questions and never builds until you explicitly ask it to.
After exhausting its questions, the AI signals it's ready but waits for you to say "build" (or similar). This gives you full control over when the build starts and a chance to review the AI's understanding before it commits.
Use Pro for complex features where the cost of a wrong first build is high, or when you want to be confident the AI has understood the full scope before it starts generating code.
Overriding the mode mid-conversation
In any mode, if you tell the AI to skip the questions — "just build it", "stop asking and build", or similar — it will proceed to build immediately regardless of the current mode setting. The mode selector is a default behaviour, not a hard constraint.
Switching modes
Click the mode label at the bottom-left of the chat input (it shows the current mode: Instant, Thinking, or Pro). A small menu opens showing all three options with a short description of each. Select a different mode — it takes effect immediately for your next message.
Your selection is saved in your browser and persists between sessions. It applies across all your projects.
Frequently asked questions
Does the build mode affect credit usage?
No. All three modes use the same amount of credits per build. The difference is only in how many question rounds happen before building.
Does build mode affect build quality?
The same AI and model generate the code regardless of mode. Thinking and Pro give the AI more information to work with before building, which can improve accuracy for complex or ambiguous requests. Instant is just as capable — it simply skips the question step.
What if I'm in Instant mode but my request is genuinely unclear?
The AI uses judgment. Even in Instant mode, it will ask if your request is unsafe or impossible to build without knowing more. For most clear requests, it builds directly.
Can I switch modes mid-conversation?
Yes. You can change the mode between any two messages. The mode you select applies only to the next message you send and all subsequent messages until you change it again.