I've just recently tried using the new plan mode and holy hell this is amazing! Previously, before plan mode iwould ask claude code to create a PLAN_TASK_X.md to plan how we are going to implement task X, now i just shift+tab to switch to plan mode, come up with a plan together, once im happy with the plan i just shift+tab to go edit or auto mode and instruct it to execute the plan.
I am finding this very effective and really streamlines my workflow now.
one request is i hope that once you confirm that you ar ehappy with the plan is that it auto switches to edit mode to execute the plan.
Videos
I've been using the planning mode for a while now. It's actually very very good. I now use it almost exclusively when I start working on a new feature.
Here's my workflow:
Shift + Tab twice to enter the planning mode
Brainstorming the implementation with Claude, provide feedback on the solution, iterate until I am happy with the solution.
I use @ reference to help Claude with additional context so it doesn't spend a lot time exploring
For convenience, I also connect CC to VS Code by using the `/ide` slash command. I open a file in VS, select the lines, and ask CC about the lines.
I iterate with Claude until I am happy with the solution. After that, Shift + Tab twice to enter auto edit mode. CC will complete the implementation with very little intervention.
I find that with this approach, I don't even need to create PLAN.md anymore. I try to keep the feature iterations small, and commit the changes as soon as the code is working.
Do you have similar experience?
Addendum:
To use the /IDE command, see https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/ide-integrations
https://cuong.io/blog/2025/06/23-claude-code-ide-vs-code
The key for this to be effective is to keep the scope small. Plan what you will do in the next 30 minutes or less.
The workflow It should be
plan > code > debug > commit
plan > code > debug > commit
plan > code > debug > commit
...
This works really well with small and incremental changes.
Pro tip: while waiting for Claude, you can open another terminal and start another Claude. You can have multiple planning sessions at the same time.
For long discussions, you may use the normal mode and just Claude not to make any changes.
Better yet, use the repomix cli to create a dump of your project.
https://github.com/yamadashy/repomix
You then can upload it to ChatGPT or Claude Web UI for long discussions. Chatgpt's project + canvas feature is super neat for this kind of long planning.