---
name: r-mode
description: >
Switch the operational mode for the current session.
---
Switch the operational mode for the current session.
## Usage
/rdf:r-mode [name] Switch to the named mode
/rdf:r-mode Show current mode and available modes
## Available Modes
| Mode | Description | When to Use |
|------|-------------|-------------|
| `development` | *Default TDD workflow* | Standard feature work, bug fixes, refactoring |
| `security` | *Security assessment* | Threat modeling, vuln analysis, hardening |
| `performance` | *Performance audit* | Profiling, optimization, bottleneck analysis |
| `migration` | *Version/platform/data migration* | Upgrades, platform moves, data transforms |
| `refactoring` | *Behavior preservation* | Large restructuring, code movement, API changes |
| `debugging` | *Hypothesis-driven* | Bug hunts, incident response, root cause analysis |
| `documentation` | *Read-then-write* | README rewrites, API docs, man pages, guides |
**Aliases:** `security` -> `security-assessment`, `performance` -> `performance-audit`, `dev` -> `development`, `refactor` -> `refactoring`, `debug` -> `debugging`, `docs` -> `documentation`
## Behavior
When invoked with a mode name:
1. Read the mode context file from `modes/{name}/context.md` in the
RDF repository (resolve aliases per the table above)
2. If `.rdf/governance/index.md` exists in the current project,
update the `Mode:` line to reflect the new mode
3. Display a mode switch confirmation as a blockquote callout:
```
> **Mode switched**
> `development` -> `security`
>
> - **Methodology:** threat-model-first assessment with STRIDE/DREAD
> - **Gate overrides:** security review pass elevated to *blocking*
> - **Reviewer focus:** input validation, auth boundaries, secret handling
```
The callout includes:
- **Before/after** shown as inline code with arrow
- **Methodology** -- 1-line overview of the mode's approach
- **Gate overrides** -- what changes from default (italic for emphasis)
- **Reviewer focus** -- which review passes are elevated
4. The mode context is now active for this session. All subsequent
agent dispatches (`/rdf:r-build`, `/rdf:r-verify`, `/rdf:r-review`, etc.) will
include the mode context in their prompts
When invoked without arguments:
1. Check `.rdf/governance/index.md` for the current mode
2. Display current mode with bold label and inline code value:
```
**Current mode:** `development` *(default)*
```
3. Display the Available Modes table (see above)
## Mode Context Loading
The mode context file is appended to agent dispatch prompts. It does
NOT modify governance files permanently -- it is session-scoped context
that changes how agents interpret their existing governance.
**Agents affected:**
| Agent | Mode Effect |
|-------|-------------|
| **Spec** (`/rdf:r-spec`) | *Research methodology and brainstorming focus change* |
| **Planner** | *Decomposition strategy and phase risk assessment change* |
| **Dispatcher** | *Quality gate overrides applied* |
| **Reviewer** | *Pass weighting and blocking thresholds change* |
| **QA** | *Additional verification requirements per mode* |
| **UAT** | *Scenario scope adjusted per mode* |
| **Engineer** | *Reads mode context for approach guidance* |
## Examples
```
/rdf:r-mode security # Switch to security assessment mode
/rdf:r-mode performance # Switch to performance audit mode
/rdf:r-mode migration # Switch to migration planning mode
/rdf:r-mode dev # Switch back to default development mode
/rdf:r-mode # Show current mode and available modes
```
## Constraints
- Mode switching is session-scoped -- it does not persist across sessions
- Mode does not change project governance files (architecture.md, etc.)
- Mode cannot be set to a name that has no context.md in modes/
- The governance index Mode: line is the only persistent artifact updated
