Plan mode vs direct execution
Determine when to use plan mode vs direct execution.
This subtopic (3.4) sits in Claude Code Configuration & Workflows (D3) on Anthropic's Claude Certified Architect — Foundations (CCA-F) exam. The bank holds 22 practice questions here — 4 easy, 14 medium, and 4 hard — with 5 free to try, answers and explanations included. 3 of the free questions are below; the rest are in the practice stream.
What the exam tests here
- combining plan mode investigation with direct execution implementation
- plan mode for complex tasks — large-scale changes, architectural decisions
- Explore subagent for isolating verbose discovery output
- direct execution for simple well-scoped changes
Free practice questions: Plan mode vs direct execution
A senior engineer needs to rename a single private helper function and its three call sites in one file, then run the existing test. She is debating whether to use plan mode or direct execution in Claude Code. The change is mechanical, the blast radius is one file, and the tests are fast. Which choice best fits this task?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Direct execution in default mode, with the standard pre-edit approval prompt confirming each change.
Plan mode is overhead optimized for multi-file investigation and architectural decisions; for a one-file mechanical rename with fast tests, default direct execution with the per-edit prompt is the right fit. Plan mode here adds a planning round-trip with little benefit. Auto-accept removes the approval prompt, which is excessive for a quick edit on shared code. Setting plan as the project default forces it on every collaborator and every task, including small ones like this — wrong default for the workflow mix.
Your team is adopting Claude Code and must refactor a legacy authentication module spanning 12 files and three services. A junior engineer asks whether to run Claude Code in plan mode or direct execution. Which factor most justifies choosing plan mode for this task?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Plan mode requires explicit approval before writing files, letting the team review the full change strategy before any edits land.
Plan mode restricts Claude to read-only tools, forcing it to produce a reviewable plan before any writes. For a multi-file, multi-service refactor this lets the team validate scope and approach before irreversible changes occur. The other options misstate plan mode behavior: it does not change the model, auto-update CLAUDE.md, or solely target shell commands.
A developer uses plan mode to review a proposed refactoring before execution. In plan mode, Claude Code produces a plan but the developer cannot approve individual steps selectively. Which statement accurately describes plan mode behavior?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Plan mode presents the full plan for review; the developer approves or rejects the entire plan before execution begins
In plan mode, Claude Code generates the full plan first; the developer reviews and either approves the whole plan to proceed or rejects it. Individual step-by-step confirmation is not how plan mode works. Plan mode does not run a dry-run simulation. Plan mode does not write to CLAUDE.md.
2 more free questions on this subtopic in the practice stream, plus 17 in the full bank. Keep practicing →