Modes

Short answer: Build Perch ships five built-in modes (Assistant, Writer, Studio, Automator, and Chat Only), each a preset that bundles a set of skills (tool groups) and tuned instructions for a different kind of work. You can also save your own custom modes, and a chat that drifts from its mode’s default skills relabels itself “Custom” until you save it as one.

What is a mode?

Modes are the top layer of a three-layer system: tools are what the AI can call, skills bundle related tools into named capability sets (for example, “Read & Search Files”), and a mode is a preset that picks a skill set plus a short steering instruction. This keeps a chat’s active tool list small and its behavior focused (a chat doesn’t carry every one of Build Perch’s tools by default, only the ones its mode needs) while the model can still pull in more mid-conversation when a task calls for it. See Skills for how that pull-in works.

What are the 5 built-in modes?

Assistant (default): the everyday workspace mode. Reads and searches files, organizes them, tracks cards, recalls past chats, keeps workspace memory, and researches the web. It doesn’t create new documents or generate media by default; it pulls those capabilities in mid-turn if you ask for them.
Writer: produces and refines documents. Reads, edits, and creates files, fills templates, and researches for fact-checking; asks before destructive changes.
Studio: generates and edits media: images, speech, music, and video, plus local trimming, reframing, and captioning of clips.
Automator: builds durable automation: saved Agents you delegate to and multi-step Workflows you can schedule.
Chat Only: no tools at all. Pure conversation and brainstorming, with the AI thinking out loud rather than acting.

Every new chat starts in Assistant mode unless you change it.

How do I switch modes?

Click the mode pill above the compose box; it shows the active mode’s name, or “Custom” once you’ve changed a chat’s skills away from its mode’s defaults. That opens the Chat Configuration panel, where you switch modes, toggle individual skills, and set per-chat limits like tool rounds and web searches. The same panel has a 2×2 grid of favorite-mode slots for one-click switching, plus a “More modes” button that lists every mode, including ones you haven’t pinned.

Can I create a custom mode?

Yes. Turning an individual skill on or off inside a chat immediately relabels that chat “Custom,” and a “Save as new mode” option lets you turn that combination into a real, reusable mode. Custom modes appear alongside the 5 built-ins in the Modes & Skills editor, where you can rename them, change their skill set and per-chat limits, or delete them. Built-in modes can be reset to their defaults but not deleted.

Good to know

Each built-in mode also sets its own defaults for tool rounds, web searches, clarifying questions, and generated images per response; override any of these per chat.
If you delete a custom mode, chats that used it fall back to Assistant automatically rather than being left without one.
The mode a chat is in shapes its default tools, not a hard boundary; the model can still request a capability outside the mode for a single turn (see Skills).
On a local model with a small context window (16K or lower), Build Perch automatically trims a mode’s default skills so the prompt fits; the Chat Configuration panel says so when it’s active. See Running local models with Ollama.