Mode

/mode — runtime mode control

What this does

The mode is the runtime state variable (/contracts/mode-contract.md). It lives at .towow/state/mode as a single word. /hooks/capability-router.py reads that file on every PreToolUse to decide what's allowed. This skill is the user-controlled write path for that file. Direct editing is not supported; gates would be bypassed.

Sub-commands

| Command | Target mode | Gate (checked before writing mode file) | |---|---|---| | /mode plan | plan | always allowed (per mode-contract §4 row any → plan, abort-current-run). Abort-packet emission when leaving a non-plan, non-legacy mode is deferred to evidence-emit.py (WP-022). | | /mode build | build | a plan file exists at .towow/plan/current.md. (Full approval binding via review-contract.yaml lands in Phase E; until then the gate is plan-file presence.) | | /mode verify | verify | a build-mode kind=gate evidence packet exists under .towow/evidence// and validates against the evidence-packet schema (WP-029 canonicalization — no more .towow/evidence/gates/build-to-verify.json lookup). | | /mode release | release | contract-driven orchestrator. Reads every active binding in review-contract.yaml with applies_when.transition_target == "release" and checks its declared evidence-packet kind under .towow/evidence//. If a subagent-type binding lacks its packet, transition.py exits 3 and emits a structured spawn_reviewer directive on stderr — the host CC session is expected to spawn the named subagent with the declared tool whitelist, have it emit the packet, and re-run /mode release. If a human/pane-type binding lacks its packet, the transition is denied (exit 1); those reviewer types do not auto-spawn. | | /mode shadow-review | (no mode flip) | force-emit .towow/metrics/shadow-ready.json with saturation_signal: "manual_override"; still enforces the hard lower bound (>= 2 non-legacy modes observed). WP-016 exit signal; see docs/decisions/decision-shadow-router-saturation-2026-04-16.md. |

Reverse transitions:

• build → plan and verify → build are allowed (per contract §4 "allowed transitions" column) and go through the same /mode plan or /mode build invocation.
• release → plan is automatic on release success in a later WP; users can also invoke /mode plan to abort.

How to invoke

When the user types /mode :

1. Look up `` in the table above.
2. Run the matching handler shell script: bash /skills/mode/.sh. The handler is a one-liner that invokes transition.py.
3. The script prints the outcome and exits 0 on success. Exit codes:

• 0 — transition applied (or no-op).
• 1 — gate denied (missing/invalid packet, blocker, or missing plan/run). Report stderr verbatim to the user.
• 2 — fail-closed (contract YAML unreadable, PyYAML missing, or usage error). Report stderr verbatim; do NOT retry silently.
• 3 — spawn-reviewer directive on stderr (only from /mode release when a subagent-type binding lacks its packet). The host CC session must parse the JSON directive from stderr (last line), spawn the named subagent with the declared tool whitelist, have it emit the evidence packet, then re-run /mode release. Do NOT write the mode file manually.

Do not write .towow/state/mode by any other means.

Non-goals

• No enforcement change. WP-016 runs the router in shadow mode (SHADOW=1): every would-deny / would-defer is logged to .towow/metrics/router-shadow.jsonl and still allowed through. Enforcement per mode flips one mode at a time in WP-017..WP-020. This /mode skill only writes the mode file; it does not alter router rules.
• No evidence-packet schema validation. Handler checks file presence only. Schema enforcement is WP-023 (verify-gate.py).
• No multi-run support. A future WP introduces .towow/state//mode per mode-contract §6; this skill writes the single-run path only.

Rollback

git rm -r /skills/mode/ (see WP-015 rollback in 07-migration-backlog.md; plugin-ified in WP-038).

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: NatureBlueee
• Source: NatureBlueee/wow-harness
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.