When I create hotkeys to toggle between Agent, Plan, and Ask mode, toggling to Plan and Ask mode works perfectly fine and behaves just as I would expect. However, when I hit the Agent mode hotkey while in plan or ask mode it opens up a new chat which is infuriating.
Steps to Reproduce
Open up a right-hand sidebar with hotkeys configured to whatever you like, such as Command+2 for Agent Mode, Command+3 for Plan Mode, and Command+4 for Ask Mode. Then go into Ask Mode using the hotkey, enter something in the chat, and then press Command+2 to return to Agent Mode now that you have got to a point where you are ready to transition from strategizing to allowing modification of your code. This will result in a new tab being opened.
Expected Behavior
My expectation is that all three modes are equal and by pressing the hotkey corresponding to one of the modes, I will go to that mode. I want to cycle between them in any way while keeping my current chat context present. It is not expected that going back to agent mode opens a new tab that I have to close that and then use my mouse to select agent mode.
Hey, thanks for the report. This is expected. Switching modes or models in the same chat can cause context issues, so the Agent shortcut intentionally opens a new chat.
If you need different modes, start a new chat per mode instead of toggling in one thread. This keeps context clean and results more consistent.
Ah interesting, if I manually toggle to Agent mode again it will allow me to keep my context and the performance has been great.
My challenge with switching to a new tab and losing context is that it defeats the purpose of my usage pattern. I strategize with the model in “Ask” mode in a multi-turn conversation in order to steer the model in the right direction and propose a satisfactory implementation strategy. The modes allow me to deterministically prevent modification of files until I am ready, and the context sharing between modes is critical. When the feature is ready to implement, then I will switch to “Agent” mode
Without this, there is no way I have been able to stop the Agent from ignoring instructions and prematurely implementing high volumes of low quality and incorrect code.
Thanks for the info. You’ve identified an important inconsistency, the Agent mode hotkey opens a new chat to preserve context integrity, while manually switching to Agent mode keeps the current chat.
For your workflow (strategy in Ask → implementation in Agent), try:
Cmd+. (quick mode picker) to switch modes within the same chat
Or manually select the mode from the dropdown instead of using the hotkey
I’ll pass this feedback to the team, since the difference between hotkeys and manual switching could be improved. Your use case with multi-turn planning before implementation makes sense.
Let me know if the Cmd+. shortcut works better for you.
Using Cmd+. is amazing and the ergonomics feel much better than selecting with a mouse. Thank you so much for that pointer on a work around to enable my workflow!
I configured keyboard shortcuts for switching between Ask mode and Agent mode for conversations. When I use it, switching to Ask mode with the shortcut key works fine, and it switches to Ask mode within the current conversation. However, after asking questions and making plans, when I think it’s time to start development and switch to Agent mode with the shortcut key, it creates a new conversation, and the context is naturally lost. I can only switch to Agent mode by manually clicking. Is this the expected functionality?
Steps to Reproduce
Bind the keyboard shortcut for switching to Agent mode.
Expected Behavior
Switch to Agent mode in the current conversation.
Operating System
MacOS
Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)
