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PanCode PanCode PanCode

Quick Start

This guide walks you through launching PanCode, understanding the interface, and running your first dispatch. Total time: about 5 minutes.

Launch PanCode

Section titled “Launch PanCode”
Terminal window
pancode

This creates a tmux session and starts the PanCode orchestrator. The session name is derived from your working directory (e.g., pancode-a3f2b1).

To start with a specific preset:

Terminal window
pancode --preset local     # Local inference engines
pancode --preset openai    # OpenAI models
pancode --preset hybrid    # Local orchestrator, remote workers

Presets are defined in ~/.pancode/panpresets.yaml and configure the orchestrator model, worker model, reasoning level, and safety mode in one command.

The Welcome Screen

Section titled “The Welcome Screen”

On startup, PanCode displays a welcome screen showing:

  • The active model and provider
  • Current orchestrator mode (default: Build)
  • Safety level (default: auto-edit)
  • Reasoning preference (default: medium)
  • Number of registered agents and runtimes
  • Available slash commands

Orchestrator Modes

Section titled “Orchestrator Modes”

PanCode has four orchestrator modes that control what the system does with your input. Modes are orthogonal to safety levels.

Plan Mode

Section titled “Plan Mode”

Analyze and plan without executing. Shadow agents explore the codebase. No dispatch, no file mutations. Reasoning level: high.

Build Mode (Default)

Section titled “Build Mode (Default)”

Full dispatch capability. Workers implement, test, and review. File mutations allowed. Reasoning level: medium.

Review Mode

Section titled “Review Mode”

Quality checks and code review. Only readonly agents can be dispatched. No file mutations. Reasoning level: xhigh.

Admin Mode (God Mode)

Section titled “Admin Mode (God Mode)”

Full system management, configuration, and diagnostic dispatch. Safety escalates to full-auto, reasoning to xhigh. File mutations remain disabled. Toggle with Alt+A.

Switch modes with:

  • Shift+Tab: Cycle through Plan, Build, and Review
  • Alt+A: Toggle Admin mode
  • /modes admin|plan|build|review: Switch by name

Keyboard Shortcuts

Section titled “Keyboard Shortcuts”
ShortcutAction
Shift+TabCycle modes (Plan, Build, Review)
Alt+AToggle Admin (God Mode)
Ctrl+YCycle safety level
Ctrl+DExit PanCode
Ctrl+OExpand tool output
Ctrl+TToggle thinking visibility

Safety Levels

Section titled “Safety Levels”

PanCode enforces three safety levels that control what actions are allowed:

LevelBehavior
suggestRead-only tools only. Model suggests changes but cannot execute them.
auto-editFile reads and edits allowed. Destructive operations require confirmation.
full-autoAll operations allowed without confirmation.

Cycle with Ctrl+Y or use /safety.

Essential Slash Commands

Section titled “Essential Slash Commands”

Try these commands to explore PanCode:

/help              Show all available commands
/agents            List the 7-agent fleet
/models            List discovered models
/doctor            Run diagnostic health checks
/budget            Show dispatch budget status
/dashboard         Open the session dashboard
/session           Show session info and coordination state
/runtimes          List discovered agent runtimes
/workers           Show the worker pool with scores

Your First Dispatch

Section titled “Your First Dispatch”

In Build mode, ask PanCode to perform a task. The orchestrator decides whether to handle it directly or dispatch a worker.

For tasks that benefit from delegation, the orchestrator uses the dispatch_agent tool:

You: "Review the code in src/core/config.ts for potential issues"

PanCode may dispatch a reviewer agent to analyze the file. The worker runs as a separate subprocess with its own context window and returns results to the orchestrator.

You can also be explicit:

You: "Dispatch the scout agent to explore the test directory structure"

Monitoring Dispatches

Section titled “Monitoring Dispatches”

While workers are running, the footer shows active dispatch status. After completion:

/runs              View dispatch history
/cost              See per-run cost breakdown
/metrics           View aggregate statistics
/receipt           List reproducibility receipts

Session Management

Section titled “Session Management”

PanCode sessions persist in tmux. You can detach and reattach freely.

From Outside PanCode

Section titled “From Outside PanCode”
Terminal window
pancode sessions     # List running sessions
pancode up           # Attach to most recent session
pancode up pancode-a3f2b1   # Attach to specific session
pancode down         # Stop most recent session
pancode down --all   # Stop all sessions

From Inside PanCode

Section titled “From Inside PanCode”
/exit              Exit the current session
/session           Show session info
/checkpoint label  Save a session checkpoint
/reset             Reset coordination state

Configuration at a Glance

Section titled “Configuration at a Glance”

PanCode uses conversational configuration. Ask the orchestrator to change settings:

You: "Set the budget ceiling to $20"
You: "Switch to the openai preset"
You: "Change reasoning to high"

In Admin mode, you can modify administrative parameters:

You: "Set dispatch timeout to 5 minutes"
You: "Set max dispatch depth to 3"

Quick toggles via keyboard shortcuts handle the most common changes (mode, safety, reasoning).

The Dashboard

Section titled “The Dashboard”

Run /dashboard to see a visual summary:

  • Mode badge and safety level
  • Active dispatches with progress
  • Session statistics (runs, cost, tokens)
  • Context window usage bar
  • Budget status

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”