[FEATURE] Configurable mode cycling via modeCycle setting

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Mar 2, 2026 by pallani Closed Apr 21, 2026

Problem

Shift+Tab cycles through all four modes: plandefaultacceptEditsbypassPermissions. For users whose workflow only uses a subset (e.g., plan and bypassPermissions), cycling through unused modes adds unnecessary friction.

This was previously requested in #8292 (closed as stale), but the demand is still there.

Proposed Solution

Add a modeCycle setting in settings.json to restrict which modes Shift+Tab cycles through:

{
  "modeCycle": ["plan", "bypassPermissions"]
}
  • Default behavior unchanged: omitting the setting cycles through all modes as today.
  • Validation: only accept valid mode names; ignore or warn on invalid entries.
  • Minimal scope: this only affects the Shift+Tab keyboard shortcut — all modes remain accessible via / commands.

Use Case

My workflow is almost exclusively planbypassPermissions. I never use acceptEdits or default, so cycling through them is pure friction. A configurable cycle list would be a small, low-risk change that respects existing defaults while letting power users streamline their flow.

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