SuperClaude uses different behavior modes to adapt its reasoning, communication style, and tool usage based on task complexity. Modes can be automatically activated by specific keywords or task characteristics, or manually triggered using flags or commands.
Mode Summary Table
| Mode | Purpose | Auto-Trigger Examples | Key Behavior | Best For |
|---|
| 🧠 Brainstorm | Interactive discovery | "maybe", "brainstorm", vague requests | Socratic questioning, requirement elicitation | New project planning, unclear requirements |
| 🔍 Introspect | Metacognitive analysis | Error recovery, "analyze reasoning" | Transparent thought markers (🤔, 🎯, 💡) | Debugging, learning, optimization |
| 📋 Task Management | Complex coordination | >3 steps, >2 directories | Phase decomposition, session persistence | Multi-step operations, project management |
| 🎯 Orchestration | Intelligent tool selection | Multi-tool operations, high resource use | Optimal tool routing, parallel execution | Complex analysis, performance optimization |
| ⚡ Token Efficiency | Compressed communication | High context usage, --uc flag | Symbol systems, 30-50% token reduction | Resource constraints, large-scale operations |
| 🎨 Standard | Balanced default | Simple, well-defined tasks | Professional, clear technical language | General development tasks |
Quick Verification
You can test modes using the /sc: command prefix (e.g., /sc:brainstorm "mobile app").
# Automatic activation examples
/sc:brainstorm "mobile app" # → Socratic discovery
/sc:implement "authentication system" # → Multi-phase coordination
"--uc analyze large-codebase/" # → Compressed symbol output