The four modes

A mode is a set of tools. The model is the same in all four. What changes is what it is allowed to work with.

Mode	What it brings	When
Standard	Edit, run, search the project and the web, plan, delegate	Almost always
Code	All of the above, plus the model writes a program that combines several calls	Mechanical tasks with many steps
Minimal	Two tools: a terminal and a file editor	Comparing models against each other
Creator	Look inside the running system and load or unload pieces without restarting	Building on the harness itself

Standard is the complete one. It is what you want almost always.

Code adds a twist. Instead of chaining twenty tool calls, the model writes a small program that combines them and runs it in one go. It is for mechanical, many step tasks where the round trip to the model eats the time and the budget.

Minimal leaves only two tools, and that is the point. Comparing models against each other needs an environment that does not help, because if the environment helps you end up measuring the harness instead of the model. The project’s own testing guide points to this mode for exactly that reason.

Creator lets you look inside the running system and load or unload pieces without restarting. It is the practical application of what the academic paper proves, and section 19 comes back to it.