Changelog

At Augment, we noticed a common challenge: our team frequently needed quick information from the Agent without making any changes to the codebase. Whether asking for clarification on a change or reviewing a plan before implementation, we wanted a way to get answers without accidentally triggering modifications.

Quick Ask Mode is our solution to this exact problem. Get instant answers from the Agent — without making changes to your codebase.

When enabled, Quick Ask Mode restricts your agent to read-only tools, so it can explore and answer questions without modifying files. It keeps your full conversation context while giving you peace of mind and lets you easily switch back to the default Agent mode when you're ready to implement changes.

How It Works

• Toggle Quick Ask Mode from the Agent chat input
• Available in local agent mode only

Use Cases

• Planning: Analyze architecture, dependencies, and patterns to create a tasklist before coding
• Code understanding: “Explain how the authentication system works” — safe exploration with no edits
• Documentation queries: “What does this function do and where is it used?” — pull info from across the codebase
• Onboarding: Let new team members explore safely without risk of accidental changes

Availability

Quick Ask Mode is live for all users in VS Code and JetBrains.