Use Design, Plan, or Ask with the correct page-specific tools, understand create takeover versus the conversation rail, and open files, Brain, Media, Design system, Figma, or target pages deliberately.
Where: Designer conversation rail or the full create takeover → mode selector and + menu.
Key ideas
- Mode is an enforced permission ceiling: Design receives the active page’s writable tools. Plan and Ask receive only tools declared read-only. Plan returns a reviewable plan in chat; Ask answers directly; neither can silently write.
- Page type narrows capability: The assistant sees tools appropriate to the active type: for example, Landing pages get the section kit and scroll scrub, Wireframe/Dashboard get interactives, Email gets no motion, Deck gets slide checks, and Media uses its own focused allowlist.
- Some actions open full surfaces: Media and Design system are hosted project pages. From your Brain opens a full picker. Figma import opens a dialog when supported. A selected project page becomes the conversation target rather than being treated as plain text.
Steps
- Choose Design for an applied change, Plan for an editable sequence in chat, or Ask for a read-only answer.
- Confirm the active page and selection because they scope the conversation and available tool surface.
- Use Attach a file for source documents/media, Reference an asset for direction, and Add an asset when the file itself belongs in the project.
- Use From your Brain to browse and mention a record; use # or / to narrow it to a section, field, or file, and pin only standing context.
- Open Design system from the + menu or top-bar chip to choose, create, edit, save, and apply a project system.
- Open Media from its page or right-rail door to generate/inspect assets on a full stage; insert an exact selected result into the target page.
- Use Import from Figma only when the project host exposes it, then review imported structure rather than assuming a lossless conversion.
- Inspect activity/results and stop a wrong run early. Switch deliberately from Plan/Ask to Design when the approved request should be applied.
Conversation surfaces
- Full create takeover only when the entire design has one empty page and no messages
- Conversation rail for established projects and for an empty page inside a multi-page project
- Rail may move left/right, collapse, and resize as a per-browser preference
- Read-only roles do not mount a writable agent and receive a permission notice
Doors and context sources
- Attach a file
- Reference an asset
- Add an asset
- Design system page/picker
- From your Brain full browser and pinned records
- @ page/asset/record mentions and # or / record parts
- Import from Figma when supported
- Media full page from the project page list or right rail
Examples of page-specific gates
- Landing page: section kit, interactives, scroll scrub, light web research, Brain
- Wireframe/Live dashboard: interactives
- Email: document/media/review but no motion
- Deck: slide read/check/fit plus motion and media
- Video: stage, motion, image/video/audio
- Motion: stage and motion, but not video/audio generation
- Logo: logo generation and image tools, no motion
- Media: its own sixteen-tool allowlist
Tips
- Use Plan to agree on scope/order, then switch to Design; it is not a hidden draft-edit mode.
- Open a full resource surface when visual inspection matters instead of asking the assistant to infer from a filename.
Limitations and important notes
- Ask mode’s UI blurb can mention edits, but the enforced tool table is read-only.
- A skill is unavailable when its required tools are absent for the current page type or agent mode.
- The create takeover is not shown merely because the current tab is empty when the project already has other pages/messages.
Troubleshooting
The assistant explains the edit but does not apply it.
Switch from Plan/Ask to Design and confirm your project role allows writes.
A tool or skill is missing.
Check both the active page type and assistant mode; capability is the intersection of the page surface, mode, and host permissions.
Related guides
- Designer chat: Design, Plan, Ask, files, references, mentions, and skills
- Designer Media workspace: generate, compare, edit, insert, and manage project media
- Designer Brain context: browse, mention, pin, read parts, and save research
- Designer Design system workspace: examples, components, tokens, parameters, save, and apply