Either add an opt-in to allow mutations with plan mode enabled, or allow the question tool to be used without plan mode enabled

What variant of Codex are you using?

App

What feature would you like to see?

Please either:

• Add an opt-in that allows mutations (code/docs changes) while Plan Mode is enabled, or
• Allow the Question tool to be used outside of Plan Mode.

This is the single biggest source of friction in my Codex workflow, and it's significant enough that I almost always switch to Claude Code for planning and design work because Codex can't support my workflow efficiently.

The current design forces users to choose between two mutually exclusive capabilities:

1. Plan Mode: can ask questions, but cannot modify code or documentation.
2. Normal Mode: can modify code and documentation, but cannot ask questions.

My workflow depends on the agent asking me for any decision it cannot confidently make before continuing. This pattern works well because it allows the agent to keep moving while still involving me only when necessary.

Unfortunately, Codex can only do this in Plan Mode, which also prevents it from taking action.

A typical implementation workflow for me looks like this:

• Create or refine design and implementation plans.
• Go through several rounds of review and refinement.
• Have the agent ask questions whenever a decision is needed.
• Update the design docs as those decisions are made.
• Finally implement the changes.

Today, this workflow is much more cumbersome than it needs to be.

If I forget to enable Plan Mode, the agent eventually reaches a decision point and tells me it can't use the Question tool. I then have to enable Plan Mode and ask it to retry.

If I do enable Plan Mode, every interaction requires waiting for a plan to be generated, and then explicitly accepting it before any action can be taken - even if all I wanted was a small documentation update after answering a question.

To avoid the agent making assumptions in Normal Mode, I frequently have to instruct it to stop after each small change. After every step I must manually re-enable Plan Mode so it can ask questions again if necessary, then wait for another plan to be generated before work can continue.

The Plan approval UI also interrupts my workflow. Because it appears before every action, it frequently covers the message I'm still composing. The refinement UI has limited editing capabilities, so I often have to cancel the plan just to continue typing, attach files or images, or finish my steering message. Canceling the plan disables Plan Mode, so I then have to remember to enable it again before continuing.

The result is a constant cycle of:

• Enable Plan Mode.
• Wait for a plan.
• Accept the plan.
• Answer questions.
• Allow one action.
• Wait for completion.
• Re-enable Plan Mode.
• Repeat.

I've tried to work around this in many different ways. I attempted to have a Plan Mode agent delegate mutations to another Codex thread, but Codex refused, explaining that using thread tools to bypass Plan Mode mutation restrictions is prohibited.

I understand why Plan Mode exists, but limiting the question tool to it is an absolute nightmare for my daily workflow. The ability to ask clarifying questions should not be coupled to the inability to perform mutations. Those are independent concerns, and separating them would remove a huge amount of unnecessary friction.

Allowing either:

• an opt-in to permit mutations while Plan Mode is enabled, or
• use of the Question tool outside of Plan Mode,

would dramatically improve workflows that involve iterative planning, design reviews, and implementation with frequent human decision points.