Profiles & output styles¶

Two independent settings let you shape how the agent works and how it talks. Profiles change what the agent is allowed to do. Output styles change how it phrases its replies. They're orthogonal: you can combine any profile with any output style.

Profiles¶

A profile is a preset that bundles three things:

which tools are available,
an adjustment to the agent's instructions, and
a set of permission rules.

Switching profile is the quickest way to put the agent in the right mode for a task — for example, "only research, don't change anything" or "run tests but don't edit code".

Built-in profiles¶

Profile	Purpose
default	Everything available. The general-purpose profile.
plan	Research only; the agent drafts a plan and can't change your code until you approve it. See Plan mode.
review	Read-only investigation; writes limited to review notes. No running commands.
test	Read your code and run your test suite; no edits.
migrate	Full editing for large, linear changes; won't fan out into subagents.
coordinator	Manages a group of subagents on a bigger task. See Subagents & multi-agent.

A couple of focused profiles (for exploration and verification) are used by subagents behind the scenes.

Selecting a profile¶

Terminal appCommand line

Cycle through profiles with Shift+Tab, or switch directly with the slash command:

/profile review

gdc print --profile plan "plan the refactor of the auth module"

Your own profiles¶

You can define custom profiles as Markdown files and drop them in ~/.gdc/agents/<name>.md (for all projects) or <project>/.gdc/agents/<name>.md (for one project). A custom profile can carry its own permission rules. Built-in profiles keep their fixed, shipped behavior; custom profiles are fully yours to shape.

→ Configuration

Output styles¶

An output style changes only how the agent writes — its length, tone, and level of explanation. It never changes which tools are available or what the agent is allowed to do.

Style	Effect
concise	Short, direct answers; code blocks only when you need to copy something.
verbose	Shows reasoning, names trade-offs, mentions alternatives it rejected.
explanatory	Defines jargon and explains why before how.

Selecting a style¶

Command lineConfiguration

gdc print --output-style concise "why does this test fail?"

# combine freely with a profile
gdc print --profile plan --output-style verbose "plan the migration"

~/.gdc/config.toml

[output_styles]
default = "concise"

You can write your own styles as Markdown files in ~/.gdc/output_styles/<name>.md (or the per-project equivalent). The body of the file becomes the guidance the agent follows.

Profiles vs. output styles at a glance¶

	Profile	Output style
Controls tools available	✅	—
Controls permissions	✅	—
Controls phrasing/tone	—	✅
Combine with the other freely	✅	✅