Workflow modes

The workspace has two modes. You switch between them with the mode toggle in the top-right of the header — a small switch with two icons.

IconModePurpose
SparklesCreateEdit the graph — add nodes, connect, configure
PlayExecuteRun the graph — no editing until you switch back

The mode is sticky: your choice persists in localStorage as workspace.mode, so opening the workspace again returns you to whichever mode you were last in.

Create mode

This is the default mode when you start with a fresh workflow.

What’s available:

  • Smart Island shows the Add toolbar — seven icons to drop new material nodes (Text, Image, Video, Audio, Document, URL, 3D model).
  • Contextual operations appear when you select a node or set of nodes (e.g. “Generate image” when one text node is selected).
  • Drag-to-connect is enabled: pull from an output handle to an input handle to wire nodes together.
  • Node configuration — clicking into a node’s text field, dropdown, or prompt box edits its value.
  • No execution. Even if everything is wired up, nothing runs in Create mode.

Execute mode

Switch to Execute mode when the graph is ready and you want to run it.

What changes:

  • Smart Island collapses to a single Play button. The Add toolbar and contextual menu are hidden.
  • Editing is locked. You cannot reposition, delete, or rewire nodes; you cannot edit prompts.
  • Click Play to run. If the workflow has unsaved changes, the save-and-execute dialog appears first.
  • Live status — running nodes show a spinner; completed nodes show their output; failed nodes show the error. A task progress toast at the top of the screen tracks the overall run.
  • Stop is initiated from the toast (not the Smart Island).
  • While running, the Play button shows a Siri-style multicolor breathing animation.

When to switch

There’s no hard rule. Common patterns:

  • Iterate quickly — edit a prompt in Create mode, switch to Execute, run, see the result, switch back, tweak.
  • Lock for clients / demos — switch to Execute mode before showing the canvas to someone; they can run but not break anything.
  • Re-run with different inputs — change an upstream material in Create mode, switch back, run again. The system re-uses cached results from upstream nodes that didn’t change.

Cache behavior across runs

When you click Play, only the nodes whose inputs changed (or that have never run) actually invoke a task. Unchanged upstream nodes return their cached output. To force a rerun of a specific node, edit any of its inputs first.

Implementation note

The mode is owned by the workspace store (src/components/workspace/mode-switch.tsx). It’s a single WorkspaceMode = "create" | "execute" value. The Smart Island reads it; the canvas reads it (to enable/disable interactions); the execution button reads it.