Build Agent — Reasoning and Effort Levels

The Build Agent thinks through each step before acting. This article explains what the Reasoning panel displays, why the agent shifts effort levels mid-task, and how long tasks are managed.

Reasoning Panel

The Reasoning panel displays in the chat window when the Build Agent is working through a step. Expand it to see the agent's internal thought process before it acts or responds.

Reasoning entries describe what the agent is planning, what constraints it is considering, and how it intends to approach the next action. Reviewing this panel is useful when the agent produces an unexpected result: the reasoning often reveals where a decision was made.

Effort Levels

The Build Agent operates at different effort levels depending on the complexity of the current step.

Standard is the default. The agent uses lighter reasoning (faster and more efficient) for most steps: reading modules, writing straightforward components, verifying test results.

High is reserved for hard steps. The agent escalates when a step is genuinely complex (a multi-part implementation with interdependencies) or when it has failed the same step more than. the hard step is complete, the agent steps back to standard on its own.

Creators do not set the effort level manually. The agent manages this based on what the current step requires.

Reasoning Panel Messages

When the effort level changes, the Reasoning panel displays of the following messages:

• "Escalating to a more capable profile for the implementation step." The agent has moved to the high effort level for the current step.

• "Dropping back to the standard profile now that the hard build is done." The agent has returned to standard.

These messages refer to the thinking effort level, not the underlying AI model. The model itself does not change mid-task.

Tokens and Context

Tokens are the unit the AI model uses to process text. token is roughly three to four characters. Every message the Build Agent sends and receives (including the conversation history, module content, and tool outputs) is measured in tokens.

The Build Agent keeps the full conversation in its active context so it can reference earlier decisions. This context has a limit. For most tasks, the limit is not reached. For long tasks (long conversations, large modules, or many steps), the agent manages the context automatically.

Long Tasks

When a session grows long, the Build Agent summarizes earlier parts of the conversation and uses the summary as its reference for prior work. The task continues without interruption. Creators do not need to restart or clear context manually.

If the agent has lost track of something from much earlier in the session, a fresh task is the most reliable . Reference the earlier work explicitly in the opening message.