When you start a session, Devin will interpret your prompt and rapidly search your codebase to find relevant files and code snippets. When helpful, Devin will use this context to propose a detailed plan that you can adjust.

Reviewing Devin’s plan is always helpful to ensure that Devin works on the right parts of your codebase and is on the same page as you. However, Interactive Planning is particularly helpful in these cases:

  • For complex tasks requiring extensive context or in-depth scoping
  • When you are working with unfamiliar parts of your codebase
  • When you want to check Devin’s understanding before it begins coding

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How Interactive Planning Works

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1. Initial Assessment

When you start a new session, Devin quickly analyzes your codebase and provides:

  • Relevant files
  • Key findings from its initial analysis
  • Implementation questions

To make searching your codebase fast, Devin indexes your main branch approximately every three hours.

During the Initial Assessment, Devin searches this index and may miss very recent changes or other branches, though it can explore these more deeply later in planning.

Devin will automatically ignore irrelevant search results. You can also directly tell Devin to disregard search results.

The initial assessment may include code citations that you can inspect to verify that Devin has identified the correct code to work on.

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2. Detailed Plan

After its initial fast assessment, Devin will typically start working on a more detailed plan.

Devin’s detailed plan often includes code citations and code snippets that you can inspect before approving. Click on citations to deep-link directly into the Devin IDE, allowing you to verify Devin’s findings and explore the codebase together before you let Devin execute autonomously.

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Waiting for Approval

By default, Devin will wait thirty seconds for feedback from you before automatically proceeding with its plan. You can adjust this behavior in Settings > Customization.

For complex tasks, click “Wait for my approval” to ensure Devin waits for your feedback on its complete plan. This gives you the opportunity to:

  • Brainstorm alternatives with Devin
  • Explore the codebase together using the Devin IDE
  • Suggest modifications to the proposed approach
  • Add details Devin might have missed