A prompt-engineering setup for AI coding tools
Left alone, your AI builds the average.
Off the Mode makes Claude, Cursor or any AI coding tool plan first, build in the right order, and hold an elite bar: clean code, fast screens, nothing that looks like every other app. It lives outside your project. Your project gets the .offthemode/ folder, plus one line you approve so your tool loads it.
A new project, or one you've already started
New project
- Add Off the Mode to your AI tool.
- In your project, say set up off the mode.
- It interviews you about your vision and your core concept.
- You get a plan, and a checklist of the core split into pieces you build one after another.
First winA clear plan, in about ten minutes.
Existing project
- Add Off the Mode to your AI tool.
- In your project, say set up off the mode.
- It reads your code and tells you, in plain words, what it thinks the project is. You confirm.
- It checks the code against your core concept and builds the checklist, with what's done already marked.
First winWhere you really stand, in about ten minutes.
One order, every project
Phases overlap, and your sessions stay free: you code the way you always do. The rules hold the standard in every session, and the revisit commands keep things honest whenever you ask.
- 01RulesThe standard every change is held to
- 02PlanThe vision and the core concept, before any code
- 03Look and feelIf there's a UI: references, a color and type system, nothing average
- 04Backend and hostingStrong from the first commit, ready to go live
- 05NavigationEvery screen and every state, walkable end to end
- 06The coreBuilt fragment by fragment, each one proven
- 07SecurityRules from day one, a full audit before launch
- 08ShipLaunch, watch, learn, improve the setup itself
Five commands, each with one job
| Say or type | What it does | What it can change |
|---|---|---|
/offthemode | Sets up your project, new or existing, or tells you where it stands | The .offthemode/ folder, plus one line you approve so your tool loads it |
/listrevisit [idea] | Shows the checklist, or adds a new feature or idea to it | The checklist |
/reassess | Checks what's built against your core concept | Nothing: it reports |
/commentrevisit [path] | Removes stale or noisy comments, adds a why where code can't explain itself | Code comments only |
/glossaryrevisit | Refreshes a summary of the project anyone can understand | The plain-words summary |
You can always just say it instead: “run listrevisit”, “reassess the project”.
Pick your tool
Two ways in. The link: your tool reaches it over MCP, the standard way AI tools connect to outside tools, and updates arrive on their own. The skills: files on your machine, no server.
In the Claude desktop app or on claude.ai:
- Open Settings, then Connectors.
- Choose Add custom connector, name it Off the Mode, and paste this link.
https://offthemode.vercel.app/mcpOn a Team or Enterprise plan, only admins can add connectors. Ask yours to add it for the organization.
Then say set up off the mode in a Claude session that can open your project folder, because setup reads the project and writes its files there. In a chat without your files, it drafts each file in the chat for you to save. For a codebase, Claude Code is the better fit (next tab).
For Claude Code in the terminal and in its VS Code and JetBrains extensions.
One paste: the skills. Run this once in a terminal (in VS Code: Terminal, then New Terminal). It installs all five skills for every project. They are files on your machine, so they work in auto mode with no extra step, and the commands are simply /offthemode, /listrevisit and so on.
curl -fsSL https://offthemode.vercel.app/skills/offthemode-skills.zip -o /tmp/offthemode-skills.zip && unzip -o /tmp/offthemode-skills.zip -x README.md -d ~/.claude/skillsRun it again to update. For one project only, put the folders in that project's .claude/skills/ instead.
Or the link, if you want updates to arrive on their own. Run this once. It adds Off the Mode for every project:
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user offthemode https://offthemode.vercel.app/mcpAuto mode, Claude Code's default, blocks tools from a server you just added until you allow them. Type /permissions in Claude Code and add this allow rule, or switch the session to Manual mode once and approve the tool when it asks:
mcp__offthemodeRun claude mcp list to check that offthemode shows as connected. The commands then show up as /mcp__offthemode__listrevisit and so on, or just say what you want.
Or add it by hand to .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json for every project:
{
"mcpServers": {
"offthemode": {
"url": "https://offthemode.vercel.app/mcp"
}
}
}Cursor also loads the skills, with no server: see the Skills tab.
This is for GitHub Copilot, VS Code's own AI chat. Using the Claude extension inside VS Code? Use the Claude Code tab instead.
Or add it by hand to .vscode/mcp.json in your project:
{
"servers": {
"offthemode": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://offthemode.vercel.app/mcp"
}
}
}Add these lines to ~/.codex/config.toml, then restart Codex:
[mcp_servers.offthemode] url = "https://offthemode.vercel.app/mcp"
Codex also loads the skills, with no server: see the Skills tab.
Windsurf, Zed, Cline and any other tool that supports MCP servers over HTTP can use this link. In the tool's MCP settings, add a remote server (often labelled HTTP or streamable HTTP) named offthemode, with this link as its URL:
https://offthemode.vercel.app/mcpGemini CLI also loads the skills, with no server: see the Skills tab.
No server at all: the skills are files your AI tool loads from its skills folder. Install all five together. Setup hands over to listrevisit and reassess, so one skill on its own is not enough.
- Claude Code reads .claude/skills/ in a project, or ~/.claude/skills/ for every project.
- Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor and VS Code read .agents/skills/ in a project, or ~/.agents/skills/ for every project.
One paste in a terminal installs them for every project. For Claude Code:
curl -fsSL https://offthemode.vercel.app/skills/offthemode-skills.zip -o /tmp/offthemode-skills.zip && unzip -o /tmp/offthemode-skills.zip -x README.md -d ~/.claude/skillsFor Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor or VS Code:
mkdir -p ~/.agents/skills && curl -fsSL https://offthemode.vercel.app/skills/offthemode-skills.zip -o /tmp/offthemode-skills.zip && unzip -o /tmp/offthemode-skills.zip -x README.md -d ~/.agents/skillsOr download them, and unzip the five folders into the skills folder yourself.
On claude.ai you upload one skill at a time, so each has its own zip. Upload all five:
What it never does
Never slows you down
Your sessions stay free-form. Nothing forces the checklist on you; the revisits catch up when you ask.
One folder, plus one line
Everything lives in .offthemode/, plus one line you approve so your tool loads it. Your code only changes when you ask your AI to change it.
Never sees your code
The server only hands out instructions and templates. Your AI tool does the reading and writing, on your machine.
Any language, any tool
It's a way of working, not a library. Web, mobile, backend, data: Claude, Cursor, VS Code and more.