Quick Mode
Skip the planning ceremony. Get working code fast.
Usage
/phx:quick Add pagination to posts
/phx:quick Fix the login redirect bug
/phx:quick Add CSV export to reportsArguments
$ARGUMENTS = What to implement
How It Differs
| Normal Mode | Quick Mode |
|---|---|
| Spawn research agents | No agents |
| Create plan document | Mental model only |
| Parallel review | Optional single review |
| Multiple iterations | Single pass |
Workflow
- Understand - Read relevant files (max 3)
- Implement - Write code directly
- Verify - Quick compile check
- Done - No ceremony
Iron Laws
- NEVER skip verification — run
mix compile --warnings-as-errorsafter every change, even in quick mode - DO NOT touch files outside the stated scope — quick mode means minimal blast radius; if a fix requires changes across multiple domains, escalate to
/phx:plan - NEVER bypass security checks for speed — auth, input validation, and XSS rules apply regardless of change size
Rules in Quick Mode
Still Enforced (Iron Laws)
- ✓ No process without runtime reason
- ✓ No DB in mount
- ✓ Security basics (no SQL injection, etc.)
- ✓ Run
mix format
Skipped
- ✗ Parallel agent research
- ✗ Written plan document
- ✗ Multiple review passes
- ✗ Documentation updates
When to Use
Good for:
- Bug fixes with clear solution
- Small features (<100 lines)
- Refactoring with tests
- Adding fields/columns
- UI tweaks
Not for:
- New authentication flows
- Payment integration
- Data migrations
- Architectural changes
- Anything touching security
Quick Patterns
Add Field
/quick Add phone field to users→ Migration + schema + changeset + form field
Fix Bug
/quick Fix: posts not showing for admin users→ Find issue + fix + verify
Add Endpoint
/quick Add GET /api/health endpoint→ Route + controller + response
Escape Hatch
If quick mode hits complexity:
This needs more planning. Switching to normal mode.
Run /phx:plan [task] for full analysis.Verification
After quick implementation:
Run mix compile --warnings-as-errors. If you touched Ecto schemas or migrations, run mix ecto.migrate. Then run mix test test/path_test.exs for affected tests.
Example Session
User: /phx:quick Add archived_at timestamp to posts
Claude:
1. Reading lib/my_app/blog/post.ex...
2. Creating migration...
# priv/repo/migrations/xxx_add_archived_at_to_posts.exs
def change do
alter table(:posts) do
add :archived_at, :utc_datetime
end
end
3. Updating schema...
# lib/my_app/blog/post.ex
field :archived_at, :utc_datetime
4. Adding to changeset...
def changeset(post, attrs) do
post
|> cast(attrs, [:title, :body, :archived_at])
...
end
5. Verifying...
$ mix compile --warnings-as-errors ✓
$ mix ecto.migrate ✓
Done. Run `mix test` to verify.