Pairing Mode

Mirror an agent’s container into your IDE so you can inspect, run, and edit code locally.

What is Pairing Mode?

Pairing Mode lets you open and work with the agent's container code locally.

Pairing Mode Overview

When you turn it on, Sculptor:

  • Checks out the agent’s branch on your machine

  • Syncs file changes between the container and your local directory

  • Lets you use your IDE (Cursor, VS Code, JetBrains, etc.) to view or modify the agent’s work

Tip: Pairing Mode is the best way to inspect generated code, run the app locally, make small fixes, or debug what the agent produced.

How Pairing Mode works

When activated, Sculptor:

  1. Ensures your local repo matches the agent’s base commit

  2. Checks out the agent’s branch locally (e.g. sculptor/refactor-to-tailwind-css)

  3. Mirrors file changes live

  4. Restores your previous branch when Pairing Mode is turned off

Your editor will show the exact files the agent sees inside its container.

Starting Pairing Mode

From the toolbar

  1. Open any agent session

  2. Click the Pairing Mode toggle in the top-right corner

Pairing Mode toggle

From the agent task view

  1. Open the agent from the left sidebar

  2. Go to Task

  3. Click Start Pairing Mode

Status indicators

When Pairing Mode is active:

  • The toolbar shows Pairing On

  • Hovering reveals Stop Pairing

  • A bottom status bar shows:

    • The synced local path

    • The container branch currently checked out

Sync status

Stashing

Pairing Mode includes built-in stashing so you can start pairing without first cleaning up your local Git state. When enabled via the dedicated header button, Sculptor temporarily stashes your current local changes—similar to git stash and switches your workspace to match the agent’s branch exactly.

This lets the agent’s container changes appear cleanly in your local repo without conflicts or manual intervention. When you stop Pairing Mode, your original branch and stashed changes are automatically restored.

The value: you can jump into Pairing Mode instantly, inspect or debug the agent’s output, and return to your in-progress work without losing context.

Summary

Pairing Mode gives you a safe, familiar local workflow while still leveraging Sculptor’s containerized agents. It’s ideal for:

  • Reviewing large changes

  • Running code in your own environment

  • Fixing or tweaking generated results

  • Debugging behavior before merging

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