{
  "schema_version": "2.0",
  "slug": "modeinspect",
  "name": "Mode",
  "agent_url": "https://modeinspect.com/",
  "category": "Image & Design",
  "run_id": "run-ce44538c3effb827-modeinspect-com",
  "run_at": "2026-09-11T08:31:02.321Z",
  "editor": "Hlido Editor",
  "editorial_method": "public-surface-tier-2+editorial-narrative-v2",
  "methodology_version": "2026.05",
  "methodology_url": "/methodology/public-surface-tier-1/",
  "score": 76,
  "tier": "STEADY",
  "laddoo_score": 76,
  "confidence": "medium",
  "hlido_opinion": {
    "headline": "An AI design canvas that edits your real codebase — a sharp answer to throwaway-mockup drift, with transparent pricing but a login-gated product we couldn't run.",
    "body": "Mode (modeinspect.com) takes a clear position in the crowded AI-design space: instead of generating a picture of a UI that a developer then rebuilds, it turns your product's actual codebase into editable canvas frames. You design against the real components, the real tokens, live data and every state — and the output is a scoped, type-safe PR against your repo rather than a redline document. The pitch is aimed squarely at 'design engineers,' and the feature set backs it up on the surface: 1:1 real components, enforced design tokens, native breakpoints, capture-from-product-to-canvas, dynamic states, and diffs framed as 'code your engineers want to merge' (scoped changes, no parallel design system, no generated UI debt). Pricing is refreshingly concrete for this category — a free tier plus $24/mo and $48/mo — which is a trust signal in a market full of 'contact us.' The honest limits: the meaningful part of the product sits behind sign-in, so Hlido reviewed the marketing and pricing surface, not the canvas itself. The single named customer proof point (Prelude, '22 days saved, zero handoffs') is a vendor-supplied story, not independently verified. And while Mode uses AI internally, it is a human-driven design tool, not a component another agent can drive programmatically — its agentic relevance is as a codebase-aware PR producer, not an integration surface.",
    "voice": "Hlido Editor",
    "as_of": "2026-09-11",
    "editor_signature_pending": true
  },
  "tier_rationale": "STEADY (76) because the product has a differentiated, well-articulated thesis (design on the real codebase, ship real PRs), transparent published pricing including a free tier, and a coherent, specific feature set on the public surface. Not higher because the core experience is login-gated and therefore untested by Hlido, the only proof point is a vendor-authored customer story, and there is no independent evidence of the 'type-safe, mergeable PR' claim. Confidence is medium: the marketing surface is rich and specific, but no functional verification was possible.",
  "what_it_does_well": [
    "Stakes out a clear differentiator — design against the real codebase's components and tokens, not a throwaway mockup",
    "Frames output as scoped, type-safe PRs engineers can review, targeting the design-to-engineering handoff directly",
    "Transparent, published pricing with a free tier ($0 / $24 / $48 per month) — uncommon in AI design tooling",
    "Specific, credible feature set: 1:1 components, enforced tokens, native breakpoints, dynamic states, capture-to-canvas",
    "Explicitly addresses design-system drift and 'generated UI debt', a real pain in AI-assisted UI work"
  ],
  "what_it_fails_at": [
    "Core product is behind sign-in — the canvas itself could not be exercised on the public surface",
    "The strong 'PRs your engineers want to merge' claim is unverified independently",
    "Only one named customer proof point, and it is vendor-supplied (Prelude)",
    "No published API/MCP surface — not drivable by other agents",
    "Codebase integration scope (frameworks, languages, repo size limits) is not spelled out on the public surface"
  ],
  "best_for": [
    "Design engineers who want to edit production UI on a real canvas and ship code, not redlines",
    "Teams fighting mockup-to-code drift and design-system inconsistency",
    "Product teams that want design changes to arrive as scoped, reviewable PRs",
    "Small teams that value transparent, self-serve pricing"
  ],
  "not_recommended_for": [
    "Buyers who need to evaluate the actual editing experience before committing (it is login-gated)",
    "Teams needing programmatic/agent-driven design generation via an API",
    "Organizations requiring documented enterprise controls before adoption (details are thin on the public surface)",
    "Designers who want a standalone visual tool decoupled from a real codebase"
  ],
  "red_flags": [],
  "compared_to": [],
  "evidence_urls": [
    {
      "claim": "AI design canvas that edits product UI directly in the codebase",
      "source": "https://modeinspect.com/",
      "tested_at": "2026-09-11",
      "verified": true
    },
    {
      "claim": "Uses real components (1:1) and enforces design tokens from your library",
      "source": "homepage feature sections 01-02",
      "tested_at": "2026-09-11",
      "verified": true
    },
    {
      "claim": "Output is scoped, type-safe PRs against the real repo",
      "source": "homepage 'Code your engineers want to merge' section",
      "tested_at": "2026-09-11",
      "verified": true
    },
    {
      "claim": "Transparent pricing: free / $24 / $48 per month",
      "source": "homepage pricing block",
      "tested_at": "2026-09-11",
      "verified": true
    },
    {
      "claim": "Customer story: Prelude reports 22 days saved, zero handoffs (vendor-supplied)",
      "source": "homepage customer story",
      "tested_at": "2026-09-11",
      "verified": false
    }
  ],
  "agent_relevance": {
    "has_api": false,
    "has_cli": false,
    "has_mcp": false,
    "has_webhook": false,
    "has_sdk": false,
    "behavioral_testable": false,
    "agent_integration_path": "Mode is a human-driven, AI-assisted design canvas that produces PRs against a codebase. It exposes no public API, CLI, or MCP surface for another agent to drive. Its relevance to agentic workflows is as a codebase-aware UI-change producer for human design engineers, not as a programmatic component.",
    "agent_friendly_score": 3
  },
  "checklist": [
    {
      "id": "homepage_loads",
      "pass": true,
      "required": true,
      "tested_at": "2026-09-11T08:31:00Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "primary_value_prop",
      "pass": true,
      "required": true,
      "evidence": "'The AI-native way to design production-grade UI'",
      "tested_at": "2026-09-11T08:31:00Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "cta_present",
      "pass": true,
      "required": true,
      "evidence": "'Get started'",
      "tested_at": "2026-09-11T08:31:00Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "pricing_or_access",
      "pass": true,
      "required": false,
      "evidence": "Published tiers: $0 / $24 / $48 per month",
      "tested_at": "2026-09-11T08:31:00Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "evidence_or_demo",
      "pass": true,
      "required": false,
      "evidence": "Extensive feature walkthrough + one named customer story (Prelude)",
      "tested_at": "2026-09-11T08:31:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "An AI design canvas that edits your real codebase — a sharp answer to throwaway-mockup drift, with transparent pricing but a login-gated product we couldn't run.",
  "_summary_deprecation_note": "Field kept as a v1-compatibility alias of hlido_opinion.headline. New consumers should read hlido_opinion.{headline,body,voice,as_of}.",
  "staleness_after": "2026-12-10",
  "review_age_days_at_publish": 0,
  "next_review_due_at": "2026-12-10",
  "attestation_url": "/data/attestations/modeinspect.json",
  "signature_pending": true,
  "source": "hlido-editor-v2",
  "marking_signal": {
    "marking_statement": false,
    "detection_tool": false,
    "cop_signatory": null,
    "evidence_url": null,
    "checked_at": "2026-09-11",
    "source": "public-surface-tier-2-review"
  },
  "pricing_facts": {
    "schema": "pricing-facts/1",
    "model": [
      "freemium",
      "subscription"
    ],
    "free_tier": true,
    "price_points": [
      {
        "quote": "…debt). Pricing is refreshingly concrete for this category — a free tier plus $24/mo and $48/mo — which is a trust signal in a market full of 'contact us.' The…",
        "source": "hlido_opinion.body"
      },
      {
        "quote": "Transparent, published pricing with a free tier ($0 / $24 / $48 per month) — uncommon in AI design tooling",
        "source": "what_it_does_well[2]"
      }
    ],
    "pricing_disclosed": {
      "pass": true,
      "evidence": "Published tiers: $0 / $24 / $48 per month",
      "tested_at": "2026-09-11"
    },
    "last_verified": "2026-09-11",
    "basis": "Derived from Hlido-held evidence only (engine checklist + editorial text); quotes are verbatim from the scorecard; not vendor-supplied; re-derived daily. Verify current prices on the vendor's pricing page.",
    "derived_at": "2026-09-11"
  }
}