✦ Engineering

How We Built Code Mode: Deep Reasoning for Developers

An inside look at our approach to pairing a clean editor experience with a model that genuinely reasons about your code.

Apr 20, 2026 7 min read

Code Mode started as a question: what does an AI coding interface look like when the underlying model can actually reason, not just complete?

Most coding tools built on LLMs are good at pattern matching. They’ve seen enough code that they can continue a function, suggest a variable name, or fill in a boilerplate block. That’s useful. But it breaks down the moment you hit a genuinely hard problem — a subtle bug, an architectural decision, a performance issue that requires holding many constraints in mind at once.

Sarvam-105B is different. It was trained with an emphasis on reasoning chains, and it shows. When you describe a bug in Code Mode, Jivam doesn’t guess — it thinks.

The interface problem

The first prototype of Code Mode looked like a chat interface with syntax highlighting bolted on. It was functional but wrong. Developers don’t think about code as a conversation. They think in diffs, in files, in function signatures.

We rebuilt it from scratch around a few principles:

Diffs, not walls of text

When Jivam suggests a change, it shows you exactly what changed — not a block of code you have to compare against your original. One-click copy for the full block, or line-level copy for specific changes.

Files as first-class context

You can drag any file into Code Mode. Jivam reads it, references it, and keeps it in context for the session. No more pasting — just drop in your file and describe your problem.

Focused, not distracted

Code Mode has a different visual register than Conversation Mode — tighter, darker, more like an IDE than a chat interface. The goal is to feel like a natural extension of your existing workflow, not an interruption to it.

What’s next for Code Mode

We’re working on deeper integrations: a VS Code extension that can invoke Jivam from your editor, automatic context from your open files, and a diff-review flow for larger changesets.

Code Mode is available now on Starter and Pro plans. If you're on the free plan, you can try it for 10 sessions before deciding whether to upgrade.
Engineering Code Mode Developer Tools
J

Jivam Team

We're a small team building AI tools for India's next generation of knowledge workers. Follow us on Twitter for updates.

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