Ask Devin: get answers before you delegate

There are two ways to put Devin to work, and knowing which one you want saves time. Delegating a session hands Devin a task: it edits code, runs tests, and opens a PR. Ask is the other mode: you ask a question in plain English and get an answer back, with no session, no code changes, and no PR. Ask is how you understand and plan; a session is how you execute.

The reflex to build: ask first. Before you spin up a session, ask Devin about the codebase to sanity-check the work. It's fast, and every answer is grounded in your indexed repo with citations to the files it came from, so you can click straight through to the source instead of taking the answer on faith.

The quickest way in is the lesson you just finished: from any DeepWiki page, type your question in the text box at the bottom and hit Ask, and Devin scopes the answer to that repository automatically. You can also open Ask directly and pick the repositories you want to ask about.

Ask has three modes. Auto picks the right behavior for your question. Q&A answers a direct question about how the code works. Plan goes further and produces a structured implementation plan for a change you're considering, the same plan you'd want before delegating.

That last mode is the bridge to the next lesson: from a Plan answer you can click Start Session to carry the full context straight into a session, so the work Devin does starts from the plan you already reviewed.

One scope rule to remember: Ask sees your indexed repo only, while a session sees the live main branch plus anything you attach. So when a question depends on a PDF, a spreadsheet, or a design file, that material belongs inside a session, not in an Ask question.

Use Ask whenever you want an answer, a plan, or a gut check on scope. Delegate a session when you want the change itself. Most good sessions start with an Ask.