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/pm:review-mode sets the review intensity for the entire repository. The dial controls how many fresh-context reviewers run at each gate — a single repo-wide setting that individual epics can escalate above but never de-escalate below. It is a pure instruction-layer setting: PM never runs a review itself, it only shapes what the CLAUDE.md rules block tells your agent to do.

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The three levels

If set-review-mode has never been run, the mode is standard — matching the default Gate 1/Gate 2 behavior already documented in the conductor skill.

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Setting repo review mode

Pass the desired mode with the --mode flag:
Re-running the command replaces the prior mode outright — there is only one active mode at a time. The CLAUDE.md rules block is refreshed automatically so the “Current mode” line stays accurate.

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Per-epic escalation

Individual epics can be escalated above the repo-wide dial without changing the setting for the whole repo:
The escalation rules are strict:
  • An epic can always escalate above the repo dial. A P0 epic in a standard repo can run as thorough.
  • An epic can never de-escalate below the repo dial. Attempting to set --review-mode off on an epic in a standard repo is rejected with a non-zero exit and leaves state unchanged.
  • The effective mode for a given epic is max(global dial, epic override). If you later raise the global dial above an epic’s override, the global dial wins — an override never pins a lower effective mode than the current global setting.
To query the effective mode for a specific epic, read state.epics[].reviewMode alongside state.reviewMode.
The review mode setting is stored in state.json under reviewMode. It persists across sessions and is re-applied by every fresh CLAUDE.md rules refresh — you do not need to re-run set-review-mode after a context compaction.
For high-stakes production changes, escalate the specific epic to thorough even if the repo is set to standard. One command before starting the epic is all it takes — the rest of the repo’s epics continue at standard.