hack mode: 

n.

1. What one is in when hacking, of course.

2. More specifically, a Zen-like state of total focus on The Problem that may
be achieved when one is hacking (this is why every good hacker is part
mystic). Ability to enter such concentration at will correlates strongly with
wizardliness; it is one of the most important skills learned during larval
stage. Sometimes amplified as deep hack mode.

Being yanked out of hack mode (see priority interrupt) may be experienced

as a physical shock, and the sensation of being in hack mode is more than a
little habituating. The intensity of this experience is probably by itself
sufficient explanation for the existence of hackers, and explains why many
resist being promoted out of positions where they can code. See
also cyberspace (sense 3).

Some aspects of hacker etiquette will appear quite odd to an observer

unaware of the high value placed on hack mode. For example, if someone
appears at your door, it is perfectly okay to hold up a hand (without turning
one's eyes away from the screen) to avoid being interrupted. One may read,
type, and interact with the computer for quite some time before further
acknowledging the other's presence (of course, he or she is reciprocally free
to leave without a word). The understanding is that you might be in hack
mode with a lot of delicate state (sense 2) in your head, and you dare
not swap that context out until you have reached a good point to pause. See
also juggling eggs.

[very common] To hack; implies that the subject is some pre-existing hunk
of code that one is evolving, as opposed to something one might hack up.