Permissions
Control what Claude Code can do without asking — permission modes, prompts, and the settings behind them.
All answers
- What does acceptEdits allow?
acceptEdits auto-approves file edits and seven filesystem commands inside your working directory. The exact list, the scope limit, and what keeps prompting.
- What is auto permission mode in Claude Code?
In auto mode a second model reviews each action instead of you. What it blocks, the account and model requirements, what "auto mode is unavailable" means, and why the setting is ignored in project settings.
- What is the difference between auto mode and bypassPermissions in Claude Code?
Both modes stop the prompts. Auto mode hands the review to a classifier that can block an action; bypassPermissions removes review entirely. What each still asks about, where each is allowed, and where acceptEdits sits.
- Why is auto mode blocking my command?
The three messages a classifier denial leaves on screen, where the exact command is hidden, and the three fixes, from a one-off retry to a trusted-infrastructure entry.
- How do I run Claude Code with bypassPermissions?
Run Claude Code without permission prompts using bypassPermissions. The exact command, what it skips, the guardrails that still apply, and safer alternatives.
- What is the difference between --dangerously-skip-permissions and bypassPermissions?
The two flags are aliases for one permission mode, not two levels of risk. Which to use, and what the naming implies.
- How do I set a default permission mode for Claude Code?
Set permissions.defaultMode in settings.json so every session starts in the mode you want. Which file to use, and how the four scopes override each other.
- What is dontAsk mode in Claude Code?
dontAsk denies every call that would otherwise prompt, running only what your allow rules, read-only Bash, or a PreToolUse hook permit. Built for CI.
- Which Claude Code version changed this permission behaviour?
Every "before v2.1.x" note from the permissions documentation in one table, oldest first, so you can tell whether the behaviour you see is your version or your configuration.
- Why is my permission mode not being applied?
A mode you set can be silently ignored by the wrong settings file, a surface that refuses it, a subagent, or auto mode dropping your allow rules. Where each one happens.
- How do I start Claude Code in plan mode?
Plan mode lets Claude read and explore but blocks file edits until you approve a plan. How to start it, how to leave it, and when it earns its extra step.
- How do I switch permission modes with Shift+Tab?
Shift+Tab cycles default, acceptEdits, and plan. Optional modes join the cycle conditionally, and one never appears at all. What determines the order.
- Why does Claude Code keep asking for permission?
Manual mode asks by design. If you picked a mode and it still asks, seven documented things prompt regardless, including allow rules that cannot cover protected paths.