When auto mode gets disabled, users face an avalanche of permission requests without an easy way to re-enable auto mode. This feature request proposes adding an 'Enable auto-mode' option to permission dialogs that would approve the current request and re-enable auto mode for the session. This addresses the UX pain point where users need uninterrupted time to manually re-enable auto mode while being bombarded with prompts.
2.8 KiB
Feature Request: Add "Enable auto-mode" to permission request options
Problem Statement
When auto mode gets turned off (for various reasons like encountering a tool that requires explicit permission), users face an avalanche of back-to-back permission requests. This makes it very difficult to get the 2 seconds of uninterrupted time needed to navigate to settings and re-enable auto mode.
Currently, users must either:
- Manually approve each permission request one-by-one, or
- Try to find a brief pause to navigate away and re-enable auto mode
This creates a frustrating user experience, especially when multiple permission requests queue up rapidly.
Proposed Solution
Add "Enable auto-mode" as a new option in permission request dialogs, alongside the existing options like:
- Yes, allow
- Yes, allow for this session
- Always allow
- No, deny
The new option would:
- Approve the current permission request
- Enable auto-mode for the remainder of the session
- Allow subsequent permission requests to be handled automatically by the auto-mode classifier
User Experience
When a permission prompt appears, users would see something like:
Claude wants to run: npm test
> Yes, allow
Yes, allow for this session
Always allow
Enable auto-mode (approve this and future requests automatically)
No, deny
Selecting "Enable auto-mode" would:
- Immediately approve the current pending request
- Switch the session to auto-mode
- Continue processing any queued requests using auto-mode
Technical Context
Based on CHANGELOG analysis, the relevant code areas include:
- Permission prompt component (React/Ink-based UI)
setPermissionModefunction for changing modes- Auto-mode classifier system
- Session state management for permission modes
The existing infrastructure supports:
value:"allow_all"for session-wide permissionsvalue:"yes-accept-edits"for auto-accepting edits- Mode transitions via keyboard shortcuts (Shift+Tab in plan mode)
Priority
High - This is a significant impact on productivity, especially for users who rely on auto-mode for their workflow.
Feature Category
Interactive mode (TUI)
Use Case Example
- User is working with auto-mode enabled
- A tool triggers that auto-mode can't classify (e.g., a sensitive operation)
- Auto-mode gets disabled, prompting for explicit permission
- User approves the operation
- Multiple follow-up tool calls also need permission
- Instead of approving each one, user selects "Enable auto-mode"
- Current request is approved and auto-mode handles the rest
Additional Context
- Slack thread: https://anthropic.slack.com/archives/C07VBSHV7EV/p1774978648891819?thread_ts=1774978537.133329&cid=C07VBSHV7EV
- Requested by Mark Christian
- Related to improving the permission request UX when auto-mode is interrupted