Permission Modes | Claude Code Recap Card T03

Available Modes

Mode	Canonical name	Activation	Recommended use
Default	`default`	(none)	Daily development
Auto-accept edits	`acceptEdits`	`Shift+Tab`	Code reviews
Plan	`plan`	`Shift+Tab x2` or `/plan`	Analysis without modification
Auto (AI classifier)	`auto`	`permissions.defaultMode: "auto"`	Long tasks, fewer interruptions
Full bypass	`bypassPermissions`	`--dangerously-skip-permissions`	Headless CI/CD, sandboxed
Fewer prompts	—	`/fewer-permission-prompts`	Generates an allowlist from transcripts (shipped as `/less-permission-prompts` in v2.1.111)

CLI activation: claude --permission-mode <mode> accepts default, plan, acceptEdits, bypassPermissions. Persistent activation: permissions.defaultMode key in settings.json.

Note: --dangerously-skip-permissions also skips the .claude/ directory (v2.1.121). The auto mode relies on a classifier model that evaluates each tool call before execution, less friction, not a security boundary.

Tool Whitelist

# Allow only specific tools
claude --allowedTools "Read,Grep,Glob"

# Block specific tools
claude --disallowedTools "Bash,Write"

# Useful combinations
claude --allowedTools "Read,Edit,Bash(git*)"

Configuration in settings.json

{
  "permissions": {
    "allow": [
      "Bash(git log*)",
      "Bash(npm test*)",
      "Read",
      "Edit"
    ],
    "deny": [
      "Bash(rm*)",
      "Bash(sudo*)"
    ]
  }
}

Permission Hierarchy

Permissions accumulate and are inherited in this order:

~/.claude/settings.json: global user
.claude/settings.json: project (shared)
.claude/settings.local.json: project (local, gitignored)
CLI flags: session only

Glob Patterns for Bash

# Allow git only
"Bash(git *)"

# Allow npm test and build
"Bash(npm test*)", "Bash(npm run build*)"

# Allow file reading
"Bash(cat *)", "Bash(ls *)"

Best Practices

CI/CD: Always use --dangerously-skip-permissions with a sandboxed environment (Docker, ephemeral container). Never on a shared production machine.

Sensitive projects: Restrict Bash tools with precise globs in .claude/settings.json. Commit this file so the whole team uses the same constraints.

Audit: Claude’s actions are logged in ~/.claude/logs/. Verifiable at any time.