roypadina · Oct 23, 2026 · Oct 23, 2026
@@ -3,6 +3,16 @@
 All notable changes to Agentctl are documented here. Format loosely follows
 [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com); versions follow [SemVer](https://semver.org).
 
+## [0.11.2] — 2026-10-23
+
+### Changed
+
+- Claude sessions now start and resume in Claude Code's **auto** permission mode (`--permission-mode auto`) instead of `--dangerously-skip-permissions`.
+
+### Added
+
+- Config key `permission_mode = "bypassPermissions"` opts back in to `--dangerously-skip-permissions` (Resume and the built-in `claude` tool).
+
 ## [0.11.1] — 2026-10-23
 
 ### Added

@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ bin/agentctl                  Node shebang shim → dist/cli.js
 - **No defensive code at boundaries that aren't boundaries**. Internal calls trust each other. Validate only at FS reads / external JSON / process.argv.
 - **TDD where it helps**. New `src/core/` modules ship with `tests/core/<name>.test.ts`. UI work in `tui.tsx` gets smoke tests only — full UX validation is manual in a real terminal.
 - **Cwd encoding is ambiguous**. `~/.claude/projects/<encoded-cwd>/` uses `-` as both the leading marker and the path separator. Real `-` in segment names (e.g. `My-App-Repo`) collides. `decode.ts` recursively walks candidates with `existsSync` pruning. When no match, returns `cwdDecodeConfident: false` — UI must surface this and `resume` refuses without `--cwd <override>`.
-- **`--dangerously-skip-permissions` is hardcoded** into `cli/resume.ts`. Never expose a config flag to remove it. Only `resume` adds it; `peek` / read paths never do.
+- **Permission mode comes from config `permission_mode`** (`auto` default → `--permission-mode auto`; `bypassPermissions` opt-in → `--dangerously-skip-permissions`), via `permissionArgs` in `core/config/defaults.ts`. Only `resume` adds it; `peek` / read paths never do.
 - **Resume pins `CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR`** to the session's own profile (`resumeEnv`). Inheriting the
   ambient value resumes the transcript under whichever profile launched the menu; when two
   profiles share a `projects/` dir that *succeeds silently as the wrong account* rather than

@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ add one tool per profile:
 ```toml
 [[tool]]
 name  = "work"
-runs  = "CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude2 claude --dangerously-skip-permissions"
+runs  = "CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude2 claude --permission-mode auto"
 label = " ⚡ Work account "
 ```
 
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ color = "#6C91BF"
 
 [[tool]]                        # an agent launcher: `runs` is executed in the chosen dir
 name  = "claude"
-runs  = "claude --dangerously-skip-permissions"
+runs  = "claude --permission-mode auto"
 
 [[ide]]                         # an fzf-style ^key that opens an editor, then the tool
 key   = "ctrl-v"
@@ -288,9 +288,10 @@ names by walking the filesystem — and flagged when the result isn't certain.
 - **Open source (MIT).** Read or build every line yourself.
 - **Local-only. No network calls of its own, no analytics, no accounts.** It reads `~/.claude/` and the
   project folders you configure, and launches your terminal. That's it.
-- **`--dangerously-skip-permissions`.** The default tool commands include Claude's
-  `--dangerously-skip-permissions` (and Codex's sandbox-bypass) flag, because this is a launcher for your
-  own machine. You can change `runs` in your config to drop it.
+- **Permissions.** Claude sessions start and resume in Claude Code's **auto** permission mode
+  (`--permission-mode auto`). To opt into bypass, set `permission_mode = "bypassPermissions"` at the top of
+  your config (adds `--dangerously-skip-permissions` to Resume and the built-in `claude` tool). The default
+  Codex tool still uses Codex's sandbox-bypass flag; change its `runs` to drop it.
 
 ## Uninstall
 

@@ -3,6 +3,12 @@
 # Optional. Which tool's launcher is primary (informational).
 default_tool = "claude"
 
+# Claude Code permission mode for the built-in claude tool and for Resume.
+#   "auto" (default)        — Claude Code auto mode (--permission-mode auto)
+#   "bypassPermissions"     — opt in to --dangerously-skip-permissions
+# A [[tool]] `runs` line below is used verbatim; this key does not rewrite it.
+# permission_mode = "auto"
+
 # ─── dir groups ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 # Each group is a section in the New screen. `path` is scanned one level deep for
 # project dirs, sorted by `z` frecency (falls back to mtime). ~ and $HOME expand.
@@ -21,7 +27,7 @@ color = "#A855F7"
 # executed in the chosen dir. Adding/removing a tool takes effect in a NEW shell.
 [[tool]]
 name  = "claude"
-runs  = "claude --dangerously-skip-permissions"
+runs  = "claude --permission-mode auto"
 label = " ⚡ Projects "
 color = "#6C91BF"
 
@@ -36,7 +42,7 @@ color = "#A855F7"
 # with ⇧⇥. Resume already picks the right profile on its own.
 # [[tool]]
 # name  = "work"
-# runs  = "CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude2 claude --dangerously-skip-permissions"
+# runs  = "CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.claude2 claude --permission-mode auto"
 # label = " ⚡ Work account "
 # color = "#4EA37A"
 

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@roypadina/agentctl",
-  "version": "0.11.1",
+  "version": "0.11.2",
   "description": "Start and resume Claude Code & Codex sessions from one terminal menu — fuzzy-resume past sessions with transcript preview.",
   "type": "module",
   "license": "MIT",

@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 import { existsSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { spawnSync, type SpawnSyncReturns } from 'node:child_process';
 import { isPrimaryHome } from '../core/profiles.js';
+import { loadPermissionMode } from '../core/config/loadConfig.js';
+import { permissionArgs } from '../core/config/defaults.js';
+import type { PermissionMode } from '../core/config/types.js';
 import type { SessionRecord } from '../core/types.js';
 
 export class ResumeError extends Error {
@@ -23,6 +26,7 @@ export interface ResumeDeps {
     opts: { cwd: string; stdio: 'inherit'; env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv },
   ) => SpawnSyncReturns<Buffer>;
   exit?: (code: number) => never;
+  permissionMode?: () => PermissionMode;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -63,7 +67,7 @@ export function resume(
   const bin = process.env.AGENTCTL_CLAUDE_BIN ?? 'claude';
   const child = spawn(
     bin,
-    ['--resume', s.id, '--dangerously-skip-permissions'],
+    ['--resume', s.id, ...permissionArgs((deps.permissionMode ?? loadPermissionMode)())],
     { cwd: targetCwd, stdio: 'inherit', env: resumeEnv(s) },
   );
   const err = child.error as NodeJS.ErrnoException | undefined;

@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ export function NewScreen({ config, warnings, projects, configError, onSwitchTab
     const i = tools.findIndex((t) => t.name === (config?.defaultTool ?? 'claude'));
     return i >= 0 ? i : 0;
   });
-  const tool = tools[toolIdx] ?? (config ? getTool(config, config.defaultTool) : { name: 'claude', runs: 'claude --dangerously-skip-permissions', label: '', color: '#6C91BF' });
+  const tool = tools[toolIdx] ?? (config ? getTool(config, config.defaultTool) : { name: 'claude', runs: 'claude --permission-mode auto', label: '', color: '#6C91BF' });
 
   const [query, setQuery] = useState('');
   const [cursor, setCursor] = useState(0);

@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ import { copyToClipboard, resumeCommand } from '../core/clipboard.js';
 import { listProfiles, profileAccount, type Profile } from '../core/profiles.js';
 import { fuzzyRank } from '../core/fuzzy.js';
 import { getRecap, readCachedRecap, spawnRun } from '../core/recap.js';
+import { loadPermissionMode } from '../core/config/loadConfig.js';
+import { permissionArgs } from '../core/config/defaults.js';
 import { windowFor, scrollbar } from './viewport.js';
 import { useKeyChunk, upCount, downCount } from './useKeyChunk.js';
 import {
@@ -63,7 +65,7 @@ export function App({ initial, onResume, onBack, onQuit, onSwitchTab }: AppProps
     if (onResume) { onResume(s); return; }
     exit();
     const bin = process.env.AGENTCTL_CLAUDE_BIN ?? 'claude';
-    spawnSync(bin, ['--resume', s.id, '--dangerously-skip-permissions'], {
+    spawnSync(bin, ['--resume', s.id, ...permissionArgs(loadPermissionMode())], {
       cwd: s.cwd, stdio: 'inherit', env: resumeEnv(s),
     });
   };

@@ -1,13 +1,22 @@
-import type { AgentctlConfig, ThemeConfig, ToolConfig } from './types.js';
+import type { AgentctlConfig, PermissionMode, ThemeConfig, ToolConfig } from './types.js';
 
 /** Hex colour fallback. */
 export const DEFAULT_COLOR = '#8888aa';
 
+export const DEFAULT_PERMISSION_MODE: PermissionMode = 'auto';
+
+/** CLI args that start Claude Code in the given permission mode. */
+export function permissionArgs(mode: PermissionMode): string[] {
+  return mode === 'bypassPermissions' ? ['--dangerously-skip-permissions'] : ['--permission-mode', 'auto'];
+}
+
 /** Built-in tools. Used when config omits a [[tool]] of this name. */
-export const DEFAULT_TOOLS: Record<string, ToolConfig> = {
-  claude: { name: 'claude', runs: 'claude --dangerously-skip-permissions', label: ' ⚡ Projects ', color: '#6C91BF' },
-  cdx: { name: 'cdx', runs: 'codex --dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox', label: ' ✦ Codex ', color: '#A855F7' },
-};
+export function defaultTools(mode: PermissionMode = DEFAULT_PERMISSION_MODE): Record<string, ToolConfig> {
+  return {
+    claude: { name: 'claude', runs: ['claude', ...permissionArgs(mode)].join(' '), label: ' ⚡ Projects ', color: '#6C91BF' },
+    cdx: { name: 'cdx', runs: 'codex --dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox', label: ' ✦ Codex ', color: '#A855F7' },
+  };
+}
 
 /** Colors duplicated (NOT imported) from tui.tsx to keep core ink-free. */
 export const DEFAULT_THEME: ThemeConfig = {
@@ -24,8 +33,9 @@ export const DEFAULT_RESERVED_KEYS = new Set(['enter', 'ctrl-f', 'ctrl-p', 'ctrl
 
 export const DEFAULT_CONFIG: AgentctlConfig = {
   groups: [],
-  tools: [DEFAULT_TOOLS.claude, DEFAULT_TOOLS.cdx],
+  tools: Object.values(defaultTools()),
   ides: [],
   defaultTool: 'claude',
+  permissionMode: DEFAULT_PERMISSION_MODE,
   theme: DEFAULT_THEME,
 };
@@ -2,11 +2,12 @@ import { readFileSync, statSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { parse, TomlError } from 'smol-toml';
 import { configPath } from './paths.js';
 import { validateConfig } from './validate.js';
-import { DEFAULT_CONFIG, DEFAULT_RESERVED_KEYS, DEFAULT_TOOLS, DEFAULT_COLOR } from './defaults.js';
+import { DEFAULT_CONFIG, DEFAULT_RESERVED_KEYS, DEFAULT_PERMISSION_MODE, defaultTools, DEFAULT_COLOR } from './defaults.js';
 import {
   ConfigError,
   type AgentctlConfig,
   type LoadConfigResult,
+  type PermissionMode,
   type ToolConfig,
 } from './types.js';
 
@@ -75,7 +76,7 @@ export function loadConfig(opts: LoadConfigOptions = {}): LoadConfigResult {
   const { config, warnings } = validateConfig(raw, { reservedKeys });
   // Always guarantee claude/cdx exist as launchers.
   if (config.tools.length === 0) {
-    config.tools = [DEFAULT_TOOLS.claude, DEFAULT_TOOLS.cdx];
+    config.tools = Object.values(defaultTools(config.permissionMode));
   }
 
   const result: LoadConfigResult = {
@@ -94,7 +95,8 @@ export function loadConfig(opts: LoadConfigOptions = {}): LoadConfigResult {
 export function getTool(config: AgentctlConfig, name: string): ToolConfig {
   const found = config.tools.find(t => t.name === name);
   if (found) return found;
-  if (DEFAULT_TOOLS[name]) return DEFAULT_TOOLS[name];
+  const builtin = defaultTools(config.permissionMode)[name];
+  if (builtin) return builtin;
   return { name, runs: name, label: ` ${name} `, color: DEFAULT_COLOR };
 }
 
@@ -104,6 +106,12 @@ function structuredCloneConfig(c: AgentctlConfig): AgentctlConfig {
     tools: c.tools.map(t => ({ ...t })),
     ides: c.ides.map(i => ({ ...i })),
     defaultTool: c.defaultTool,
+    permissionMode: c.permissionMode,
     theme: { ...c.theme },
   };
 }
+
+/** Permission mode for resume paths. A broken config must not block resuming → safe default. */
+export function loadPermissionMode(): PermissionMode {
+  try { return loadConfig().config.permissionMode; } catch { return DEFAULT_PERMISSION_MODE; }
+}
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ export interface GroupConfig {
 export interface ToolConfig {
   /** Generates a launcher command of this name (claude, cdx, …). */
   name: string;
-  /** Shell command line run in the chosen dir (e.g. "claude --dangerously-skip-permissions"). */
+  /** Shell command line run in the chosen dir (e.g. "claude --permission-mode auto"). */
   runs: string;
   /** fzf-style border label. */
   label: string;
@@ -37,11 +37,15 @@ export interface ThemeConfig {
   statusInactive: string;
 }
 
+/** Claude Code permission mode agentctl launches/resumes with. */
+export type PermissionMode = 'auto' | 'bypassPermissions';
+
 export interface AgentctlConfig {
   groups: GroupConfig[];
   tools: ToolConfig[];
   ides: IdeConfig[];
   defaultTool: string;
+  permissionMode: PermissionMode;
   theme: ThemeConfig;
 }
 
@@ -53,6 +57,7 @@ export type ConfigWarningCode =
   | 'missing-group-path'
   | 'dup-tool-name'
   | 'unknown-default-tool'
+  | 'bad-permission-mode'
   | 'unknown-var';
 
 export interface ConfigWarning {

@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 import { expandPath } from './paths.js';
-import { DEFAULT_COLOR, DEFAULT_THEME } from './defaults.js';
+import { DEFAULT_COLOR, DEFAULT_PERMISSION_MODE, DEFAULT_THEME } from './defaults.js';
 import {
   ConfigError,
   type AgentctlConfig,
   type ConfigWarning,
   type GroupConfig,
   type IdeConfig,
+  type PermissionMode,
   type ThemeConfig,
   type ToolConfig,
 } from './types.js';
@@ -135,11 +136,19 @@ export function validateConfig(
     defaultTool = tools[0].name;
   }
 
+  let permissionMode: PermissionMode = DEFAULT_PERMISSION_MODE;
+  if (raw.permission_mode === 'auto' || raw.permission_mode === 'bypassPermissions') {
+    permissionMode = raw.permission_mode;
+  } else if (raw.permission_mode !== undefined) {
+    warnings.push({ code: 'bad-permission-mode', message: `permission_mode "${String(raw.permission_mode)}" must be "auto" or "bypassPermissions" → "auto"` });
+  }
+
   const config: AgentctlConfig = {
     groups,
     tools,
     ides,
     defaultTool,
+    permissionMode,
     theme: buildTheme(raw.theme),
   };
   return { config, warnings };

@@ -45,22 +45,30 @@ describe('resume', () => {
     ).toThrow(/busy/);
   });
 
-  it('spawns claude with --resume and --dangerously-skip-permissions', () => {
+  it('spawns claude with --resume and --permission-mode auto by default', () => {
     const spawn = vi.fn(() => ({ status: 0, error: undefined })) as never;
     const exit = vi.fn();
-    resume(record(), {}, { exists: () => true, spawn, exit: exit as never });
+    resume(record(), {}, { exists: () => true, spawn, exit: exit as never, permissionMode: () => 'auto' });
     expect(spawn).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
     const call = (spawn as unknown as { mock: { calls: unknown[][] } }).mock.calls[0];
     expect(call[0]).toBe('claude');
     expect(call[1]).toEqual([
       '--resume',
       'aaaaaaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaaaaaaaaaa',
-      '--dangerously-skip-permissions',
+      '--permission-mode',
+      'auto',
     ]);
     expect((call[2] as { cwd: string }).cwd).toBe('/tmp');
     expect(exit).toHaveBeenCalledWith(0);
   });
 
+  it('opt-in bypassPermissions resumes with --dangerously-skip-permissions', () => {
+    const spawn = vi.fn(() => ({ status: 0, error: undefined })) as never;
+    resume(record(), {}, { exists: () => true, spawn, exit: vi.fn() as never, permissionMode: () => 'bypassPermissions' });
+    const call = (spawn as unknown as { mock: { calls: unknown[][] } }).mock.calls[0];
+    expect(call[1]).toEqual(['--resume', 'aaaaaaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaaaaaaaaaa', '--dangerously-skip-permissions']);
+  });
+
   it('throws ResumeError(127) when claude binary missing', () => {
     const enoent = new Error('ENOENT') as NodeJS.ErrnoException;
     enoent.code = 'ENOENT';

@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ const config: AgentctlConfig = {
   tools: [{ name: 'claude', runs: 'claude --x', label: ' c ', color: '#6C91BF' }],
   ides: [{ key: 'ctrl-v', label: 'code', cmd: 'code "$dir"' }],
   defaultTool: 'claude',
+  permissionMode: 'auto',
   theme: { accent: '#FF9F43', border: '#6C91BF', pointer: '#FF9F43', statusBusy: 'green', statusIdle: 'yellow', statusInactive: 'gray' },
 };
 const dir = (name: string, group: string, color: string): ProjectDir =>

@@ -127,7 +127,24 @@ describe('getTool', () => {
     const p = cfg(`[[tool]]\nname="foo"\nruns="foo --go"\n`);
     const { config } = loadConfig({ path: p });
     expect(getTool(config, 'foo').runs).toBe('foo --go');
-    expect(getTool(config, 'claude').runs).toBe('claude --dangerously-skip-permissions');
+    expect(getTool(config, 'claude').runs).toBe('claude --permission-mode auto');
     expect(getTool(config, 'bar').runs).toBe('bar'); // synthesized
   });
 });
+
+describe('permission_mode', () => {
+  it('defaults to auto', () => {
+    const { config } = loadConfig({ path: cfg('') });
+    expect(config.permissionMode).toBe('auto');
+  });
+  it('bypassPermissions opts in and drives the built-in claude tool', () => {
+    const { config } = loadConfig({ path: cfg('permission_mode = "bypassPermissions"\n') });
+    expect(config.permissionMode).toBe('bypassPermissions');
+    expect(getTool(config, 'claude').runs).toBe('claude --dangerously-skip-permissions');
+  });
+  it('invalid value warns and falls back to auto', () => {
+    const { config, warnings } = loadConfig({ path: cfg('permission_mode = "yolo"\n') });
+    expect(config.permissionMode).toBe('auto');
+    expect(warnings.map(w => w.code)).toContain('bad-permission-mode');
+  });
+});