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Permission modes

A permission mode controls how much a Claude session asks before it acts. nodeterm lets you set the mode a session starts in, so you don’t have to reach for it every time you open a node. It’s a Claude-only setting.

There are five modes:

ModeWhat it does
manualAsks before each action — the pre-set-mode behavior.
autoThe default.
acceptEditsAccepts file edits without asking.
planPlans first, acts after you approve.
bypassPermissionsActs without asking. Use with care.

This only sets the starting mode. Shift+Tab still cycles the mode at runtime inside the session, exactly as it does in Claude Code on its own.

Set the global default in Settings → Agents. Any project can override it from the tab ⌄ menu, and that per-project choice is saved into the project’s .nodeterm/project.json.

Because it lives in the project file, a per-project override travels via git — anyone who clones the repo inherits it. That’s convenient for a shared default, but it means a bypassPermissions override reaches every collaborator, so the menu warns when you pick it.

The auto mode needs Claude Code ≥ 2.1.71. On an older CLI the auto flag is silently dropped and the session launches in its own default — nodeterm never blocks a launch over it, and your setting stays auto (only the command that’s run changes). The other four modes work on any version.

SSH projects check the remote host’s CLI, not your local one — that’s the CLI that actually runs the session. If the remote is too old (or hasn’t been checked yet), the tab menu shows a ⚠︎ hint on the Auto rows so you know auto won’t take effect there.