What the permission prompt is asking you: default asks every step, plan mode can only read, accept edits allows edits, auto mode only asks for dangerous ones. Press Shift+Tab to switch.

What is the permission prompt actually asking? Four modes, auto mode data, and Codex equivalents

Last week I gave an intro class on AI agents for some anesthesiologist friends. The post-class feedback was interesting: “permission prompts and auto mode” showed up near the top of two different lists. A lot of people voted it “most useful,” but a lot also voted it “didn’t understand.” That means it’s important, but the pacing of a single class just wasn’t enough to cover it. I’ll explain it all here in this post. ...

August 21, 2026 · 7 min · 1287 words · 陳柏威 Po-Wei Chen