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Permissions: Auto, Manual, and what Accept edits allows
Last setup step. By the end of this lesson you’ll know what Claude is allowed to do on your computer, how to see which setting you’re in, and the one setting this course never uses.
You’re probably in the right mode already
A permission mode decides how often Claude stops to ask before acting. On a Pro plan, Claude Code normally works in Auto mode: it edits files and runs commands without stopping to ask each time. Behind the scenes, a second AI model checks the riskier things it’s about to do and blocks the dangerous ones. That cuts down the interruptions, but it won’t catch everything, so keep reading what Claude says it’s doing.
You may not have to switch anything on, but check once, below, because the very first session after installing can start in Manual mode, where Claude asks before each step. That’s normal, and it takes one click to change.
Manual
- Claude asks before every file change and every command
- Slow, but you see every move
- Where your very first session may start
Accept edits
- Claude changes files freely
- Also does simple file housekeeping without asking: making folders, creating and moving files
- Still asks before other commands
- Not a sandbox: it can reorganize your project
Auto — where this course works
- Claude edits files and runs commands
- A background checker blocks risky actions instead of asking you
- Still read what Claude says it's doing
How to see which one you’re in
- Desktop app: next to the send button there’s a small mode selector. If it doesn’t already say Auto, click it and pick Auto. The app remembers your choice for this folder.
- Terminal: sessions normally start in Auto on a Pro plan, though your very first one may start in Manual. Press
Shift+Tabto cycle through the modes; the bottom of the window shows which one you’re in.
There’s one more mode in the selector: Plan. Switch to it and Claude reads your files, works out an approach, and writes it out in plain English while changing nothing at all. When the plan is ready it asks how you’d like to proceed, and you can send it back for another pass as many times as you like. If you ever catch yourself wondering what it’s about to do to your files, that’s the answer. You’ll use it on purpose in Module 4, for the big build.
There’s a setting called bypass permissions that switches every check off. Older tutorials and comment threads recommend it, which is exactly why it’s named here. Anthropic’s own guidance is to use it only inside an isolated test machine, never on a computer you actually work on.
Your working computer holds client records. That’s why this course names the setting once, tells you not to turn it on, and never mentions it again. And remember what permissions can’t do: permissions decide what Claude can do on your computer; they don’t make it safe to give it client information. Auto mode gives you the same smooth build with the safety net still underneath.
If you can, build the site on a computer, or a separate user account (a second sign-in on the same computer), that holds no client records. Claude is meant to work only inside the folder you open, but a separate account makes that boundary physical rather than a rule you’re trusting.
You don’t need this yet, but it helps to know it exists. Claude saves a checkpoint of your files before every message you send, and typing /rewind brings up a list you can roll back to. Module 4 teaches it properly, at the point where you’ll want it.
You can name the permission mode you’re in and where to change it. You also have a Claude Pro plan, the app installed on the Code tab with the Vercel plugin, Node and Git installed, and your project folder open with its starter CLAUDE.md. That was the hardest part of the course, and it’s behind you.
A permission question appears in the middle of a task. Read what it’s asking. If it’s about a file or command inside your project folder and matches what you asked for, allow it. If it mentions a folder outside your project, say no and ask Claude why it needs that.
You can’t find the mode selector. It sits next to the send button. If it isn’t there, update the app: Help, then Check for Updates on Windows, or Claude, then Check for Updates on a Mac.
Claude keeps asking before every step. You’re in Manual. Switch the selector to Auto.
- Claude Code normally works in Auto; your first session may start in Manual, so check once.
- Accept edits isn’t “edits only”: it also creates and moves files and folders.
- Plan mode changes nothing until you approve. Keep it in your pocket for Module 4.
- Never turn on bypass permissions on a computer that holds client records.
- Permissions decide what Claude can do; they never make it safe to give it client information.
Watch this step
Anthropic's own explanation of Auto mode, and how it differs from approving each step by hand. It’s from an independent creator — credited below, so go give them a follow.
How auto mode works with Claude Code
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