Choose your approval level
Your agent can ask permission before every action, or run more freely and only check in for the big stuff. That setting is yours to choose, and you can change it any time.
There is no single right answer. More approval means more clicks but more control. Less approval means less friction but more trust handed to the agent. Pick the level that matches how comfortable you feel today, then adjust as you get to know it.
The three levels, in plain language
Ask me first (most control)
The agent can read and think freely, but it stops and asks before it changes a file, runs a command, or touches the internet. Nothing happens without your yes. Best when you are new to this, doing something sensitive, or just want to watch how it works. The cost is a lot of approval clicks.
Auto, in its own workspace (balanced)
The agent reads, edits, and runs things on its own inside your agent's folder, without asking each time. It still stops to ask before doing anything bigger, like reaching outside that folder or going online. This is the sweet spot for most people: real momentum, guardrails still on. The trade-off is that changes happen faster than you can watch each one.
Full access (least friction)
The agent does whatever it decides, including reaching outside its folder and using the internet, without stopping to ask. Zero friction, most trust. Best kept for tasks you understand well and folders you would not mind losing. Not the place to start.
If you turn approvals off, keep watching. In an auto or full-access mode, the agent moves fast, and it can head down the wrong path just as fast. Glance at what it is doing. If it starts going somewhere you did not intend, stop it and redirect. Freedom for the agent works best with your eyes still on the screen.
How to set it
The idea is the same in both harnesses; only the names and buttons differ. Pick yours.
In Codex
Codex calls these Ask for approval, Approve for me, and Full access. You pick the mode near the message box when you start or during a session.
- Ask for approval — always asks before it edits files outside the workspace or uses the internet. This is "ask me first."
- Approve for me — works on its own and only stops to ask for actions it flags as potentially unsafe. This is the balanced middle.
- Full access — unrestricted access to the internet and any file on your computer, without asking. Save it for throwaway work you can supervise.
Start on Approve for me. Switch to Ask for approval when you want to slow down and watch, and only reach for Full access when you know exactly what you are asking for.
A gentle default
If you are not sure, start with "ask me first" for a session or two so you can see what your agent tends to do. Once it feels familiar, move to the balanced auto mode for real momentum, and keep an eye on the screen. You can always change it back in seconds.
Stuck or need help?
Send a message and it comes straight to me. Tell me where you got stuck and I'll write back.
Rather have it done for you?
If following the steps yourself isn't how your brain works today, that's fine. On a Zoom call you share your screen and hand me control, and I set it up for you, right there on your own computer. You watch it come together and end the call with a working setup, nothing left on your plate.
Pick a time below. No pitch, no pressure, no homework beforehand.