Starting in a Permission Mode with --permission-mode

Claude Code asks before it changes things. How much it asks depends on the permission mode. You can choose that mode at launch with --permission-mode, so you start in the posture you want.

The four modes

There are four modes, from most cautious to least:

• default — Claude asks before edits and commands.
• acceptEdits — edits are auto-accepted; commands still ask.
• plan — read-only; Claude explores and proposes but changes nothing.
• bypassPermissions — no prompts at all, which is risky.

Choosing at launch

Pass the mode you want as you start:

claude --permission-mode plan
claude --permission-mode acceptEdits

Starting in plan is great for unfamiliar or complex code. Claude reads and drafts a plan without touching anything, so you can review the approach before any edits happen. Starting in acceptEdits suits a task where you trust the edits and do not want to confirm each one, while still keeping a gate on shell commands.

Switching once you are in

You are not locked in. Inside a session, Shift+Tab cycles through the modes, so you can tighten or loosen as the work changes. A common flow is to begin in plan, approve the plan, then move to a mode that lets edits through.

A word on bypassPermissions

The bypassPermissions mode removes every prompt. That is convenient and dangerous in equal measure, since Claude can edit files and run commands with nothing stopping it. Reserve it for sandboxes you can afford to lose, not your main working tree.