feat(agent-claude-code): add 'auto' permission mode for classifier-driven prompts

.changeset/claude-code-permission-mode-auto.md

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+---
+"@aoagents/ao-plugin-agent-claude-code": minor
+"@aoagents/ao-core": minor
+"@aoagents/ao-cli": minor
+---
+
+feat(agent-claude-code): support Claude Code's classifier-based `auto` permission mode
+
+Adds a new `auto` value to `AgentPermissionMode`. When set, the claude-code plugin emits `--permission-mode auto` instead of `--dangerously-skip-permissions`, letting Claude Code's built-in classifier decide per tool whether to prompt. Existing `permissionless` and `auto-edit` behavior is unchanged. Other agent plugins fall through to their default behavior for `auto` (documented in the type's JSDoc).

packages/cli/src/lib/config-instruction.ts

@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ projects:
 
     # ── Agent configuration (optional) ────────────────────────────
     agentConfig:
-      permissions: permissionless   # permissionless | default | auto-edit | suggest
+      permissions: permissionless   # permissionless | default | auto-edit | auto | suggest
       model: claude-sonnet-4-20250514
 
     # ── Agent rules (optional) ────────────────────────────────────

packages/core/src/config.ts

@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ const NotifierConfigSchema = z
   .superRefine((value, ctx) => validatePluginConfigFields(value, ctx, "Notifier"));
 
 const AgentPermissionSchema = z
-  .enum(["permissionless", "default", "auto-edit", "suggest", "skip"])
+  .enum(["permissionless", "default", "auto-edit", "auto", "suggest", "skip"])
   .default("permissionless")
   .transform((value) => (value === "skip" ? "permissionless" : value));
 
@@ -215,7 +215,10 @@ const AgentSpecificConfigSchema = z
 const RoleAgentSpecificConfigSchema = z
   .object({
     permissions: z
-      .union([z.enum(["permissionless", "default", "auto-edit", "suggest"]), z.literal("skip")])
+      .union([
+        z.enum(["permissionless", "default", "auto-edit", "auto", "suggest"]),
+        z.literal("skip"),
+      ])
       .optional(),
     model: z.string().optional(),
     orchestratorModel: z.string().optional(),

packages/core/src/global-config.ts

@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ export const LocalProjectConfigSchema = z
     agentConfig: z
       .object({
         permissions: z
-          .enum(["permissionless", "default", "auto-edit", "suggest", "skip"])
+          .enum(["permissionless", "default", "auto-edit", "auto", "suggest", "skip"])
           .optional(),
         model: z.string().optional(),
         orchestratorModel: z.string().optional(),

packages/core/src/types.ts

@@ -1627,12 +1627,13 @@ export interface OpenCodeAgentConfig extends AgentSpecificConfig {
  * - permissionless: run without interactive permission prompts (most permissive mode).
  * - default: use the agent's normal/default permission model.
  * - auto-edit: automatically approve edit actions where the agent supports granular approval policies.
+ * - auto: agent-driven auto mode where supported (e.g. Claude Code's --permission-mode auto).
  * - suggest: conservative mode that asks for approval on higher-risk/untrusted actions where supported.
  *
  * Note: Not every agent exposes all granular policies; plugins map these modes to
  * their closest supported behavior.
  */
-export type AgentPermissionMode = "permissionless" | "default" | "auto-edit" | "suggest";
+export type AgentPermissionMode = "permissionless" | "default" | "auto-edit" | "auto" | "suggest";
 
 /** Backward-compatible legacy alias accepted in config parsing. */
 export type LegacyAgentPermissionMode = "skip";
@@ -1649,6 +1650,7 @@ export function normalizeAgentPermissionMode(
     mode !== "permissionless" &&
     mode !== "default" &&
     mode !== "auto-edit" &&
+    mode !== "auto" &&
     mode !== "suggest"
   ) {
     if (mode === "skip") return "permissionless";

packages/plugins/agent-claude-code/src/index.test.ts

@@ -257,6 +257,12 @@ describe("getLaunchCommand", () => {
     expect(cmd).toContain("--dangerously-skip-permissions");
   });
 
+  it("maps permissions=auto to --permission-mode auto on Claude", () => {
+    const cmd = agent.getLaunchCommand(makeLaunchConfig({ permissions: "auto" }));
+    expect(cmd).toContain("--permission-mode auto");
+    expect(cmd).not.toContain("--dangerously-skip-permissions");
+  });
+
   it("shell-escapes model argument", () => {
     const cmd = agent.getLaunchCommand(makeLaunchConfig({ model: "claude-opus-4-6" }));
     expect(cmd).toContain("--model 'claude-opus-4-6'");
@@ -684,6 +690,25 @@ describe("getSessionInfo", () => {
       expect(command).toBe("claude --resume 'persisted-uuid'");
       expect(mockReaddir).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     });
+
+    it("propagates --permission-mode auto on restore when project is configured for auto", async () => {
+      const agent = create();
+      const session = makeSession({
+        workspacePath: "/workspace/test-project",
+        metadata: { claudeSessionUuid: "persisted-uuid" },
+      });
+
+      const command = await agent.getRestoreCommand!(session, {
+        name: "test-project",
+        repo: "owner/repo",
+        path: "/workspace/test-project",
+        defaultBranch: "main",
+        sessionPrefix: "test",
+        agentConfig: { permissions: "auto" },
+      });
+
+      expect(command).toBe("claude --resume 'persisted-uuid' --permission-mode auto");
+    });
   });
 
   describe("cost estimation", () => {

packages/plugins/agent-claude-code/src/index.ts

@@ -881,6 +881,8 @@ function createClaudeCodeAgent(): Agent {
       const permissionMode = normalizeAgentPermissionMode(config.permissions);
       if (permissionMode === "permissionless" || permissionMode === "auto-edit") {
         parts.push("--dangerously-skip-permissions");
+      } else if (permissionMode === "auto") {
+        parts.push("--permission-mode", "auto");
       }
 
       if (config.model) {
@@ -1065,6 +1067,8 @@ function createClaudeCodeAgent(): Agent {
       const permissionMode = normalizeAgentPermissionMode(project.agentConfig?.permissions);
       if (permissionMode === "permissionless" || permissionMode === "auto-edit") {
         parts.push("--dangerously-skip-permissions");
+      } else if (permissionMode === "auto") {
+        parts.push("--permission-mode", "auto");
       }
 
       if (project.agentConfig?.model) {