Default Permission Mode - Claude Code
Approve each action manually - the safest mode for new tasks.
Default mode asks before every consequential action - file writes, shell commands, network calls. It's the safest way to run Claude Code.
What it does
Each time Claude wants to use a tool that could change your machine or state, you see a prompt: allow, deny, or allow-with-rule. If you add a rule, future identical calls skip the prompt. It's the "new driver" mode - slow but hard to wreck anything with.
When to use it
- First session on a new project or machine.
- Running a prompt you don't fully trust (random template, unfamiliar skill).
- Working on production systems, infra, or anything costly.
- Teaching a new teammate how Claude Code interacts with their repo.
Gotchas
- Constant prompts are friction. Graduate to accept-edits or dontask once you've built up a rule set.
- Approvals are session-scoped unless you promote them to permission rules.
- "Allow all once" doesn't save anything. Use it sparingly.
Official docs: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/permission-modes.md
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