Auto Mode

Auto Mode uses an LLM classifier to evaluate each tool call and decide whether to auto-approve it. It sits between Auto-Edit (which only auto-approves file edits) and YOLO (which auto-approves everything).

This page is the reference for configuring and troubleshooting Auto Mode. For an introduction, see the Approval Mode overview.

How it works

When you're in Auto Mode and the agent tries to run a tool, Qwen Code walks three layers in order:

acceptEdits fast-path — Edit / Write whose target path is inside the workspace is auto-approved without invoking the classifier.
Safe-tool allowlist — Read-only and metadata-only built-in tools (Read, Grep, Glob, LS, LSP, TodoWrite, AskUserQuestion, etc.) are auto-approved without invoking the classifier.
LLM classifier — Everything else (shell commands, web fetches, sub-agent spawns, edits outside the workspace, MCP tools) is sent to a two-stage classifier:
- Stage 1 (fast) — outputs { shouldBlock } only. Around ~300ms. If shouldBlock is false, the action is allowed and the call proceeds.
- Stage 2 (thinking) — only runs when Stage 1 said block. Uses chain-of-thought review to reduce Stage 1 false positives. Can downgrade Stage 1's block to allow. Outputs the user-visible reason on block.

The classifier uses your configured fast model (/model --fast). If no fast model is configured, the main session model is used instead.

Hard rules still win

Auto Mode does not replace hard permission rules. Before the classifier runs:

permissions.deny rules block the action with the rule's reason. The classifier never sees it.
permissions.allow rules with specific specifiers (e.g. Bash(git status), Read(./docs/**)) still auto-allow without the classifier.
permissions.ask rules force manual confirmation even in Auto Mode.

Over-broad allow rules are stripped while in Auto Mode

Rules like the following would let the agent execute arbitrary code without classifier review:

Bash / Bash(*) / Bash() — auto-allow every shell command
Bash(python:*), Bash(node*), Bash(bash*) — interpreter wildcards
Agent / Agent(coder) — any allow on the Agent tool
Skill / Skill(pdf) — any allow on the Skill tool

When you enter Auto Mode, Qwen Code temporarily removes these rules from the active permission set and prints a notice listing them. The rules come back the moment you leave Auto Mode. settings.json is never modified.

If you genuinely need these broad rules, use YOLO mode instead.

Configuring hints

Auto Mode reads permissions.autoMode from your settings.json. The entries are natural-language descriptions, not rule patterns — they are injected additively into the classifier's system prompt alongside the built-in defaults.

json

{
  "permissions": {
    "autoMode": {
      "hints": {
        "allow": [
          "Running poetry install and poetry update in this Python project",
          "Cleaning build artifacts under ./dist or ./build",
          "Reading any file under /Users/me/code/"
        ],
        "deny": [
          "Any network call to intranet.example.com endpoints",
          "Modifying anything under ~/.ssh or ~/.aws",
          "Running migration scripts that touch the production DB"
        ]
      },
      "environment": [
        "This is a private monorepo with strict commit signing",
        "Production credentials live in 1Password, never in plain files"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Length and count limits

To keep the classifier system prompt small:

Each entry is capped at 200 characters (longer entries are truncated with a warning).
hints.allow and hints.deny accept up to 50 entries each.
environment accepts up to 20 entries.

Layering across settings files

autoMode is merged across system / user / workspace settings the same way other permission settings are: arrays are concatenated and de-duplicated.

Reading the decision

When the classifier blocks an action, the tool call fails with one of the following error texts:

Blocked by auto mode policy: <reason> — the classifier judged the action unsafe. The reason comes from Stage 2 of the classifier.
Auto mode classifier unavailable; action blocked for safety — the classifier API was unreachable, timed out, or returned an un-parseable response. This is fail-closed behavior: when in doubt, block.

The main LLM sees the same message in the tool result and adjusts its approach (asks you, switches tactic, gives up).

Classifier reason language

Classifier reasons are produced by the LLM and are not translated. If you want non-English reasons, add a hint like Respond reasons in Chinese to permissions.autoMode.environment.

Fallback to manual approval

Auto Mode protects you from getting stuck:

After 3 consecutive policy blocks the next tool call falls back to the standard manual-approval prompt. This catches the case where the agent keeps trying minor variants of a forbidden command.
After 2 consecutive unavailable results (classifier API failures) the next tool call also falls back. This avoids waiting on a broken classifier.

The session itself stays in Auto Mode — only the single fallback call goes through manual approval. The counters reset when you approve the fallback call or switch modes.

If you find yourself constantly hitting fallback, the most likely causes are an outage on the classifier API or hints that need tuning. Switch to Default Mode while you investigate.

Troubleshooting

"Auto mode keeps blocking my commands"

Look at the reason in the error message. If the classifier is being too conservative for your context, add an entry to permissions.autoMode.hints.allow describing the pattern in natural-language. Examples:

"Building Docker images for this project (docker build ...)"
"Running database migrations against the local test DB"

"Auto mode classifier unavailable"

The classifier API didn't respond. Possible causes:

Network issue between you and the model endpoint.
The configured fast model is no longer available — check /model --fast.
The transcript is too long and exceeds the fast-model context window.

While diagnosing, switch back to Default Mode: /approval-mode default.

"Falling back to manual approval"

You've hit either the 3-consecutive-block or 2-consecutive-unavailable guard. Approve or reject the prompt as you normally would. After one approved fallback the consecutive counter resets.

The classifier sees sensitive data in my prompts

Tool inputs are projected through each tool's toAutoClassifierInput method before they reach the classifier. Long edit content, web fetch prompts, and sub-agent prompts are truncated. Tool results (file contents, web pages) are never sent to the classifier — only the user's text and assistant tool-use calls go through.

If a specific tool is exposing fields you'd rather redact, file an issue with the tool name; the projection is per-tool and is meant to be tightened over time.

Limitations

Not offline-capable. The classifier requires an LLM call.
Adds latency on the slow path. Allowlist + acceptEdits cover most calls without latency, but a run_shell_command typically adds ~300ms (fast classifier path) or ~3-5s (slow path with thinking review).
Not a substitute for deny rules. The classifier is best-effort. For commands you're sure should never run, put them in permissions.deny.
MCP tools default to conservative blocking. Third-party MCP tools (mcp__*) opt-in to argument forwarding via the toAutoClassifierInput override. Tools that have not opted in expose only their name to the classifier — most such calls are conservatively blocked unless you've written an explicit allow rule. This is fail-closed by design (credentials and voluminous content do not leak into the classifier LLM). If you trust a specific MCP tool, add permissions.allow: ["mcp__server__tool"] so it bypasses the classifier entirely.

FAQ

Does Auto Mode send my code to a third party?

Auto Mode reuses your existing model configuration — same endpoint as the main agent. If you've configured Qwen Code to use a self-hosted model, the classifier runs against that endpoint too.

Will my secrets / .env contents reach the classifier?

The classifier sees only what each tool's toAutoClassifierInput projection exposes:

read_file and other read-only tools: not invoked (they're on the fast-path allowlist).
edit / write_file: file_path plus the first 80 characters of old/new content. Full content is not forwarded.
run_shell_command: the full command (it has to — that's what the classifier judges).
web_fetch: the URL only. The prompt field is not forwarded.
agent: subagent type plus the full prompt. The prompt is the instruction the sub-agent will follow, so the classifier needs it in full to detect attacks that would steer the sub-agent toward destructive actions — same reason run_shell_command forwards the full command.

Tool results (the actual content returned by tools) are stripped from the classifier transcript entirely.

MCP tools (mcp__*) follow a stricter default: their parameters are not forwarded unless the MCP tool author explicitly opted in via the toAutoClassifierInput override. The classifier sees the tool name but no arguments, so most MCP calls will be conservatively blocked unless the user has written an explicit allow rule. This is fail- closed by design — third-party tools should not leak credentials or voluminous file content into the classifier LLM without intent.

Can I disable the first-time information message?

It only shows once per user-settings file. After dismissal, ui.autoModeAcknowledged: true is set in your user settings.

How is this different from Auto-Edit?

Auto-Edit auto-approves file edits and nothing else — shell commands still ask. Auto Mode uses a classifier to also auto-approve safe shell commands and other tool calls while still blocking risky ones.

How is this different from YOLO?

YOLO auto-approves everything without any review. Auto Mode has the classifier in the loop and blocks risky actions.