Claude/Code/Q/How can I make auto mode the default permission mode?

• How can I make auto mode the default permission mode?

  • AI Answer

    • Short answer: Set defaultMode to auto in user settings — ~/.claude/settings.json. Project and local settings are ignored for this value.
    • json

      {
        "permissions": {
          "defaultMode": "auto"
        }
      }

    • Answer/Official from Choose a permission mode:
    • User settings only. From v2.1.142 on, defaultMode: "auto" in .claude/settings.json or .claude/settings.local.json is ignored "so a repository cannot grant itself auto mode." The symptom is a session that starts in Manual with no error message.
    • /doctor offers to do it. From v2.1.210 the checkup proposes the user-settings default, including on AWS/Bedrock, Google Cloud's Agent Platform, and Microsoft Foundry.
    • Per-session instead of default: claude --permission-mode auto, or Shift+Tab to cycle — auto slots in last, after plan, and switching to it needs no confirmation.
    • The old enable step is gone. CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_AUTO_MODE=1 was required on Bedrock, Agent Platform, Foundry, and signed-in Claude apps gateway sessions in v2.1.158–v2.1.206; v2.1.207 removed the requirement and the variable now has no effect. There is no --enable-auto-mode flag in current builds.
    • Prerequisites for the setting to take effect — auto mode has to be available to the account at all:
      • Plan: all plans. On Team and Enterprise it is on by default, but an administrator can set permissions.disableAutoMode to "disable" in managed settings, which also rejects --permission-mode auto.
      • Model: on the Anthropic API and Claude Platform on AWS, Claude Opus 4.6 or later, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or later, or Anthropic/Model/Claude/Fable/5. On AWS/Bedrock, Agent Platform, Foundry, and Claude apps gateway sessions, only Claude Sonnet 5, Anthropic/Model/Claude/4.7/Opus or later, and Anthropic/Model/Claude/Fable/5. Haiku and the 4.5-generation models are unsupported on every provider.
    • Other surfaces:
      • VS Code extension: claudeCode.initialPermissionMode does not accept auto — the user-settings defaultMode is the only way to start there in auto mode.
      • Desktop: reads the same settings files, but a mode picked from the mode selector is remembered per folder and takes precedence over defaultMode for that folder.
      • Claude Code on the web: cloud sessions offer Accept edits, Plan, and Auto in the dropdown; auto appears only when the organization allows it and the model supports it.