---
title: Permissions — Claude basics, lesson 6
description: Permissions decide what Claude may do without asking: the four modes behind Shift+Tab, the question before one action, limits in auto mode, and Esc twice.
url: https://instibrain.ai/guides/claude-basics/permissions
updated: 2026-10-28
site: https://instibrain.ai/llms.txt
---

lesson 6 of 7 · claude basics

# Permissions.

Permissions decide what Claude may do without asking you first.

## new words

**Permission mode**
One setting for the whole session. The line under the prompt shows it.

**Permission prompt**
A question from Claude before one action. You answer yes or no.

## the lesson

| Line under the prompt | What Claude does without asking |
| `⏵⏵ auto mode on` | Everything. A second model checks each step and blocks risky ones. A new session starts here. |
| `⏸ manual mode on` | Only reading. It asks before every edit and command. |
| `⏵⏵ accept edits on` | Reading and editing files. It asks before other commands. |
| `⏸ plan mode on` | Only reading. It writes a plan and waits for your yes. |

Press Shift + Tab to move to the next mode.

When Claude asks, read the action before you answer. "Yes, and don't ask again" saves a rule, so Claude stops asking about that action.

In auto mode, say your limits in plain words, like "do not send anything". Auto mode then blocks matching actions. A limit said only in chat can be lost when the chat is summarized.

Esc twice on an empty prompt opens a menu that undoes Claude's changes to files on your computer. Nothing undoes what left your computer: a sent message, a published page, a change in another app.

The four modes you reach with Shift + Tab.

## try it

Click in your Claude window. Press Shift + Tab four times, slowly.

## you should see

- The line under the prompt changes to `manual mode on`, then `accept edits on`, then `plan mode on`, then `auto mode on` again.

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