Tool Approvals

Pragma's built-in agent asks before it does anything that changes your project. You decide how much it may do on its own in Settings > Agents > Approvals.

What needs approval

Reading and searching files, keeping a to-do list, remembering facts and opening the browser pane never need approval. These tools can change things and are checked:

Tool	Example
Write file	Create a file or replace its content
Search and replace	Edit part of a file
Run command	pnpm test, git status
Start child session	See child sessions

When approval is needed, the run pauses and the session shows the pending call with Allow and Deny. The pane status changes to waiting until you decide.

Coding CLIs in a Conversation session ask for permission through the same approval cards; what they ask for depends on the CLI.

Auto-approve modes

Setting	File edits	Commands	Child sessions
Ask for everything	Ask	Ask, unless on the allowed list	Ask
Auto-approve file edits	Automatic	Ask, unless on the allowed list	Ask
Auto-approve everything	Automatic	Automatic	Automatic

Ask for everything is the default.

The chat toolbar menu also has an Auto-approve switch. It approves everything for all chats while it is on, the same as Auto-approve everything, and is meant for short, supervised runs.

Two exceptions always apply:

• Edits to skill files in .pragma/skills/ always ask, even with file edits auto-approved.
• A named agent cannot touch paths outside the workspace and its approved folders, whatever the approval mode.

Allowed commands

Settings > Agents > Allowed Commands lists command patterns that run without asking, even in Ask for everything mode. Type a pattern and select Add; remove one with its Remove pattern button.

A pattern matches a command when:

• the command is exactly the pattern: pnpm test allows pnpm test;
• the command adds arguments to the pattern: pnpm test allows pnpm test --run, but not pnpm testing;
• the pattern ends in * and the command starts with the text before it: cargo * allows cargo check and cargo clippy.

A command that contains shell operators never matches, so pnpm test && rm -rf build still asks. This covers ;, &, |, <, >, backticks, $( and line breaks.

Keep patterns narrow. git * would also allow git push --force and git reset --hard.

Step limit

Step limit in the same section stops a run after a number of tool calls. Leave it empty for no limit. A stopped task can be continued with Resume.