feat(agents): add guarded Auto permission presets and per-agent controls

docs/reference/agent-permission-presets.md

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+# Agent permission presets
+
+Orca's permission presets map one product choice onto agent-specific CLI arguments or
+environment variables. The word **Auto** does not describe one uniform security policy:
+depending on the agent, it can mean classifier-reviewed actions, edits-only approval,
+risk-threshold approval, or a sandboxed approval reviewer. Keep the exact behavior visible in
+the UI and do not imply that every agent provides the same safety boundary.
+
+This matrix records vendor-documented presets checked on September 6, 2026. A local help
+check identifies the syntax accepted by the installed CLI; the linked vendor source defines
+its semantics.
+
+| Agent | Auto preset | Verified behavior | Evidence |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| Claude Code | `--permission-mode auto` | Uses Claude's auto-mode permission classifier. The installed Claude Code 2.1.263 help lists `auto` separately from `acceptEdits`, `manual`, and `bypassPermissions`. | [Claude Code permissions](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/permissions) and `claude --help` |
+| Codex | `--approve-for-me` | Routes approval requests through automatic review while retaining the workspace-write sandbox. The installed Codex CLI 0.153.4 help documents this behavior. | [Codex security](https://developers.openai.com/codex/security/) and [Codex CLI argument tests](https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/main/codex-rs/cli/src/main.rs) |
+| Gemini CLI | `--approval-mode auto_edit` | Auto-approves edit tools while continuing to prompt for other tools. The installed Gemini CLI 0.58.0 help lists `default`, `auto_edit`, `yolo`, and `plan`. | [Gemini CLI repository](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli) and `gemini --help` |
+| goose | `GOOSE_MODE=smart_approve` | Automatically approves low-risk actions and asks for approval on higher-risk actions. | [goose permission modes](https://github.com/block/goose/blob/main/documentation/docs/guides/managing-tools/goose-permissions.md) and [mode values](https://github.com/block/goose/blob/main/crates/goose-provider-types/src/goose_mode.rs) |
+| Qwen Code | `--approval-mode auto` | Uses an LLM classifier for shell commands, network calls, and out-of-workspace edits; risky or uncertain actions still prompt. | [Qwen Code approval modes](https://github.com/QwenLM/qwen-code/blob/main/docs/users/features/approval-mode.md) |
+| Devin CLI | `--permission-mode smart` | Auto-approves workspace edits and uses a fast model to judge other actions, falling back to a prompt when unsafe, uncertain, or unavailable. Smart is rolling out gradually and may be unavailable for some accounts. | [Devin permissions](https://docs.devin.ai/cli/reference/permissions.md) and [commands and flags](https://docs.devin.ai/cli/reference/commands.md) |
+| Droid | `--auto medium` | Auto-approves edits, low-risk tools, and reversible workspace changes such as installs, builds, local commits, moves, and copies. Higher-risk actions still prompt. | [Droid autonomy levels](https://docs.factory.ai/autonomy-and-safety/auto-run.md) and `droid --help` from Droid 0.205.0 |
+
+Gemini's `auto_edit` is deliberately narrower than classifier-based Auto modes. Droid also
+offers `--auto low` and `--auto high`; Medium is the balanced candidate because Low covers
+edits and low-risk tools, while High permits high-risk actions unless a separate safety check
+intervenes. Devin's `accept-edits` is a narrower fallback if Smart is unavailable, but it is
+not behaviorally equivalent to Smart.
+
+Claude Agent Teams forwards its arguments to the Claude binary through `orca claude-teams`
+and uses the same `--permission-mode auto` preset (see `src/cli/handlers/core.ts`).
+
+The global Auto preset uses Manual for harnesses without a verified mapping. Per-agent
+controls omit Auto for those harnesses. Custom argument and environment profiles are preserved.
+Settings apply to future launches, including folder workspaces and SSH/WSL execution hosts.
+The installed CLI and account must support the selected mode; Orca never retries with bypass
+when a guarded mode is rejected. Existing default permission preferences are unchanged.
+
+## No verified Auto preset yet
+
+The remaining agents in `YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS` have no intermediate preset verified for this
+work: OpenClaude, Antigravity, Aider, Amp, Kiro, Crush, Autohand, Cline,
+Command Code, Continue, Cursor, Kimi, Mistral Vibe, Rovo, Hermes, Copilot, Grok, Ante, and Trae.
+This means only that this review did not find sufficiently clear vendor evidence for a preset;
+it is not a claim that the agent lacks intermediate permission controls. Amp's `smart` agent
+mode, for example, controls its model, system prompt, and tool selection rather than command
+approval policy, so it must not be treated as an Auto permission preset.
+
+Re-check vendor documentation and current `--help` output before adding any of these agents.
+CLI flags and rollout availability change independently of Orca releases.

docs/reference/remote-wire-compatibility.md

@@ -247,3 +247,17 @@ predicate. It is unobservable today — the host publishes neither field for a c
 all, so a mirror has nothing to take either way. If the capability-gated publish this section
 anticipates ever lands, narrow them the same way rather than by placement kind: a mirror should
 take a failure it cannot otherwise see, and only the hosting client should refuse it.
+
+## Auto permission presets on paired settings
+
+`settings.agent-permission-auto.v1` identifies clients that understand Auto launch
+argument and environment presets. New hosts project those presets as manual in every
+settings response to older clients: their onboarding otherwise treats Auto as a custom
+mixed profile and can apply bypass to the remaining harnesses. When the host contains
+an Auto preset, unchanged legacy permission-map roundtrips are ignored, and changed
+permission maps are rejected with a client-upgrade message. Unrelated settings remain
+editable. Capable clients receive and edit the actual presets.
+
+New clients can store Auto presets on older hosts because their existing argument and
+environment normalizers preserve these strings. Such hosts cannot protect the profile
+from a second, older client changing settings; that protection requires the host upgrade.

src/cli/runtime/websocket-transport.test.ts

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import { launchOrcaApp } from './launch'
 import { addEnvironmentFromPairingCode } from './environments'
 import { RuntimeClientError } from './types'
 import {
+  AGENT_PERMISSION_AUTO_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   AGENT_SESSION_BOUNDARY_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   AUTOMATION_OWNER_FENCING_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   MIN_COMPATIBLE_RUNTIME_CLIENT_VERSION,
@@ -72,6 +73,7 @@ describe('CLI remote WebSocket transport', () => {
         clientCapabilities: [
           SESSION_TAB_CLOSE_INTENT_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
           SESSION_TABS_AUTHORITATIVE_INVENTORY_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
+          AGENT_PERMISSION_AUTO_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
           AGENT_SESSION_BOUNDARY_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
           SKILL_INSTALL_RESULT_V2_CAPABILITY,
           WORKTREE_GITHUB_PR_SUPPRESSION_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,

src/main/runtime/rpc/methods/client-permission-projection.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { AGENT_PERMISSION_AUTO_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY } from '../../../../shared/protocol-version'
+import {
+  applyAgentPermissionMode,
+  AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS,
+  AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ENV
+} from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-permissions'
+import { remoteRuntimeClientCapabilities } from '../../../../shared/remote-runtime-client-capabilities'
+import type { TuiAgent } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent'
+import type { OrcaRuntimeService } from '../../orca-runtime'
+import { RpcDispatcher } from '../dispatcher'
+import { CLIENT_UI_METHODS } from './client-ui'
+
+function setup(mode: 'auto' | 'manual' = 'auto') {
+  const settings = { ...applyAgentPermissionMode({ mode }), compactWorktreeCards: false }
+  const runtime = {
+    getRuntimeId: () => 'test-runtime',
+    getClientSettings: vi.fn(() => settings),
+    updateClientSettings: vi.fn(async (updates) => Object.assign(settings, updates)),
+    updateClientPRBotAuthorOverride: vi.fn(() => settings)
+  } as unknown as OrcaRuntimeService
+  const dispatcher = new RpcDispatcher({ runtime, methods: CLIENT_UI_METHODS })
+  const request = (method: string, params?: unknown, capabilities: string[] = []) =>
+    dispatcher.dispatch(
+      { id: '1', authToken: 'token', method, params },
+      { clientKind: 'runtime', clientCapabilities: capabilities }
+    )
+  return { settings, runtime, request }
+}
+
+function resultSettings(response: Awaited<ReturnType<ReturnType<typeof setup>['request']>>) {
+  expect(response.ok).toBe(true)
+  if (!response.ok) {
+    throw new Error(response.error.message)
+  }
+  return (response.result as { settings: ReturnType<typeof setup>['settings'] }).settings
+}
+
+describe('Auto permissions across remote versions', () => {
+  it('advertises Auto support on remote request transports', () => {
+    expect(remoteRuntimeClientCapabilities()).toContain(AGENT_PERMISSION_AUTO_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY)
+  })
+
+  it('projects Auto as manual to old clients without changing host settings', async () => {
+    const { settings, request } = setup()
+    const before = structuredClone(settings)
+    const projected = resultSettings(await request('settings.get'))
+    for (const agent of Object.keys(AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS)) {
+      expect(projected.agentDefaultArgs[agent as TuiAgent]).toBe('')
+    }
+    for (const agent of Object.keys(AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ENV)) {
+      expect(projected.agentDefaultEnv[agent as TuiAgent]).toEqual({})
+    }
+    expect(settings).toEqual(before)
+  })
+
+  it('preserves Auto when an old client echoes its projection with an unrelated edit', async () => {
+    const { settings, runtime, request } = setup()
+    const before = structuredClone(settings)
+    const projected = resultSettings(await request('settings.get'))
+    const updated = resultSettings(
+      await request('settings.update', { ...projected, compactWorktreeCards: true })
+    )
+    expect(runtime.updateClientSettings).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ compactWorktreeCards: true })
+    expect(settings.agentDefaultArgs).toEqual(before.agentDefaultArgs)
+    expect(settings.agentDefaultEnv).toEqual(before.agentDefaultEnv)
+    expect(updated).toEqual({ ...projected, compactWorktreeCards: true })
+  })
+
+  it('rejects old-client permission widening, including unsupported Auto fallback agents', async () => {
+    const { settings, runtime, request } = setup()
+    const before = structuredClone(settings)
+    const projected = resultSettings(await request('settings.get'))
+    const response = await request('settings.update', {
+      ...applyAgentPermissionMode({ ...projected, mode: 'yolo' })
+    })
+    expect(response).toMatchObject({
+      ok: false,
+      error: { message: expect.stringContaining('Update this Orca client') }
+    })
+    expect(runtime.updateClientSettings).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+    expect(settings).toEqual(before)
+  })
+
+  it('allows a capable client to view and change Auto', async () => {
+    const { settings, request } = setup()
+    const capabilities = [AGENT_PERMISSION_AUTO_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY]
+    expect(resultSettings(await request('settings.get', undefined, capabilities))).toEqual(settings)
+    const manual = applyAgentPermissionMode({ mode: 'manual' })
+    expect(resultSettings(await request('settings.update', manual, capabilities))).toMatchObject(
+      manual
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('keeps permission edits available to legacy clients on hosts without Auto', async () => {
+    const { request } = setup('manual')
+    const bypass = applyAgentPermissionMode({ mode: 'yolo' })
+    expect(resultSettings(await request('settings.update', bypass))).toMatchObject(bypass)
+  })
+
+  it('projects settings published by unrelated bot-author updates too', async () => {
+    const { request } = setup()
+    const projected = resultSettings(await request('settings.get'))
+    expect(
+      resultSettings(
+        await request('settings.updatePRBotAuthorOverride', { author: 'bot', isBot: true })
+      )
+    ).toEqual(projected)
+  })
+})

src/main/runtime/rpc/methods/client-permission-projection.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+import { isDeepStrictEqual } from 'node:util'
+import { AGENT_PERMISSION_AUTO_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY } from '../../../../shared/protocol-version'
+import { AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS, AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ENV } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-permissions'
+import type { TuiAgent } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent'
+import type {
+  RuntimeClientSettings,
+  RuntimeClientSettingsUpdate
+} from '../../runtime-client-settings'
+import type { RpcContext } from '../core'
+
+type ClientContext = Pick<RpcContext, 'clientCapabilities' | 'clientKind'>
+
+export function projectClientPermissionSettings(
+  settings: RuntimeClientSettings,
+  context: ClientContext
+): RuntimeClientSettings {
+  if (
+    context.clientKind === undefined ||
+    context.clientCapabilities?.includes(AGENT_PERMISSION_AUTO_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY)
+  ) {
+    return settings
+  }
+  let projected = settings
+  for (const [agent, preset] of Object.entries(AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS)) {
+    if (settings.agentDefaultArgs?.[agent as TuiAgent]?.trim() === preset) {
+      projected = {
+        ...projected,
+        agentDefaultArgs: { ...projected.agentDefaultArgs, [agent]: '' }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  for (const [agent, preset] of Object.entries(AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ENV)) {
+    if (isDeepStrictEqual(settings.agentDefaultEnv?.[agent as TuiAgent], preset)) {
+      projected = {
+        ...projected,
+        agentDefaultEnv: { ...projected.agentDefaultEnv, [agent]: {} }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return projected
+}
+
+export function protectClientPermissionUpdate(
+  updates: RuntimeClientSettingsUpdate,
+  context: RpcContext
+): RuntimeClientSettingsUpdate {
+  if (
+    context.clientKind === undefined ||
+    context.clientCapabilities?.includes(AGENT_PERMISSION_AUTO_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY) ||
+    (updates.agentDefaultArgs === undefined && updates.agentDefaultEnv === undefined)
+  ) {
+    return updates
+  }
+  const settings = context.runtime.getClientSettings()
+  const projected = projectClientPermissionSettings(settings, context)
+  if (projected === settings) {
+    return updates
+  }
+
+  // Legacy onboarding turns an unrecognized permission profile into bypass.
+  for (const field of ['agentDefaultArgs', 'agentDefaultEnv'] as const) {
+    if (updates[field] !== undefined && !isDeepStrictEqual(updates[field], projected[field])) {
+      throw new Error('Update this Orca client to change permissions while Auto mode is enabled.')
+    }
+  }
+  const { agentDefaultArgs: _args, agentDefaultEnv: _env, ...remaining } = updates
+  return remaining
+}

src/main/runtime/rpc/methods/client-ui.ts

@@ -6,6 +6,11 @@ import {
   PRBotAuthorOverrideUpdate,
   SettingsUpdate
 } from './client-settings-schemas'
+import {
+  projectClientPermissionSettings,
+  protectClientPermissionUpdate
+} from './client-permission-projection'
+
 import { FeatureInteractionIdParam, UiUpdate } from './client-ui-schemas'
 // Type-only side effect: keeps the schema/PersistedUIState parity assertions in
 // the typecheck graph so drift fails the build instead of a paired client.
@@ -16,13 +21,18 @@ export const CLIENT_UI_METHODS: RpcMethod[] = [
   defineMethod({
     name: 'settings.get',
     params: null,
-    handler: (_params, { runtime }) => ({ settings: runtime.getClientSettings() })
+    handler: (_params, context) => ({
+      settings: projectClientPermissionSettings(context.runtime.getClientSettings(), context)
+    })
   }),
   defineMethod({
     name: 'settings.update',
     params: SettingsUpdate,
-    handler: async (params, { runtime }) => ({
-      settings: await runtime.updateClientSettings(params)
+    handler: async (params, context) => ({
+      settings: projectClientPermissionSettings(
+        await context.runtime.updateClientSettings(protectClientPermissionUpdate(params, context)),
+        context
+      )
     })
   }),
   defineMethod({
@@ -44,8 +54,11 @@ export const CLIENT_UI_METHODS: RpcMethod[] = [
   defineMethod({
     name: 'settings.updatePRBotAuthorOverride',
     params: PRBotAuthorOverrideUpdate,
-    handler: (params, { runtime }) => ({
-      settings: runtime.updateClientPRBotAuthorOverride(params)
+    handler: (params, context) => ({
+      settings: projectClientPermissionSettings(
+        context.runtime.updateClientPRBotAuthorOverride(params),
+        context
+      )
     })
   }),
   defineMethod({

src/renderer/src/components/onboarding/AgentStep.test.tsx

@@ -13,17 +13,17 @@ describe('AgentStep', () => {
           onSelect={vi.fn()}
           detectedSet={new Set([AGENT_CATALOG[0].id])}
           isDetecting={false}
-          yoloPermissions
-          onYoloPermissionsChange={vi.fn()}
+          permissionMode="auto"
+          onPermissionModeChange={vi.fn()}
         />
       </TooltipProvider>
     )
 
     expect(html).toContain(`Show ${AGENT_CATALOG.length - 1} more agents→`)
     expect(html).toContain('data-agent-grid-scroll')
-    expect(html).toContain('data-slot="checkbox"')
-    expect(html).toContain('Yolo / Dangerously skip permissions')
-    expect(html).not.toContain('role="radiogroup"')
+    expect(html).toContain('>Auto</button>')
+    expect(html).toContain('agents without Auto use Manual')
+    expect(html).toContain('role="radiogroup"')
   })
 
   it('labels the fallback agents summary as hide when expanded', () => {
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ describe('AgentStep', () => {
           onSelect={vi.fn()}
           detectedSet={new Set([AGENT_CATALOG[0].id])}
           isDetecting={false}
-          yoloPermissions
-          onYoloPermissionsChange={vi.fn()}
+          permissionMode="auto"
+          onPermissionModeChange={vi.fn()}
         />
       </TooltipProvider>
     )

src/renderer/src/components/onboarding/AgentStep.tsx

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 import { useLayoutEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
-import { Check, ExternalLink, Info } from 'lucide-react'
+import { Check, ExternalLink } from 'lucide-react'
 import { getAgentCatalog, AgentIcon, type AgentCatalogEntry } from '@/lib/agent-catalog'
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
-import { Checkbox } from '@/components/ui/checkbox'
 import { Collapsible, CollapsibleContent, CollapsibleTrigger } from '@/components/ui/collapsible'
-import { Tooltip, TooltipContent, TooltipTrigger } from '@/components/ui/tooltip'
+import { AgentPermissionsSetting } from '../settings/AgentPermissionsSetting'
+import type { AgentPermissionMode } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-permissions'
 import type { TuiAgent } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent'
 import { translate } from '@/i18n/i18n'
 
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ type AgentStepProps = {
   onSelect: (agent: TuiAgent, fromCollapsedSection: boolean) => void
   detectedSet: Set<TuiAgent>
   isDetecting: boolean
-  yoloPermissions?: boolean
-  onYoloPermissionsChange?: (enabled: boolean) => void
+  permissionMode?: AgentPermissionMode
+  onPermissionModeChange?: (mode: Exclude<AgentPermissionMode, 'mixed'>) => void
 }
 
 function useAgentGridScrollMaxHeight(
@@ -64,8 +64,8 @@ export function AgentStep({
   onSelect,
   detectedSet,
   isDetecting,
-  yoloPermissions = true,
-  onYoloPermissionsChange
+  permissionMode,
+  onPermissionModeChange
 }: AgentStepProps) {
   const agentCatalog = getAgentCatalog()
   const detected = agentCatalog.filter((agent) => detectedSet.has(agent.id))
@@ -190,65 +190,15 @@ export function AgentStep({
           </div>
         </div>
       </section>
-      <YoloPermissionsControl
-        yoloPermissions={yoloPermissions}
-        onYoloPermissionsChange={onYoloPermissionsChange}
-      />
+      {permissionMode && onPermissionModeChange && (
+        <div className="mt-auto shrink-0 rounded-lg border border-border bg-muted/25 px-4 py-3">
+          <AgentPermissionsSetting mode={permissionMode} onChange={onPermissionModeChange} />
+        </div>
+      )}
     </div>
   )
 }
 
-function YoloPermissionsControl({
-  yoloPermissions,
-  onYoloPermissionsChange
-}: {
-  yoloPermissions: boolean
-  onYoloPermissionsChange?: (enabled: boolean) => void
-}): React.JSX.Element {
-  return (
-    <label className="mt-auto flex shrink-0 cursor-pointer items-center justify-between gap-4 rounded-lg border border-border bg-muted/25 px-4 py-3 transition-colors hover:bg-muted/40">
-      <span className="flex min-w-0 items-center gap-3">
-        <Checkbox
-          checked={yoloPermissions}
-          onCheckedChange={(checked) => onYoloPermissionsChange?.(checked === true)}
-          className="border-border bg-card data-[state=checked]:border-primary data-[state=checked]:bg-primary data-[state=checked]:text-primary-foreground"
-          aria-label={translate(
-            'auto.components.onboarding.AgentStep.yoloPermissionsLabel',
-            'Yolo / Dangerously skip permissions'
-          )}
-        />
-        <span className="min-w-0 text-sm font-medium text-foreground">
-          {translate(
-            'auto.components.onboarding.AgentStep.yoloPermissionsLabel',
-            'Yolo / Dangerously skip permissions'
-          )}
-        </span>
-      </span>
-      <Tooltip>
-        <TooltipTrigger asChild>
-          <button
-            type="button"
-            aria-label={translate(
-              'auto.components.onboarding.AgentStep.yoloPermissionsInfo',
-              'Agent permission info'
-            )}
-            onPointerDown={(event) => event.preventDefault()}
-            className="grid size-6 shrink-0 place-items-center rounded-md text-muted-foreground outline-none transition-colors hover:bg-muted hover:text-foreground focus-visible:ring-[3px] focus-visible:ring-ring/50"
-          >
-            <Info className="size-3.5" />
-          </button>
-        </TooltipTrigger>
-        <TooltipContent side="top" sideOffset={6} style={{ zIndex: 120 }}>
-          {translate(
-            'auto.components.onboarding.AgentStep.yoloPermissionsTooltip',
-            'Skip permission checks for agents for less interruptions'
-          )}
-        </TooltipContent>
-      </Tooltip>
-    </label>
-  )
-}
-
 function SectionHeader({
   label,
   count,

src/renderer/src/components/onboarding/OnboardingFlow.tsx

@@ -314,8 +314,8 @@ export default function OnboardingFlow({
                   onSelect={flow.setSelectedAgent}
                   detectedSet={flow.detectedSet}
                   isDetecting={flow.isDetectingAgents}
-                  yoloPermissions={flow.yoloPermissions}
-                  onYoloPermissionsChange={flow.setYoloPermissions}
+                  permissionMode={flow.permissionMode}
+                  onPermissionModeChange={flow.setPermissionMode}
                 />
               )}
               {currentStep.id === 'theme' && (

src/renderer/src/components/onboarding/use-onboarding-flow-persistence.test.ts

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 import { createElement, useEffect, act } from 'react'
 import { createRoot, type Root } from 'react-dom/client'
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
-import { getDefaultOnboardingState } from '../../../../shared/constants'
+import { getDefaultOnboardingState, getDefaultSettings } from '../../../../shared/constants'
 import type { OnboardingState } from '../../../../shared/onboarding-state-types'
 
 const trackMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn())
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import {
   buildCompletedOnboardingNotificationSettings,
   buildOnboardingDismissedPayload,
   useCloseWith,
+  usePersistCurrentStep,
   type DismissedExtras,
   trackOnboardingDismissed
 } from './use-onboarding-flow-persistence'
@@ -90,6 +91,48 @@ describe('onboarding flow persistence', () => {
     vi.useRealTimers()
   })
 
+  it.each([null, 'auto'] as const)(
+    'preserves permissions unless a preset is explicitly selected (%s)',
+    async (selection) => {
+      const settings = getDefaultSettings('/tmp')
+      settings.agentDefaultArgs = {
+        ...settings.agentDefaultArgs,
+        claude: '',
+        codex: '--model custom'
+      }
+      const updateSettings = vi.fn()
+      let persist: (() => Promise<{ ok: boolean }>) | undefined
+      function Probe(): null {
+        persist = usePersistCurrentStep({
+          currentStepId: 'agent',
+          selectedAgent: 'claude',
+          permissionModeSelection: selection,
+          theme: settings.theme,
+          settings,
+          updateSettings,
+          onboardingChecklist: getDefaultOnboardingState().checklist,
+          onOnboardingChange: vi.fn(),
+          setError: vi.fn()
+        })
+        return null
+      }
+      container = document.createElement('div')
+      root = createRoot(container)
+      act(() => root?.render(createElement(Probe)))
+      await act(async () => {
+        await persist?.()
+      })
+      const update = updateSettings.mock.calls[0][0]
+      if (selection === null) {
+        expect(update).toEqual({ defaultTuiAgent: 'claude' })
+      } else {
+        expect(update.agentDefaultArgs.claude).toBe('--permission-mode auto')
+        expect(update.agentDefaultArgs.codex).toBe('--model custom')
+        expect(update.agentDefaultArgs.aider).toBe('')
+      }
+    }
+  )
+
   it('builds dismissed telemetry with the triggering advance path', () => {
     expect(
       buildOnboardingDismissedPayload(3, {

src/renderer/src/components/onboarding/use-onboarding-flow-persistence.ts

@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ import type { EventProps } from '../../../../shared/telemetry-events'
 import type { GlobalSettings } from '../../../../shared/global-settings-types'
 import type { OnboardingState } from '../../../../shared/onboarding-state-types'
 import type { TuiAgent } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent'
-import { applyAgentPermissionMode } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-permissions'
+import {
+  applyAgentPermissionMode,
+  type AgentPermissionMode
+} from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-permissions'
 import type { StepId, StepNumber } from './use-onboarding-flow-types'
 
 export async function persistStep(
@@ -132,7 +135,7 @@ export function useCloseWith({ onOnboardingChange, startTimeRef, setError }: Clo
 type PersistCurrentStepDeps = {
   currentStepId: StepId
   selectedAgent: TuiAgent | null
-  yoloPermissions: boolean
+  permissionModeSelection: Exclude<AgentPermissionMode, 'mixed'> | null
   theme: GlobalSettings['theme']
   settings: GlobalSettings | null
   updateSettings: (updates: Partial<GlobalSettings>) => Promise<void> | void
@@ -148,7 +151,7 @@ export type PersistCurrentStepResult = {
 export function usePersistCurrentStep({
   currentStepId,
   selectedAgent,
-  yoloPermissions,
+  permissionModeSelection,
   theme,
   settings,
   updateSettings,
@@ -165,11 +168,13 @@ export function usePersistCurrentStep({
         const defaultTuiAgent = selectedAgentOrBlank(selectedAgent)
         await updateSettings({
           defaultTuiAgent,
-          ...applyAgentPermissionMode({
-            mode: yoloPermissions ? 'yolo' : 'manual',
-            agentDefaultArgs: settings.agentDefaultArgs,
-            agentDefaultEnv: settings.agentDefaultEnv
-          })
+          ...(permissionModeSelection === null
+            ? {}
+            : applyAgentPermissionMode({
+                mode: permissionModeSelection,
+                agentDefaultArgs: settings.agentDefaultArgs,
+                agentDefaultEnv: settings.agentDefaultEnv
+              }))
         })
         const choseAgent = defaultTuiAgent !== 'blank'
         const wasAlreadyChosen = onboardingChecklist.choseAgent
@@ -226,7 +231,7 @@ export function usePersistCurrentStep({
     settings,
     theme,
     updateSettings,
-    yoloPermissions,
+    permissionModeSelection,
     setError
   ])
 }

src/renderer/src/components/onboarding/use-onboarding-flow.ts

@@ -12,7 +12,10 @@ import { STEPS } from './use-onboarding-flow-types'
 import { persistStep, useCloseWith, usePersistCurrentStep } from './use-onboarding-flow-persistence'
 import { resolveOnboardingSettingsHydration } from './onboarding-settings-hydration'
 import { translate } from '@/i18n/i18n'
-import { resolveAgentPermissionModeSummary } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-permissions'
+import {
+  resolveAgentPermissionModeSummary,
+  type AgentPermissionMode
+} from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-permissions'
 import { isWindowsUserAgent } from '@/components/terminal-pane/pane-helpers'
 import {
   isSkippedStepIndex,
@@ -66,12 +69,16 @@ export function useOnboardingFlow(
       ? settings.defaultTuiAgent
       : null
   )
-  const [yoloPermissions, setYoloPermissions] = useState(
+  const [permissionModeSelection, setPermissionModeSelection] = useState<Exclude<
+    AgentPermissionMode,
+    'mixed'
+  > | null>(null)
+  const permissionMode =
+    permissionModeSelection ??
     resolveAgentPermissionModeSummary({
       agentDefaultArgs: settings?.agentDefaultArgs,
       agentDefaultEnv: settings?.agentDefaultEnv
-    }) !== 'manual'
-  )
+    })
   // Why: hydrate theme from saved settings so users who already chose one see it preselected.
   const [theme, setTheme] = useState<GlobalSettings['theme']>(settings?.theme ?? 'dark')
   const [busyLabel, setBusyLabel] = useState<string | null>(null)
@@ -80,7 +87,6 @@ export function useOnboardingFlow(
   // Why: settings hydrate async after the lazy initializers run; re-sync once before commit unless the user edited the field.
   const themeInteractedRef = useRef(false)
   const agentInteractedRef = useRef(false)
-  const yoloPermissionsInteractedRef = useRef(false)
   const [settingsHydrated, setSettingsHydrated] = useState(settings != null)
   const settingsHydration = resolveOnboardingSettingsHydration({
     settings,
@@ -99,17 +105,6 @@ export function useOnboardingFlow(
       setSelectedAgent(settingsHydration.selectedAgent)
     }
   }
-  if (settings && !yoloPermissionsInteractedRef.current) {
-    const nextYoloPermissions =
-      resolveAgentPermissionModeSummary({
-        agentDefaultArgs: settings.agentDefaultArgs,
-        agentDefaultEnv: settings.agentDefaultEnv
-      }) !== 'manual'
-    if (nextYoloPermissions !== yoloPermissions) {
-      setYoloPermissions(nextYoloPermissions)
-    }
-  }
-
   // Why: track interaction so async settings hydration doesn't overwrite a value the user chose.
   const setThemeInteractive = useCallback((value: GlobalSettings['theme']) => {
     themeInteractedRef.current = true
@@ -152,11 +147,6 @@ export function useOnboardingFlow(
     },
     []
   )
-  const setYoloPermissionsInteractive = useCallback((enabled: boolean) => {
-    yoloPermissionsInteractedRef.current = true
-    setYoloPermissions(enabled)
-  }, [])
-
   const detectedSet = useMemo(() => new Set(detectedAgentIds ?? []), [detectedAgentIds])
   const currentStep = STEPS[stepIndex]
   // Why: the stepper shows only steps the user will land on; skipped optional steps are dropped, not rendered as dead dots.
@@ -278,7 +268,7 @@ export function useOnboardingFlow(
   const persistCurrentStep = usePersistCurrentStep({
     currentStepId: currentStep.id,
     selectedAgent,
-    yoloPermissions,
+    permissionModeSelection,
     theme,
     settings,
     updateSettings,
@@ -318,8 +308,8 @@ export function useOnboardingFlow(
     currentStep,
     selectedAgent,
     setSelectedAgent: setSelectedAgentInteractive,
-    yoloPermissions,
-    setYoloPermissions: setYoloPermissionsInteractive,
+    permissionMode,
+    setPermissionMode: setPermissionModeSelection,
     theme,
     setTheme: setThemeInteractive,
     busyLabel,

src/renderer/src/components/settings/AgentCatalogRow.tsx

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 import { useState } from 'react'
 import { Check, ChevronDown, ExternalLink } from 'lucide-react'
+import { AgentPermissionModeControl } from './AgentPermissionsSetting'
+import type { AgentPermissionMode } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-permissions'
 import type { TuiAgent } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent'
 import { AgentIcon } from '@/lib/agent-catalog'
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
@@ -68,6 +70,8 @@ export type AgentCatalogRowProps = {
   cmdOverride: string | undefined
   argsOverride: string
   envOverride: Record<string, string>
+  permissionMode?: AgentPermissionMode
+  onSetPermissionMode?: (mode: Exclude<AgentPermissionMode, 'mixed'>) => void
   onSetDefault: () => void
   onSetEnabled: (enabled: boolean) => void
   onSaveOverride: (value: string) => void
@@ -89,6 +93,8 @@ export function AgentCatalogRow({
   cmdOverride,
   argsOverride,
   envOverride,
+  permissionMode,
+  onSetPermissionMode,
   onSetDefault,
   onSetEnabled,
   onSaveOverride,
@@ -98,9 +104,7 @@ export function AgentCatalogRow({
 }: AgentCatalogRowProps): React.JSX.Element {
   const envSummary = stringifyAgentDefaultEnvDraft(envOverride)
   const defaultEnvSummary = stringifyAgentDefaultEnvDraft(defaultEnv)
-  const [cmdOpen, setCmdOpen] = useState(
-    Boolean(cmdOverride) || argsOverride !== defaultArgs || envSummary !== defaultEnvSummary
-  )
+  const [cmdOpen, setCmdOpen] = useState(Boolean(cmdOverride) || permissionMode === 'mixed')
 
   return (
     <div className={cn('py-3', !isDetected && 'opacity-70')}>
@@ -181,12 +185,12 @@ export function AgentCatalogRow({
                 aria-label={
                   cmdOpen
                     ? translate(
-                        'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.cea7d97be1',
-                        'Collapse command override'
+                        'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.collapseLaunchSettings',
+                        'Collapse launch settings'
                       )
                     : translate(
-                        'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.dc4a2ffdc0',
-                        'Expand command override'
+                        'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.expandLaunchSettings',
+                        'Expand launch settings'
                       )
                 }
                 className="size-7 text-muted-foreground hover:text-foreground"
@@ -202,6 +206,31 @@ export function AgentCatalogRow({
 
       {isDetected && cmdOpen && (
         <div className="mt-3 pl-10">
+          {permissionMode && onSetPermissionMode && (
+            <div className="mb-3 space-y-2">
+              <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center justify-between gap-2">
+                <span className="text-xs font-medium">
+                  {translate(
+                    'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissions',
+                    'Agent Permissions'
+                  )}
+                </span>
+                <AgentPermissionModeControl
+                  mode={permissionMode}
+                  onChange={onSetPermissionMode}
+                  agent={agentId}
+                />
+              </div>
+              {permissionMode === 'mixed' && (
+                <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+                  {translate(
+                    'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissionsEditCustom',
+                    'Custom configuration. Edit or reset the launch arguments and environment below to use a permission preset.'
+                  )}
+                </p>
+              )}
+            </div>
+          )}
           <AgentCommandOverrideInput
             key={cmdOverride ?? defaultCmd}
             defaultCmd={defaultCmd}

src/renderer/src/components/settings/AgentLaunchDefaultsEditor.tsx

@@ -101,10 +101,10 @@ export function AgentDefaultArgsInput({
               event.currentTarget.blur()
             }
           }}
-          placeholder={
-            defaultArgs ||
-            translate('auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.6f99bf5dd0', 'No default arguments')
-          }
+          placeholder={translate(
+            'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.6f99bf5dd0',
+            'No default arguments'
+          )}
           spellCheck={false}
           className="h-7 flex-1 font-mono text-xs"
         />
@@ -175,10 +175,10 @@ export function AgentDefaultEnvInput({
               event.currentTarget.blur()
             }
           }}
-          placeholder={
-            defaultEnvText ||
-            translate('auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.2d133152fa', 'No default environment')
-          }
+          placeholder={translate(
+            'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.2d133152fa',
+            'No default environment'
+          )}
           spellCheck={false}
           aria-invalid={envDraftTooLarge || undefined}
           aria-describedby={envDraftTooLarge ? envDraftErrorId : undefined}

src/renderer/src/components/settings/AgentPermissionsSetting.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+import { renderToStaticMarkup } from 'react-dom/server'
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { AgentPermissionModeControl } from './AgentPermissionsSetting'
+
+describe('agent permission choices', () => {
+  it('offers Auto only to supported agents', () => {
+    const supported = renderToStaticMarkup(
+      <AgentPermissionModeControl agent="claude" mode="auto" onChange={vi.fn()} />
+    )
+    const unsupported = renderToStaticMarkup(
+      <AgentPermissionModeControl agent="aider" mode="manual" onChange={vi.fn()} />
+    )
+    expect(supported).toContain('>Auto</button>')
+    expect(unsupported).not.toContain('>Auto</button>')
+    expect(unsupported).toContain('>Manual</button>')
+    expect(unsupported).toContain('>Yolo</button>')
+  })
+
+  it('disables presets while custom launch settings need editing', () => {
+    const html = renderToStaticMarkup(
+      <AgentPermissionModeControl agent="claude" mode="mixed" onChange={vi.fn()} />
+    )
+    expect(html.match(/aria-disabled="true"/g)).toHaveLength(3)
+    expect(html).not.toContain('aria-checked="true"')
+  })
+
+  it('passes an explicitly selected global preset through', () => {
+    const onChange = vi.fn()
+    const element = AgentPermissionModeControl({ mode: 'mixed', onChange })
+    element.props.onChange('auto')
+    expect(onChange).toHaveBeenCalledWith('auto')
+    expect(element.props.options.every((option: { disabled: boolean }) => !option.disabled)).toBe(
+      true
+    )
+  })
+})

src/renderer/src/components/settings/AgentPermissionsSetting.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+import type { TuiAgent } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent'
+import {
+  supportsTuiAgentAutoPermissionMode,
+  type AgentPermissionMode
+} from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-permissions'
+import { translate } from '@/i18n/i18n'
+import { SettingsSegmentedControl, SettingsSubsectionHeader } from './SettingsFormControls'
+
+export function AgentPermissionModeControl({
+  mode,
+  onChange,
+  agent
+}: {
+  mode: AgentPermissionMode
+  onChange: (mode: Exclude<AgentPermissionMode, 'mixed'>) => void
+  agent?: TuiAgent
+}): React.JSX.Element {
+  const disabled = agent !== undefined && mode === 'mixed'
+  return (
+    <SettingsSegmentedControl<AgentPermissionMode>
+      value={mode}
+      onChange={(next) => {
+        if (next !== 'mixed') {
+          onChange(next)
+        }
+      }}
+      ariaLabel={translate(
+        'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissions',
+        'Agent Permissions'
+      )}
+      size="sm"
+      options={[
+        {
+          value: 'manual',
+          label: translate('auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissionsManual', 'Manual'),
+          disabled
+        },
+        ...(!agent || supportsTuiAgentAutoPermissionMode(agent)
+          ? [
+              {
+                value: 'auto' as const,
+                label: translate(
+                  'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissionsAuto',
+                  'Auto'
+                ),
+                disabled
+              }
+            ]
+          : []),
+        {
+          value: 'yolo',
+          label: translate('auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissionsYolo', 'Yolo'),
+          disabled
+        }
+      ]}
+    />
+  )
+}
+
+export function AgentPermissionsSetting({
+  mode,
+  onChange
+}: {
+  mode: AgentPermissionMode
+  onChange: (mode: Exclude<AgentPermissionMode, 'mixed'>) => void
+}): React.JSX.Element {
+  return (
+    <section className="space-y-2">
+      <SettingsSubsectionHeader
+        title={translate(
+          'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissions',
+          'Agent Permissions'
+        )}
+        className="flex-wrap"
+        action={<AgentPermissionModeControl mode={mode} onChange={onChange} />}
+      />
+      <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+        {translate(
+          'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissionsModesDescription',
+          'Manual asks for approval. Auto uses the agent’s guarded approval mode; agents without Auto use Manual. Yolo skips permission checks.'
+        )}
+      </p>
+      <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+        {mode === 'mixed'
+          ? translate(
+              'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissionsCustom',
+              'Custom configuration. Choose a preset to update standard modes; custom launch arguments and environment values are preserved.'
+            )
+          : translate(
+              'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissionsPreserveCustom',
+              'Applies to all agents. Custom launch arguments and environment values are preserved.'
+            )}
+      </p>
+    </section>
+  )
+}

src/renderer/src/components/settings/AgentsPane.test.tsx

@@ -414,22 +414,11 @@ describe('AgentsPane', () => {
     expect(matchesSettingsSearch('manual', getAgentsPaneSearchEntries())).toBe(true)
   })
 
-  it('applies the selected agent permission mode from settings without a mixed segment', () => {
-    const onChange = vi.fn()
-    const element = AgentPermissionsSetting({ mode: 'mixed', onChange })
-    const props = element.props.children.props.action.props as {
-      value: 'yolo'
-      onChange: (value: 'yolo' | 'manual' | 'mixed') => void
-      options: { value: string }[]
-    }
-
-    expect(props.value).toBe('yolo')
-    expect(props.options.map((option) => option.value)).toEqual(['yolo', 'manual'])
-    props.onChange('mixed')
-    expect(onChange).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
-
-    props.onChange('manual')
-    expect(onChange).toHaveBeenCalledWith('manual')
+  it('shows mixed permission settings without selecting a preset', () => {
+    const html = renderToStaticMarkup(<AgentPermissionsSetting mode="mixed" onChange={vi.fn()} />)
+    expect(html).toContain('Custom configuration')
+    expect(html).toContain('>Auto</button>')
+    expect(html).not.toContain('aria-checked="true"')
   })
 
   it('keeps catalog agent ids, labels, and commands discoverable in settings search', () => {

src/renderer/src/components/settings/AgentsPane.tsx

@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 import { useMemo } from 'react'
-import { Info } from 'lucide-react'
 import type { GlobalSettings } from '../../../../shared/global-settings-types'
 import type { TuiAgent } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent'
 import { getAgentCatalog } from '@/lib/agent-catalog'
@@ -14,11 +13,7 @@ import {
   getAgentGeneratedTabTitlesTitle
 } from './agent-generated-tab-title-copy'
 import { getAgentStatusHooksDescription, getAgentStatusHooksTitle } from './agent-status-hooks-copy'
-import {
-  SettingsSegmentedControl,
-  SettingsSubsectionHeader,
-  SettingsSwitchRow
-} from './SettingsFormControls'
+import { SettingsSwitchRow } from './SettingsFormControls'
 import {
   isTuiAgentEnabled,
   normalizeDisabledTuiAgents
@@ -31,12 +26,11 @@ import {
 } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-launch-defaults'
 import {
   applyAgentPermissionMode,
+  applyTuiAgentPermissionMode,
   resolveAgentPermissionModeSummary,
-  type AgentPermissionMode
+  resolveTuiAgentPermissionMode
 } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-permissions'
 import { getSettingOwnershipSummary } from './setting-ownership'
-import { translate } from '@/i18n/i18n'
-import { Tooltip, TooltipContent, TooltipTrigger } from '../ui/tooltip'
 import { isPairedWebClientWindow } from '@/lib/desktop-window-chrome'
 import { getAgentsPaneSearchEntries } from './agents-search'
 import {
@@ -44,6 +38,8 @@ import {
   createAgentAvailabilityUpdateQueue
 } from './agent-availability-settings'
 import { AgentAvailabilityControl, type AgentCatalogRowProps } from './AgentCatalogRow'
+import { AgentPermissionsSetting } from './AgentPermissionsSetting'
+export { AgentPermissionsSetting } from './AgentPermissionsSetting'
 import { AgentDefaultSetting } from './AgentDefaultSetting'
 import { AgentDetectionCatalog } from './AgentDetectionCatalog'
 
@@ -65,79 +61,6 @@ type AgentsPaneProps = {
 
 const enqueueAgentAvailabilityUpdate = createAgentAvailabilityUpdateQueue()
 
-export function AgentPermissionsSetting({
-  mode,
-  onChange
-}: {
-  mode: AgentPermissionMode
-  onChange: (mode: Exclude<AgentPermissionMode, 'mixed'>) => void
-}): React.JSX.Element {
-  const visibleMode: Exclude<AgentPermissionMode, 'mixed'> = mode === 'manual' ? 'manual' : 'yolo'
-  return (
-    <section className="space-y-3">
-      <SettingsSubsectionHeader
-        title={
-          <span className="flex items-center gap-2">
-            {translate('auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissions', 'Agent Permissions')}
-            <Tooltip>
-              <TooltipTrigger asChild>
-                <button
-                  type="button"
-                  aria-label={translate(
-                    'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissionsInfo',
-                    'Agent permissions info'
-                  )}
-                  className="grid size-5 place-items-center rounded-md text-muted-foreground outline-none transition-colors hover:bg-muted hover:text-foreground focus-visible:ring-[3px] focus-visible:ring-ring/50"
-                >
-                  <Info className="size-3.5" />
-                </button>
-              </TooltipTrigger>
-              <TooltipContent side="top" sideOffset={6}>
-                {translate(
-                  'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissionsTooltip',
-                  "Doesn't apply to agents where you've overridden launch arguments."
-                )}
-              </TooltipContent>
-            </Tooltip>
-          </span>
-        }
-        description={translate(
-          'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissionsDescription',
-          'Choose whether Orca launches agents with fewer permission prompts or with manual checks.'
-        )}
-        action={
-          <SettingsSegmentedControl<AgentPermissionMode>
-            value={visibleMode}
-            onChange={(nextMode) => {
-              if (nextMode !== 'mixed') {
-                onChange(nextMode)
-              }
-            }}
-            ariaLabel={translate(
-              'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissions',
-              'Agent Permissions'
-            )}
-            size="sm"
-            options={[
-              {
-                value: 'yolo',
-                label: translate('auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissionsYolo', 'Yolo')
-              },
-              {
-                value: 'manual',
-                label: translate(
-                  'auto.components.settings.AgentsPane.agentPermissionsManual',
-                  'Manual'
-                )
-              }
-            ]}
-          />
-        }
-      />
-    </section>
-  )
-}
-
 export function AgentsPane({
   settings,
   updateSettings,
@@ -212,6 +135,23 @@ export function AgentsPane({
     cmdOverride: isDetected ? cmdOverrides[agent.id] : undefined,
     argsOverride: resolveTuiAgentLaunchArgs(agent.id, agentDefaultArgs),
     envOverride: resolveTuiAgentLaunchEnv(agent.id, agentDefaultEnv),
+    permissionMode: resolveTuiAgentPermissionMode({
+      agent: agent.id,
+      agentArgs: agentDefaultArgs[agent.id],
+      agentEnv: agentDefaultEnv[agent.id]
+    }),
+    onSetPermissionMode: (mode) => {
+      const next = applyTuiAgentPermissionMode({
+        agent: agent.id,
+        mode,
+        agentArgs: resolveTuiAgentLaunchArgs(agent.id, agentDefaultArgs),
+        agentEnv: resolveTuiAgentLaunchEnv(agent.id, agentDefaultEnv)
+      })
+      updateSettings({
+        agentDefaultArgs: { ...agentDefaultArgs, [agent.id]: next.agentArgs },
+        agentDefaultEnv: { ...agentDefaultEnv, [agent.id]: next.agentEnv }
+      })
+    },
     onSetDefault: isDetected ? () => updateSettings({ defaultTuiAgent: agent.id }) : () => {},
     onSetEnabled: (enabled) => setAgentEnabled(agent.id, enabled),
     onSaveOverride: isDetected

src/renderer/src/components/settings/agents-search.ts

@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ function buildAgentSettingsKeywords(): string[] {
     { key: 'auto.components.settings.agents.search.permission', fallback: 'permission' },
     { key: 'auto.components.settings.agents.search.permissions', fallback: 'permissions' },
     { key: 'auto.components.settings.agents.search.yolo', fallback: 'yolo', englishOnly: true },
+    { key: 'auto.components.settings.agents.search.auto', fallback: 'auto' },
     { key: 'auto.components.settings.agents.search.manual', fallback: 'manual' },
     {
       key: 'auto.components.settings.agents.search.e2b7c0dcd7',
@@ -126,7 +127,7 @@ const getAllAgentsPaneSearchEntries = createLocalizedCatalog(() => [
     ),
     description: translate(
       'auto.components.settings.agents.search.agentPermissionsDescription',
-      'Switch agent permission defaults between Yolo and Manual.'
+      'Switch agent permission defaults between Manual, Auto, and Yolo.'
     ),
     keywords: [
       ...translateSearchKeyword('auto.components.settings.agents.search.permission', 'permission'),
@@ -135,6 +136,7 @@ const getAllAgentsPaneSearchEntries = createLocalizedCatalog(() => [
         'permissions'
       ),
       ...translateSearchKeyword('auto.components.settings.agents.search.yolo', 'yolo'),
+      ...translateSearchKeyword('auto.components.settings.agents.search.auto', 'auto'),
       ...translateSearchKeyword('auto.components.settings.agents.search.manual', 'manual'),
       ...translateSearchKeyword('auto.components.settings.agents.search.skip', 'skip'),
       ...translateSearchKeyword('auto.components.settings.agents.search.checks', 'checks')

src/renderer/src/components/terminal-pane/codex-auto-approval-notification-suppression.test.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
-import { YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-permissions'
+import { AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS, YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS } from '../../../../shared/tui-agent-permissions'
 import { createTestStore, makeTab } from '../../store/slices/store-test-helpers'
 import type { AppState } from '../../store/types'
 import {
@@ -102,6 +102,28 @@ describe('Codex auto-approval status suppression', () => {
     ).toBe(false)
   })
 
+  it.each(['waiting', 'blocked'] as const)(
+    'preserves Auto %s attention, including user questions',
+    (state) => {
+      registerCodexLaunchConfig({ agentArgs: AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS.codex ?? '', launchToken })
+      for (const toolName of [undefined, 'request_user_input']) {
+        expect(
+          shouldSuppressCodexAutoApprovalStatus(
+            { state, prompt: 'needs attention', agentType: 'codex', toolName },
+            { paneKey, tabId: 'tab-1', launchToken }
+          )
+        ).toBe(false)
+      }
+      expect(
+        shouldSuppressCodexAutoApprovalSyntheticTitle('Codex - action required', {
+          paneKey,
+          tabId: 'tab-1',
+          launchToken
+        })
+      ).toBe(false)
+    }
+  )
+
   it('preserves manual Codex permission attention', () => {
     registerCodexLaunchConfig({ agentArgs: '', launchToken })
 

src/renderer/src/i18n/en-runtime-required.json

@@ -675,6 +675,11 @@
               }
             }
           }
+        },
+        "AgentStep": {
+          "yoloPermissionsInfo": "Agent permission info",
+          "yoloPermissionsLabel": "Yolo / Dangerously skip permissions",
+          "yoloPermissionsTooltip": "Skip permission checks for agents for less interruptions"
         }
       },
       "right": {
@@ -1087,7 +1092,12 @@
           "9b175d0f5e": "Pre-selected agent when opening a new workspace.",
           "c8794e622e": "Detected",
           "db9e9e5887": "Customize command",
-          "df123171d1": "Not installed"
+          "df123171d1": "Not installed",
+          "agentPermissionsDescription": "Choose whether Orca launches agents with fewer permission prompts or with manual checks.",
+          "agentPermissionsInfo": "Agent permissions info",
+          "agentPermissionsTooltip": "Doesn't apply to agents where you've overridden launch arguments.",
+          "cea7d97be1": "Collapse command override",
+          "dc4a2ffdc0": "Expand command override"
         },
         "AppearancePane": {
           "0f28e7b30c": "Choose how Orca looks in the app window.",

src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/en.json

@@ -6583,7 +6583,14 @@
           "codexSessionSourceInfo": "About importing Codex history",
           "codexSessionSourceTooltip": "Orca runs Codex in an isolated home. Point this at your existing Codex home to import that session history. Empty uses ~/.codex.",
           "storedDefaultUndetected": "Saved as your default, but not detected right now",
-          "noAgentsDetected": "No agents detected. If one is installed, the probe may have timed out."
+          "noAgentsDetected": "No agents detected. If one is installed, the probe may have timed out.",
+          "agentPermissionsAuto": "Auto",
+          "agentPermissionsModesDescription": "Manual asks for approval. Auto uses the agent’s guarded approval mode; agents without Auto use Manual. Yolo skips permission checks.",
+          "agentPermissionsCustom": "Custom configuration. Choose a preset to update standard modes; custom launch arguments and environment values are preserved.",
+          "agentPermissionsPreserveCustom": "Applies to all agents. Custom launch arguments and environment values are preserved.",
+          "agentPermissionsEditCustom": "Custom configuration. Edit or reset the launch arguments and environment below to use a permission preset.",
+          "collapseLaunchSettings": "Collapse launch settings",
+          "expandLaunchSettings": "Expand launch settings"
         },
         "AppIconSelector": {
           "d5a112dc9b": "Next icon",
@@ -8944,7 +8951,7 @@
             "a79d266f71": "session",
             "afbf35be68": "stable session",
             "agentPermissions": "Agent Permissions",
-            "agentPermissionsDescription": "Switch agent permission defaults between Yolo and Manual.",
+            "agentPermissionsDescription": "Switch agent permission defaults between Manual, Auto, and Yolo.",
             "agentRuntime": "Agent Runtime",
             "agentRuntimeDescription": "Choose whether agents are detected and launched on Windows or in WSL by default.",
             "runtime": "runtime",
@@ -8955,7 +8962,8 @@
             "yolo": "yolo",
             "manual": "manual",
             "skip": "skip",
-            "checks": "checks"
+            "checks": "checks",
+            "auto": "auto"
           }
         },
         "appearance": {

src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/es.json

@@ -5556,7 +5556,14 @@
           "03e1a5081a": "on {{value0}}",
           "25a41a9aad": "Re-detect agents installed on the active server",
           "remoteDetectionFailed": "Couldn’t detect installed agents. Check the host connection and try again.",
-          "retryDetection": "Retry"
+          "retryDetection": "Retry",
+          "agentPermissionsAuto": "Auto",
+          "agentPermissionsModesDescription": "Manual pide aprobación. Auto usa el modo de aprobación protegido del agente; los agentes sin Auto usan Manual. Yolo omite las comprobaciones de permisos.",
+          "agentPermissionsCustom": "Configuración personalizada. Elige un ajuste para actualizar los modos estándar; se conservan los argumentos de inicio y las variables de entorno personalizados.",
+          "agentPermissionsPreserveCustom": "Se aplica a todos los agentes. Se conservan los argumentos de inicio y las variables de entorno personalizados.",
+          "agentPermissionsEditCustom": "Configuración personalizada. Edita o restablece los argumentos de inicio y el entorno de abajo para usar un ajuste de permisos.",
+          "collapseLaunchSettings": "Contraer ajustes de inicio",
+          "expandLaunchSettings": "Expandir ajustes de inicio"
         },
         "AppIconSelector": {
           "d5a112dc9b": "Icono siguiente",
@@ -7788,9 +7795,10 @@
             "a79d266f71": "sesión",
             "afbf35be68": "sesión estable",
             "agentPermissions": "Permisos de agentes",
-            "agentPermissionsDescription": "Cambia los permisos predeterminados de los agentes entre Yolo y Manual.",
+            "agentPermissionsDescription": "Cambia los permisos predeterminados de los agentes entre Manual, Auto y Yolo.",
             "agentRuntime": "Runtime del agente",
-            "agentRuntimeDescription": "Elige si los agentes se detectan y ejecutan en Windows o en WSL de forma predeterminada."
+            "agentRuntimeDescription": "Elige si los agentes se detectan y ejecutan en Windows o en WSL de forma predeterminada.",
+            "auto": "automático"
           }
         },
         "appearance": {

src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/fr.json

@@ -6298,7 +6298,14 @@
           "codexSessionSourceInfo": "À propos de l'import de l'historique Codex",
           "codexSessionSourceTooltip": "Orca exécute Codex dans un home isolé. Pointez ceci vers votre home Codex existant pour en importer l'historique de sessions. Si vide, ~/.codex est utilisé.",
           "storedDefaultUndetected": "Enregistré par défaut, mais non détecté actuellement",
-          "noAgentsDetected": "Aucun agent détecté. Si un agent est installé, la détection a peut-être expiré."
+          "noAgentsDetected": "Aucun agent détecté. Si un agent est installé, la détection a peut-être expiré.",
+          "agentPermissionsAuto": "Auto",
+          "agentPermissionsModesDescription": "Manual demande une approbation. Auto utilise le mode d’approbation protégé de l’agent ; les agents sans Auto utilisent Manual. Yolo ignore les vérifications de permissions.",
+          "agentPermissionsCustom": "Configuration personnalisée. Choisissez un préréglage pour modifier les modes standard ; les arguments de lancement et les valeurs d’environnement personnalisés sont conservés.",
+          "agentPermissionsPreserveCustom": "S’applique à tous les agents. Les arguments de lancement et les valeurs d’environnement personnalisés sont conservés.",
+          "agentPermissionsEditCustom": "Configuration personnalisée. Modifiez ou réinitialisez les arguments de lancement et l’environnement ci-dessous pour utiliser un préréglage de permissions.",
+          "collapseLaunchSettings": "Réduire les paramètres de lancement",
+          "expandLaunchSettings": "Développer les paramètres de lancement"
         },
         "AppIconSelector": {
           "d5a112dc9b": "Icône suivante",
@@ -8629,9 +8636,10 @@
             "a79d266f71": "session",
             "afbf35be68": "session stable",
             "agentPermissions": "Permissions des agents",
-            "agentPermissionsDescription": "Basculer les autorisations d'agent par défaut entre Yolo et Manuelle.",
+            "agentPermissionsDescription": "Choisissez les permissions par défaut des agents : Manual, Auto ou Yolo.",
             "agentRuntime": "Runtime des agents",
-            "agentRuntimeDescription": "Choisissez si les agents sont détectés et lancés par défaut sous Windows ou dans WSL."
+            "agentRuntimeDescription": "Choisissez si les agents sont détectés et lancés par défaut sous Windows ou dans WSL.",
+            "auto": "automatique"
           }
         },
         "appearance": {

src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/ja.json

@@ -5541,7 +5541,14 @@
           "03e1a5081a": "{{value0}} 上",
           "25a41a9aad": "アクティブなサーバーにインストールされている Agent を再検出",
           "remoteDetectionFailed": "インストールされている Agent を検出できませんでした。ホストへの接続を確認して、もう一度お試しください。",
-          "retryDetection": "再試行"
+          "retryDetection": "再試行",
+          "agentPermissionsAuto": "Auto",
+          "agentPermissionsModesDescription": "Manual は承認を求めます。Auto はAgentの保護付き承認モードを使用します。Auto 非対応のAgentは Manual を使用します。Yolo は権限チェックをスキップします。",
+          "agentPermissionsCustom": "カスタム設定です。プリセットを選択すると標準モードを更新します。カスタムの起動引数と環境変数の値は保持されます。",
+          "agentPermissionsPreserveCustom": "すべてのAgentに適用します。カスタムの起動引数と環境変数の値は保持されます。",
+          "agentPermissionsEditCustom": "カスタム設定です。権限プリセットを使用するには、以下の起動引数と環境変数を編集またはリセットしてください。",
+          "collapseLaunchSettings": "起動設定を折りたたむ",
+          "expandLaunchSettings": "起動設定を展開"
         },
         "AppIconSelector": {
           "d5a112dc9b": "次へのアイコン",
@@ -7810,9 +7817,10 @@
             "a79d266f71": "セッション",
             "afbf35be68": "安定したセッション",
             "agentPermissions": "Agent の権限",
-            "agentPermissionsDescription": "Agent の権限の既定値を Yolo と Manual で切り替えます。",
+            "agentPermissionsDescription": "Agentの既定の権限を Manual、Auto、Yolo から選択します。",
             "agentRuntime": "Agent のランタイム",
-            "agentRuntimeDescription": "デフォルトで Agent を Windows または WSL のどちらで検出および起動するかを選択します。"
+            "agentRuntimeDescription": "デフォルトで Agent を Windows または WSL のどちらで検出および起動するかを選択します。",
+            "auto": "自動"
           }
         },
         "appearance": {

src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/ko.json

@@ -5546,7 +5546,14 @@
           "03e1a5081a": "on {{value0}}",
           "25a41a9aad": "Re-detect agents installed on the active server",
           "remoteDetectionFailed": "Couldn’t detect installed agents. Check the host connection and try again.",
-          "retryDetection": "Retry"
+          "retryDetection": "Retry",
+          "agentPermissionsAuto": "Auto",
+          "agentPermissionsModesDescription": "Manual은 승인을 요청합니다. Auto는 에이전트의 보호된 승인 모드를 사용하며, Auto를 지원하지 않는 에이전트는 Manual을 사용합니다. Yolo는 권한 검사를 건너뜁니다.",
+          "agentPermissionsCustom": "사용자 지정 설정입니다. 프리셋을 선택하면 표준 모드가 변경되며, 사용자 지정 실행 인수와 환경 변수 값은 유지됩니다.",
+          "agentPermissionsPreserveCustom": "모든 에이전트에 적용됩니다. 사용자 지정 실행 인수와 환경 변수 값은 유지됩니다.",
+          "agentPermissionsEditCustom": "사용자 지정 설정입니다. 권한 프리셋을 사용하려면 아래 실행 인수와 환경 변수를 편집하거나 초기화하세요.",
+          "collapseLaunchSettings": "실행 설정 접기",
+          "expandLaunchSettings": "실행 설정 펼치기"
         },
         "AppIconSelector": {
           "d5a112dc9b": "다음 아이콘",
@@ -7778,9 +7785,10 @@
             "a79d266f71": "세션",
             "afbf35be68": "안정적인 세션",
             "agentPermissions": "Agent 권한",
-            "agentPermissionsDescription": "agent 권한 기본값을 Yolo와 수동 사이에서 전환합니다.",
+            "agentPermissionsDescription": "agent의 기본 권한을 Manual, Auto, Yolo 중에서 선택합니다.",
             "agentRuntime": "Agent 런타임",
-            "agentRuntimeDescription": "기본적으로 Windows 또는 WSL에서 agents를 감지하고 시작할지 선택합니다."
+            "agentRuntimeDescription": "기본적으로 Windows 또는 WSL에서 agents를 감지하고 시작할지 선택합니다.",
+            "auto": "자동"
           }
         },
         "appearance": {

src/renderer/src/i18n/locales/zh.json

@@ -5607,7 +5607,14 @@
           "03e1a5081a": "on {{value0}}",
           "25a41a9aad": "重新检测活动服务器上安装的智能体",
           "remoteDetectionFailed": "无法检测已安装的智能体。请检查主机连接后重试。",
-          "retryDetection": "Retry"
+          "retryDetection": "Retry",
+          "agentPermissionsAuto": "Auto",
+          "agentPermissionsModesDescription": "Manual 会请求批准。Auto 使用智能体带保护机制的审批模式；不支持 Auto 的智能体使用 Manual。Yolo 会跳过权限检查。",
+          "agentPermissionsCustom": "自定义配置。选择预设以更新标准模式；自定义启动参数和环境变量值会保留。",
+          "agentPermissionsPreserveCustom": "应用于所有智能体。自定义启动参数和环境变量值会保留。",
+          "agentPermissionsEditCustom": "自定义配置。编辑或重置下方的启动参数和环境变量以使用权限预设。",
+          "collapseLaunchSettings": "收起启动设置",
+          "expandLaunchSettings": "展开启动设置"
         },
         "AppIconSelector": {
           "d5a112dc9b": "下一个图标",
@@ -7843,9 +7850,10 @@
             "a79d266f71": "会话",
             "afbf35be68": "稳定会话",
             "agentPermissions": "智能体权限",
-            "agentPermissionsDescription": "在 Yolo 和手动之间切换智能体权限默认值。",
+            "agentPermissionsDescription": "在 Manual、Auto 和 Yolo 之间切换智能体的默认权限。",
             "agentRuntime": "智能体运行时",
-            "agentRuntimeDescription": "选择默认在 Windows 还是 WSL 中检测并启动智能体。"
+            "agentRuntimeDescription": "选择默认在 Windows 还是 WSL 中检测并启动智能体。",
+            "auto": "自动"
           }
         },
         "appearance": {

src/shared/protocol-version.ts

@@ -173,6 +173,8 @@ export const GITLAB_READY_FOR_REVIEW_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY =
   'gitlab.updateMR.readyForReview.v1' as const
 export const GITLAB_READY_FOR_REVIEW_UPDATE_REQUIRED_MESSAGE =
   'Marking a merge request ready requires a newer Orca server. Update the server and try again.'
+// Older clients cannot round-trip Auto permission presets safely.
+export const AGENT_PERMISSION_AUTO_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY = 'settings.agent-permission-auto.v1' as const
 export const WORKTREE_VISIBILITY_DEFAULTS_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY =
   'worktree.visibility-defaults.v1' as const
 export const WORKTREE_VISIBILITY_SOURCE_DEFAULTS_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY =
@@ -194,6 +196,7 @@ export const AUTOMATION_CREATE_IDEMPOTENCY_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY =
 export const NATIVE_REMOTE_RUNTIME_CLIENT_CAPABILITIES = [
   SESSION_TAB_CLOSE_INTENT_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   AGENT_SESSION_BOUNDARY_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
+  AGENT_PERMISSION_AUTO_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   WORKTREE_VISIBILITY_DEFAULTS_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   WORKTREE_VISIBILITY_SOURCE_DEFAULTS_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   WORKTREE_GITHUB_PR_SUPPRESSION_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
@@ -266,6 +269,7 @@ export const RUNTIME_CAPABILITIES = [
   FILE_MUTATION_OWNERSHIP_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   GITHUB_MARK_PR_READY_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   GITLAB_READY_FOR_REVIEW_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
+  AGENT_PERMISSION_AUTO_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   WORKTREE_VISIBILITY_DEFAULTS_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   WORKTREE_VISIBILITY_SOURCE_DEFAULTS_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   ACCOUNT_IMPORT_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,

src/shared/remote-runtime-client-capabilities.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import {
+  AGENT_PERMISSION_AUTO_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   AGENT_SESSION_BOUNDARY_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   AUTOMATION_OWNER_FENCING_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
   SESSION_TAB_CLOSE_INTENT_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@ export function remoteRuntimeClientCapabilities(
     new Set([
       SESSION_TAB_CLOSE_INTENT_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
       SESSION_TABS_AUTHORITATIVE_INVENTORY_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
+      AGENT_PERMISSION_AUTO_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
       AGENT_SESSION_BOUNDARY_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,
       SKILL_INSTALL_RESULT_V2_CAPABILITY,
       WORKTREE_GITHUB_PR_SUPPRESSION_RUNTIME_CAPABILITY,

src/shared/tui-agent-auto-permission-launch.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { applyAgentPermissionMode, AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS } from './tui-agent-permissions'
+import {
+  normalizeTuiAgentArgsRecord,
+  normalizeTuiAgentEnvRecord,
+  resolveTuiAgentLaunchArgs,
+  resolveTuiAgentLaunchEnv
+} from './tui-agent-launch-defaults'
+import { buildAgentStartupPlan } from './tui-agent-startup'
+import type { TuiAgent } from './tui-agent'
+import { tokenizeStartupCommand } from './tui-agent-startup-shell'
+
+describe('Auto permission launch settings', () => {
+  it.each(['darwin', 'linux', 'win32'] as const)(
+    'retains guarded presets through normalization and local/remote %s launch planning',
+    (platform) => {
+      const profile = applyAgentPermissionMode({ mode: 'auto' })
+      const args = normalizeTuiAgentArgsRecord(profile.agentDefaultArgs)
+      const env = normalizeTuiAgentEnvRecord(profile.agentDefaultEnv)
+      for (const isRemote of [false, true]) {
+        for (const agent of [...Object.keys(AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS), 'goose', 'amp'] as TuiAgent[]) {
+          const agentArgs = resolveTuiAgentLaunchArgs(agent, args)
+          const agentEnv = resolveTuiAgentLaunchEnv(agent, env)
+          const plan = buildAgentStartupPlan({
+            agent,
+            agentArgs,
+            agentEnv,
+            platform,
+            isRemote,
+            cmdOverrides: {},
+            prompt: '',
+            allowEmptyPromptLaunch: true
+          })
+          expect(plan).not.toBeNull()
+          if (agent in AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS) {
+            const parsed = tokenizeStartupCommand(
+              plan?.launchCommand ?? '',
+              platform === 'win32' ? 'powershell' : 'posix'
+            )
+            expect(parsed.ok).toBe(true)
+            if (parsed.ok) {
+              const flags = AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS[agent]?.split(' ') ?? []
+              expect(parsed.tokens.slice(-flags.length)).toEqual(flags)
+            }
+          }
+          if (agent === 'goose') {
+            expect(plan?.env).toEqual({ GOOSE_MODE: 'smart_approve' })
+          }
+          if (agent === 'amp') {
+            expect(agentArgs).toBe('')
+            expect(plan?.launchCommand).not.toContain('--dangerously-allow-all')
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  )
+})

src/shared/tui-agent-permissions.test.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 import {
   applyAgentPermissionMode,
+  applyTuiAgentPermissionMode,
+  AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS,
+  AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ENV,
+  supportsTuiAgentAutoPermissionMode,
   resolveAgentPermissionModeSummary,
   resolveTuiAgentPermissionMode,
   YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS,
@@ -86,3 +90,85 @@ describe('tui agent permissions', () => {
     ).toBe('yolo')
   })
 })
+
+describe('intermediate permission presets', () => {
+  it('round trips all presets including manual fallbacks from an Auto profile', () => {
+    let profile = applyAgentPermissionMode({ mode: 'yolo' })
+    for (const mode of ['auto', 'manual', 'yolo', 'auto'] as const) {
+      profile = applyAgentPermissionMode({ ...profile, mode })
+      expect(resolveAgentPermissionModeSummary(profile)).toBe(mode)
+      for (const agent of Object.keys(
+        YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS
+      ) as (keyof typeof YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS)[]) {
+        expect(
+          resolveTuiAgentPermissionMode({ agent, agentArgs: profile.agentDefaultArgs[agent] })
+        ).toBe(mode === 'auto' && !supportsTuiAgentAutoPermissionMode(agent) ? 'manual' : mode)
+      }
+      expect(
+        resolveTuiAgentPermissionMode({ agent: 'goose', agentEnv: profile.agentDefaultEnv.goose })
+      ).toBe(mode)
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('keeps unknown and custom settings when applying a global preset', () => {
+    const profile = applyAgentPermissionMode({
+      mode: 'auto',
+      agentDefaultArgs: {
+        claude: '--model custom',
+        opencode: '--port 1234',
+        codex: ' --approve-for-me '
+      },
+      agentDefaultEnv: {
+        goose: { GOOSE_MODE: 'approve', CUSTOM: 'value' },
+        claude: { CUSTOM: 'value' }
+      }
+    })
+    expect(profile.agentDefaultArgs.claude).toBe('--model custom')
+    expect(profile.agentDefaultArgs.codex).toBe(' --approve-for-me ')
+    expect(profile.agentDefaultArgs.opencode).toBe('--port 1234')
+    expect(profile.agentDefaultEnv.goose).toEqual({ GOOSE_MODE: 'approve', CUSTOM: 'value' })
+    expect(profile.agentDefaultEnv.claude).toEqual({ CUSTOM: 'value' })
+    expect(resolveAgentPermissionModeSummary(profile)).toBe('mixed')
+  })
+
+  it('reports custom per-agent choices as mixed rather than misleadingly showing Auto or Yolo', () => {
+    const profile = applyAgentPermissionMode({ mode: 'auto' })
+    expect(
+      resolveAgentPermissionModeSummary({
+        ...profile,
+        agentDefaultArgs: { ...profile.agentDefaultArgs, codex: '' }
+      })
+    ).toBe('mixed')
+    expect(
+      resolveAgentPermissionModeSummary({
+        ...profile,
+        agentDefaultArgs: { ...profile.agentDefaultArgs, amp: YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS.amp }
+      })
+    ).toBe('mixed')
+  })
+
+  it('uses the existing args and env launch fields for per-agent choices', () => {
+    expect(
+      applyTuiAgentPermissionMode({
+        agent: 'claude',
+        mode: 'auto',
+        agentArgs: YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS.claude,
+        agentEnv: { CUSTOM: 'value' }
+      })
+    ).toEqual({ agentArgs: AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS.claude, agentEnv: { CUSTOM: 'value' } })
+    expect(
+      applyTuiAgentPermissionMode({
+        agent: 'goose',
+        mode: 'auto',
+        agentEnv: YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ENV.goose
+      })
+    ).toEqual({ agentArgs: '', agentEnv: AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ENV.goose })
+    expect(
+      applyTuiAgentPermissionMode({
+        agent: 'amp',
+        mode: 'auto',
+        agentArgs: YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS.amp
+      })
+    ).toEqual({ agentArgs: '', agentEnv: {} })
+  })
+})

src/shared/tui-agent-permissions.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { TUI_AGENT_CONFIG } from './tui-agent-config'
 import type { TuiAgent } from './tui-agent'
 
-export type AgentPermissionMode = 'yolo' | 'manual' | 'mixed'
+export type AgentPermissionMode = 'yolo' | 'auto' | 'manual' | 'mixed'
 
 export const YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS: Partial<Record<TuiAgent, string>> = {
   claude: '--dangerously-skip-permissions',
@@ -36,12 +36,27 @@ export const YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ENV: Partial<Record<TuiAgent, Record<string, string>
   goose: { GOOSE_MODE: 'auto' }
 }
 
+// Only documented intermediate CLI presets belong here; unsupported agents use Manual.
+export const AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS: Partial<Record<TuiAgent, string>> = {
+  claude: '--permission-mode auto',
+  'claude-agent-teams': '--permission-mode auto',
+  codex: '--approve-for-me',
+  gemini: '--approval-mode auto_edit',
+  'qwen-code': '--approval-mode auto',
+  devin: '--permission-mode smart',
+  droid: '--auto medium'
+}
+
+export const AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ENV: Partial<Record<TuiAgent, Record<string, string>>> = {
+  goose: { GOOSE_MODE: 'smart_approve' }
+}
+
 const PERMISSION_AGENT_IDS = Object.keys(TUI_AGENT_CONFIG).filter(
   (agent): agent is TuiAgent => agent in YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS || agent in YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ENV
 )
 
-function normalizeArgs(value: string | null | undefined): string {
-  return value?.trim() ?? ''
+export function supportsTuiAgentAutoPermissionMode(agent: TuiAgent): boolean {
+  return agent in AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS || agent in AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ENV
 }
 
 function sameEnv(
@@ -49,49 +64,15 @@ function sameEnv(
   right: Record<string, string> | null | undefined
 ): boolean {
   const leftEntries = Object.entries(left ?? {})
-  const rightEntries = Object.entries(right ?? {})
-  if (leftEntries.length !== rightEntries.length) {
-    return false
-  }
-  return leftEntries.every(([name, value]) => right?.[name] === value)
-}
-
-function resolveAgentPermissionMode(args: string, yoloArgs: string): AgentPermissionMode {
-  if (!args) {
-    return 'manual'
-  }
-  return args === yoloArgs ? 'yolo' : 'mixed'
-}
-
-function resolveAgentEnvPermissionMode(
-  env: Record<string, string> | null | undefined,
-  yoloEnv: Record<string, string> | undefined
-): AgentPermissionMode {
-  if (sameEnv(env, {})) {
-    return 'manual'
-  }
-  return sameEnv(env, yoloEnv) ? 'yolo' : 'mixed'
+  return (
+    leftEntries.length === Object.keys(right ?? {}).length &&
+    leftEntries.every(([name, value]) => right?.[name] === value)
+  )
 }
 
 function combinePermissionModes(modes: AgentPermissionMode[]): AgentPermissionMode {
-  let sawYolo = false
-  let sawManual = false
-  let sawMixed = false
-
-  for (const mode of modes) {
-    if (mode === 'yolo') {
-      sawYolo = true
-    } else if (mode === 'manual') {
-      sawManual = true
-    } else {
-      sawMixed = true
-    }
-  }
-
-  if (sawMixed || (sawYolo && sawManual)) {
-    return 'mixed'
-  }
-  return sawYolo ? 'yolo' : 'manual'
+  const distinct = new Set(modes)
+  return distinct.size > 1 ? 'mixed' : (modes[0] ?? 'manual')
 }
 
 export function resolveTuiAgentPermissionMode(args: {
@@ -101,17 +82,28 @@ export function resolveTuiAgentPermissionMode(args: {
 }): AgentPermissionMode {
   const modes: AgentPermissionMode[] = []
   if (args.agent in YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS) {
+    const value = args.agentArgs ?? ''
     modes.push(
-      resolveAgentPermissionMode(
-        normalizeArgs(args.agentArgs),
-        YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS[args.agent] ?? ''
-      )
+      !value
+        ? 'manual'
+        : value === YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS[args.agent]
+          ? 'yolo'
+          : value === AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS[args.agent]
+            ? 'auto'
+            : 'mixed'
     )
   }
   if (args.agent in YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ENV) {
-    modes.push(resolveAgentEnvPermissionMode(args.agentEnv, YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ENV[args.agent]))
+    modes.push(
+      sameEnv(args.agentEnv, {})
+        ? 'manual'
+        : sameEnv(args.agentEnv, YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ENV[args.agent])
+          ? 'yolo'
+          : AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ENV[args.agent] && sameEnv(args.agentEnv, AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ENV[args.agent])
+            ? 'auto'
+            : 'mixed'
+    )
   }
-
   return combinePermissionModes(modes)
 }
 
@@ -119,19 +111,62 @@ export function resolveAgentPermissionModeSummary(args: {
   agentDefaultArgs?: Partial<Record<TuiAgent, string>> | null
   agentDefaultEnv?: Partial<Record<TuiAgent, Record<string, string>>> | null
 }): AgentPermissionMode {
-  const modes: AgentPermissionMode[] = []
-
-  for (const agent of PERMISSION_AGENT_IDS) {
-    modes.push(
-      resolveTuiAgentPermissionMode({
-        agent,
-        agentArgs: args.agentDefaultArgs?.[agent],
-        agentEnv: args.agentDefaultEnv?.[agent]
-      })
+  const modes = PERMISSION_AGENT_IDS.map((agent) => ({
+    agent,
+    mode: resolveTuiAgentPermissionMode({
+      agent,
+      agentArgs: args.agentDefaultArgs?.[agent],
+      agentEnv: args.agentDefaultEnv?.[agent]
+    })
+  }))
+  if (
+    modes.some(({ mode }) => mode === 'auto') &&
+    modes.every(
+      ({ agent, mode }) =>
+        mode === 'auto' || (mode === 'manual' && !supportsTuiAgentAutoPermissionMode(agent))
     )
+  ) {
+    return 'auto'
   }
+  return combinePermissionModes(modes.map(({ mode }) => mode))
+}
 
-  return combinePermissionModes(modes)
+export function applyTuiAgentPermissionMode(args: {
+  agent: TuiAgent
+  mode: Exclude<AgentPermissionMode, 'mixed'>
+  agentArgs?: string | null
+  agentEnv?: Record<string, string> | null
+}): { agentArgs: string; agentEnv: Record<string, string> } {
+  let agentArgs = args.agentArgs ?? ''
+  let agentEnv = { ...args.agentEnv }
+  if (
+    args.agent in YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS &&
+    (!agentArgs ||
+      agentArgs === YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS[args.agent] ||
+      agentArgs === AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS[args.agent])
+  ) {
+    agentArgs =
+      (args.mode === 'yolo'
+        ? YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS[args.agent]
+        : args.mode === 'auto'
+          ? AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS[args.agent]
+          : '') ?? ''
+  }
+  if (
+    args.agent in YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ENV &&
+    (sameEnv(agentEnv, {}) ||
+      sameEnv(agentEnv, YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ENV[args.agent]) ||
+      (AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ENV[args.agent] && sameEnv(agentEnv, AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ENV[args.agent])))
+  ) {
+    agentEnv = {
+      ...(args.mode === 'yolo'
+        ? YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ENV[args.agent]
+        : args.mode === 'auto'
+          ? AUTO_TUI_AGENT_ENV[args.agent]
+          : {})
+    }
+  }
+  return { agentArgs, agentEnv }
 }
 
 export function applyAgentPermissionMode(args: {
@@ -144,24 +179,19 @@ export function applyAgentPermissionMode(args: {
 } {
   const nextArgs = { ...args.agentDefaultArgs }
   const nextEnv = { ...args.agentDefaultEnv }
-
   for (const agent of PERMISSION_AGENT_IDS) {
+    const result = applyTuiAgentPermissionMode({
+      agent,
+      mode: args.mode,
+      agentArgs: nextArgs[agent],
+      agentEnv: nextEnv[agent]
+    })
     if (agent in YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS) {
-      const yoloArgs = YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ARGS[agent] ?? ''
-      const currentArgs = normalizeArgs(nextArgs[agent])
-      if (!currentArgs || currentArgs === yoloArgs) {
-        nextArgs[agent] = args.mode === 'yolo' ? yoloArgs : ''
-      }
+      nextArgs[agent] = result.agentArgs
     }
-
     if (agent in YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ENV) {
-      const yoloEnv = YOLO_TUI_AGENT_ENV[agent]
-      const currentEnv = nextEnv[agent]
-      if (sameEnv(currentEnv, {}) || sameEnv(currentEnv, yoloEnv)) {
-        nextEnv[agent] = args.mode === 'yolo' ? { ...yoloEnv } : {}
-      }
+      nextEnv[agent] = result.agentEnv
     }
   }
-
   return { agentDefaultArgs: nextArgs, agentDefaultEnv: nextEnv }
 }