Permissions

Visual rule builder for controlling which operations Claude Code can perform.

Overview

The Permissions page lets you define allow, ask, and deny rules using pattern matching. Rules control tool access at both user and project levels.

How to Use

Viewing Rules

Rules are organized in three tabs:

• Allow — operations Claude can perform automatically
• Ask — operations that require user confirmation
• Deny — operations that are blocked entirely

Each rule shows its pattern (e.g., Bash(npm run *)), scope badge, and type hints.

Creating Rules

Click "Add Rule" on any tab to open the rule builder:

1. Type — select Allow, Ask, or Deny
2. Tool — choose the tool (Bash, Read, Write, WebFetch, MCP, Task, Skill, etc.)
3. Pattern — enter an argument pattern with wildcards
4. Scope — set user (global) or project (per-project)

Quick pattern buttons provide common presets for each tool.

Pattern Syntax

Rules use Tool(pattern) format with glob wildcards:

Pattern	Matches
Bash	All Bash commands
Bash(npm run *)	Any npm run command
Read(*.env)	Reading .env files
Write(/tmp/*)	Writing to /tmp/
WebFetch(domain:*.anthropic.com)	Fetching from Anthropic domains
MCP(server:postgres:*)	All tools from postgres MCP server
Task(explore)	Explore subagent only
Skill(skill-name)	Specific skill

Evaluation Order

Rules are evaluated with deny taking highest priority:

1. Deny rules checked first — if matched, operation is blocked
2. Ask rules checked next — if matched, user is prompted
3. Allow rules checked last — if matched, operation proceeds
4. If no rules match, the default mode applies

Permission Settings

The settings card provides:

• Default Permission Mode — default (ask by default), dontAsk (allow by default), or conservative (deny by default)
• Disable Bypass Mode — prevents using --dangerously-skip-permissions
• Additional Allowed Directories — paths outside the project that Claude can access

Configuration

File	Scope
~/.claude/settings.json → permissions	User rules
.claude/settings.json → permissions	Project rules

Rules are stored as arrays under allow, ask, and deny keys.

Tips

• Start with deny rules for sensitive operations, then add specific allow rules.
• Use domain filtering on WebFetch to restrict which sites Claude can access.
• Project-level rules extend (don't replace) user-level rules.
• The conservative default mode blocks everything not explicitly allowed — good for sensitive projects.