---
title: Approve or deny what Pantaray wants to do
description: Decide case by case, or let a conversation run without asking, and know what each approval covers.
---

Pantaray asks before it changes a file or runs a command. You decide once per conversation how
closely you want to be asked, and each request shows you what it wants to do.

## The approval request

When an Action reaches one of those, it stops and shows a panel titled **Approval required**. The
first line says what it wants to do:

- *Run a local command.*
- *Run Python code.*
- *Modify files.*

Below that is the detail: the **Command** itself, the **Python code**, the list of **Files**, the
**Working folder**, the **Size**, the **Arguments**. Read it, then press **Approve** or **Deny**.

Denying leaves the Action running. Pantaray takes the refusal and carries on with what it can do.

## Ask every time, or auto-approve

Each conversation has its own setting, under **Permissions** in the conversation panel:

| Mode | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| **Ask every time** | Pantaray asks before every file edit and command in this conversation. |
| **Auto-approve** | File edits and commands in this conversation run without asking. |

Change it mid-conversation whenever you like. **Auto-approve** removes the question and leaves the
limits in place: Pantaray still works inside your workspace.

:::note
The question it removes includes capturing your screen. Under **Ask every time**, Pantaray waits
for your answer before it captures the screen. Under **Auto-approve** it captures without asking.
:::

## The default for new conversations

**Settings → Action permissions** sets what new conversations start with:

- **File edits and commands**, set to **Ask** or **Auto**.

Changing the default leaves existing conversations as they are.

The same section holds two related settings:

- **Read access**, set to **Workspace only** or **Full local filesystem**. Full access lets
  Pantaray read files anywhere on this Mac; edits and commands still stay inside your workspace.
- **Allow network access for file conversion, analysis, and code execution**, which decides whether
  commands Pantaray runs for you may reach the network.

## What to watch for

Pantaray reads things written by other people: web pages, documents, messages that appear in your
work. Any of them can contain text that looks like an instruction, and the approval panel is where
you catch it. Read what a command actually does before approving it, especially one that deletes,
uploads, or sends something.

If you are working on something sensitive, leave the conversation on **Ask every time**.