Tool Approval
Understanding how tool approval works in DorkOS
Tool Approval
DorkOS gives you control over what actions Claude can take during a conversation. When tool approval is enabled, Claude will pause and ask for your permission before running certain operations.
What is Tool Approval?
Tool approval is a safety feature that lets you review and approve (or deny) actions before Claude executes them. When Claude wants to use a tool — like reading a file, running a command, or modifying code — DorkOS will show you what Claude is planning to do and wait for your decision.
How It Works
Approving Tools
When Claude needs to use a tool, you'll see a tool approval card appear in the chat. This card shows:
- Tool name — The specific operation Claude wants to perform
- Tool input — The parameters or arguments for the tool (like file paths, search terms, or command arguments)
- Approve and Deny buttons — Your decision controls
Review the tool name and input to understand what Claude is about to do.
Click Approve to allow the action. Claude will execute the tool and continue with your task.
Or click Deny to reject the tool call. Claude will receive a denial message and choose a different approach.
Tool approvals have a 10-minute timeout. If you don't respond, the tool call is automatically denied and Claude continues with a different approach. This prevents sessions from hanging indefinitely.
Denying Tools
If you don't want Claude to perform a specific action, click Deny. You can explain in your next message why you denied the action, or ask Claude to try something else.
Question Prompts
Some tools need more than just approval — they need answers from you. When Claude uses the AskUserQuestion tool, you'll see an interactive question prompt instead of a simple approve/deny choice.
Question prompts show:
- The question — What Claude needs to know
- Answer options — Pre-defined choices you can select
- Other option — A free-text field if none of the options fit
Types of questions:
- Single-select questions — Choose one option from a list (radio buttons)
- Multi-select questions — Choose multiple options (checkboxes)
Your answers are injected into the tool's input, and Claude continues with your selections incorporated into its reasoning.
Permission Modes
DorkOS supports different permission modes that control when tool approval is required:
- Default mode — Every tool call requires approval (maximum control)
- Auto-approve mode — Tools run automatically without approval (faster, less control)
The permission mode is set when you start a new session. You can see the current mode in the session info.
Common Scenarios
File Operations
When Claude wants to read, write, or modify files, you'll see tool calls like Read, Write, and Edit. Review the file paths carefully to ensure Claude is working with the right files.
Search Operations
Tools like Grep and Glob search for files or content. Check the search patterns to make sure Claude is searching in the right places.
Command Execution
The Bash tool runs terminal commands. Always review the command to ensure it's safe and does what you expect.
Always review Bash tool calls carefully before approving. Terminal commands can modify files, install packages, or run network operations. When in doubt, deny and ask Claude to explain.
Web Access
Tools like WebFetch and WebSearch access the internet. Review the URLs or search queries to ensure they're appropriate.
Tips
- Review carefully: Tool inputs can be long or complex. Take time to read through the parameters to understand exactly what Claude is doing.
- Deny when uncertain: If you're not sure what a tool does or why Claude wants to use it, it's safer to deny and ask Claude to explain.
- Context matters: Sometimes Claude will explain why it needs a tool before asking for approval. Read the full assistant message.
- Question prompts are flexible: When presented with options, you can always choose "Other" and provide a custom answer.