Start in a specific permission mode

--permission-mode accepts default, acceptEdits, plan, auto, dontAsk, or bypassPermissions. It overrides defaultMode from settings for the session, and is the only way to enter dontAsk.

bash

# Start interactively in plan mode
claude --permission-mode plan "draft the migration"

# Headless run that denies anything not pre-approved
claude -p "audit dependencies" --permission-mode dontAsk

# Begin in plan, allow opting into bypassPermissions via Shift+Tab
claude --permission-mode plan --allow-dangerously-skip-permissions