Use safer automatic approval modes by default (#2213)

* feat(providers): default to safer automatic approvals

* fix(providers): preserve defaults on older Codex versions

* test(providers): cover Claude automatic approval default

* fix(providers): preserve Claude defaults on cloud transports

* fix(providers): resolve defaults from launch capabilities

packages/app/src/provider-selection/resolve-agent-form.test.ts

@@ -575,6 +575,25 @@ describe("resolveFormState", () => {
     expect(resolved.modeId).toBe("workspace-write");
   });
 
+  it("falls back when the provider cannot advertise its preferred default mode", () => {
+    const providerMap = makeProviderMap({
+      ...TEST_CODEX_DEFINITION,
+      defaultModeId: "auto-review",
+      modes: TEST_CODEX_DEFINITION.modes,
+    });
+
+    const resolved = resolveFormState(
+      undefined,
+      { provider: "codex" },
+      CODEX_MODELS,
+      INITIAL_USER_MODIFIED,
+      makeState({ provider: "codex" }).form,
+      providerMap,
+    );
+
+    expect(resolved.modeId).toBe("auto");
+  });
+
   it("ignores disabled ready providers when resolving selectable defaults", () => {
     const entries: ProviderSnapshotEntry[] = [
       {

packages/app/src/provider-selection/resolve-agent-form.ts

@@ -171,7 +171,12 @@ function resolvePreferredModeId(input: {
   const preferredModeId = normalizeSelectedModeId(input.preferredModeId);
   if (preferredModeId) return preferredModeId;
 
-  return input.providerDef?.defaultModeId ?? input.providerDef?.modes[0]?.id ?? "";
+  const defaultModeId = input.providerDef?.defaultModeId;
+  const modes = input.providerDef?.modes ?? [];
+  if (defaultModeId && (modes.length === 0 || modes.some((mode) => mode.id === defaultModeId))) {
+    return defaultModeId;
+  }
+  return modes[0]?.id ?? "";
 }
 
 export function mergeSelectedComposerPreferences(args: {

packages/protocol/src/provider-manifest.ts

@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ export const AGENT_PROVIDER_DEFINITIONS: AgentProviderDefinition[] = [
     id: "claude",
     label: "Claude",
     description: "Anthropic's multi-tool assistant with MCP support, streaming, and deep reasoning",
-    defaultModeId: "default",
+    defaultModeId: "auto",
     modes: CLAUDE_MODES,
     voice: {
       enabled: true,
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ export const AGENT_PROVIDER_DEFINITIONS: AgentProviderDefinition[] = [
     id: "codex",
     label: "Codex",
     description: "OpenAI's Codex workspace agent with sandbox controls and optional network access",
-    defaultModeId: "auto",
+    defaultModeId: "auto-review",
     modes: CODEX_MODES,
     voice: {
       enabled: true,

packages/server/src/server/agent/agent-manager.test.ts

@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import type {
   AgentStreamEvent,
   AgentTimelineItem,
   ImportProviderSessionInput,
+  ResolveAgentDefaultModeInput,
 } from "./agent-sdk-types.js";
 import type { PaseoToolCatalog } from "./tools/types.js";
 import type { ProviderDefinition } from "./provider-registry.js";
@@ -111,11 +112,15 @@ function expectArchivedAgentRecord(
 }
 
 class TestAgentClient implements AgentClient {
-  readonly provider = "codex" as const;
+  readonly provider: AgentProvider;
   readonly capabilities = TEST_CAPABILITIES;
   readonly createdConfigs: AgentSessionConfig[] = [];
   readonly resumeOverrides: Array<Partial<AgentSessionConfig> | undefined> = [];
 
+  constructor(provider: AgentProvider = "codex") {
+    this.provider = provider;
+  }
+
   async isAvailable(): Promise<boolean> {
     return true;
   }
@@ -129,18 +134,18 @@ class TestAgentClient implements AgentClient {
     return {
       models: [
         {
-          provider: "codex",
+          provider: this.provider,
           id: "gpt-5.4",
           label: "GPT-5.4",
           isDefault: true,
         },
         {
-          provider: "codex",
+          provider: this.provider,
           id: "gpt-5.4-mini",
           label: "GPT-5.4 Mini",
         },
         {
-          provider: "codex",
+          provider: this.provider,
           id: "gpt-5.2-codex",
           label: "GPT-5.2 Codex",
         },
@@ -156,7 +161,7 @@ class TestAgentClient implements AgentClient {
   ): Promise<AgentSession> {
     this.resumeOverrides.push(config);
     return new TestAgentSession({
-      provider: "codex",
+      provider: this.provider,
       cwd: config?.cwd ?? process.cwd(),
       daemonAppendSystemPrompt: config?.daemonAppendSystemPrompt,
     });
@@ -935,9 +940,43 @@ test("normalizeConfig injects the provider default model when omitted", async ()
   );
 
   expect(snapshot.config.model).toBe("gpt-5.4");
+  expect(snapshot.config.modeId).toBe("auto-review");
+});
+
+test("normalizeConfig injects Claude's automatic approval default when omitted", async () => {
+  const workdir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "agent-manager-claude-default-test-"));
+  const manager = new AgentManager({
+    clients: { claude: new TestAgentClient("claude") },
+    logger,
+  });
+
+  const snapshot = await manager.createAgent({ provider: "claude", cwd: workdir }, undefined, {
+    workspaceId: undefined,
+  });
+
   expect(snapshot.config.modeId).toBe("auto");
 });
 
+test("normalizeConfig uses a capability-aware provider mode default", async () => {
+  const workdir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "agent-manager-mode-default-test-"));
+  class CapabilityAwareClient extends TestAgentClient {
+    override async resolveDefaultModeId(input: ResolveAgentDefaultModeInput): Promise<string> {
+      return input.env?.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK === "1" ? "default" : "auto";
+    }
+  }
+  const manager = new AgentManager({
+    clients: { codex: new CapabilityAwareClient() },
+    logger,
+  });
+
+  const snapshot = await manager.createAgent({ provider: "codex", cwd: workdir }, undefined, {
+    workspaceId: undefined,
+    env: { CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK: "1" },
+  });
+
+  expect(snapshot.config.modeId).toBe("default");
+});
+
 test("createAgent forwards request env into the spawned provider process", async () => {
   const workdir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "agent-manager-env-test-"));
   const client = new EnvProbeAgentClient();
@@ -997,7 +1036,7 @@ test("normalizeConfig strips legacy 'default' model id", async () => {
   );
 
   expect(snapshot.config.model).toBe("gpt-5.4");
-  expect(snapshot.config.modeId).toBe("auto");
+  expect(snapshot.config.modeId).toBe("auto-review");
 });
 
 test("listDraftCommands returns no commands without guessing a missing model", async () => {
@@ -1094,7 +1133,7 @@ test("listDraftCommands uses explicit model config without default model fetchin
       provider: "codex",
       cwd: workdir,
       model: "gpt-5.4",
-      modeId: "auto",
+      modeId: "auto-review",
     },
   ]);
 });
@@ -1194,7 +1233,7 @@ test("listDraftFeatures uses explicit model config without default model fetchin
       provider: "codex",
       cwd: workdir,
       model: "gpt-5.4",
-      modeId: "auto",
+      modeId: "auto-review",
     },
   ]);
 });
@@ -1651,7 +1690,7 @@ test("createAgent passes daemon launch env through the provider launch context",
     provider: "codex",
     cwd: workdir,
     model: "gpt-5.4",
-    modeId: "auto",
+    modeId: "auto-review",
   });
   expect(client.lastLaunchContext).toEqual({
     agentId: snapshot.id,
@@ -2448,7 +2487,7 @@ test("resumeAgentFromPersistence keeps metadata config, applies overrides, and p
   });
   expect(client.lastResumeOverrides).toMatchObject({
     model: "gpt-5.4",
-    modeId: "auto",
+    modeId: "auto-review",
     systemPrompt: "new prompt",
     mcpServers: {
       paseo: {

packages/server/src/server/agent/agent-manager.ts

@@ -117,6 +117,7 @@ interface PreparedSessionConfig {
 
 interface NormalizeConfigOptions {
   resolveDefaultModel?: boolean;
+  env?: Record<string, string>;
 }
 
 interface TimeoutOptions {
@@ -1034,7 +1035,11 @@ export class AgentManager {
     this.assertAcceptingAgentRegistrations();
     const resolvedAgentId = validateAgentId(agentId ?? this.idFactory(), "createAgent");
     await this.deleteAgentState(resolvedAgentId);
-    const { storedConfig, launchConfig } = await this.prepareSessionConfig(config, resolvedAgentId);
+    const { storedConfig, launchConfig } = await this.prepareSessionConfig(
+      config,
+      resolvedAgentId,
+      options?.env,
+    );
     this.requireEnabledProvider(storedConfig.provider);
     const client = await this.requireAvailableClient({
       provider: storedConfig.provider,
@@ -4075,17 +4080,27 @@ export class AgentManager {
     }
 
     if (!normalized.modeId) {
-      try {
-        normalized.modeId =
-          getAgentProviderDefinition(normalized.provider).defaultModeId ?? undefined;
-      } catch {
-        // Unknown provider
-      }
+      normalized.modeId = await this.resolveDefaultModeId(normalized, options.env);
     }
 
     return normalized;
   }
 
+  private async resolveDefaultModeId(
+    config: AgentSessionConfig,
+    env?: Record<string, string>,
+  ): Promise<string | undefined> {
+    const providerDefault = await this.clients
+      .get(config.provider)
+      ?.resolveDefaultModeId?.({ config, env });
+    if (providerDefault) return providerDefault;
+    try {
+      return getAgentProviderDefinition(config.provider).defaultModeId ?? undefined;
+    } catch {
+      return undefined;
+    }
+  }
+
   private async resolveDefaultModelId(config: AgentSessionConfig): Promise<string | undefined> {
     const client = this.clients.get(config.provider);
     if (!client) {
@@ -4107,8 +4122,9 @@ export class AgentManager {
   private async prepareSessionConfig(
     config: AgentSessionConfig,
     agentId: string,
+    env?: Record<string, string>,
   ): Promise<PreparedSessionConfig> {
-    const storedConfig = await this.normalizeConfig(stripInternalPaseoMcpServer(config));
+    const storedConfig = await this.normalizeConfig(stripInternalPaseoMcpServer(config), { env });
     const launchConfig = this.applyDaemonAppendSystemPrompt(
       withRuntimePaseoMcpServer({
         config: storedConfig,

packages/server/src/server/agent/agent-sdk-types.ts

@@ -668,6 +668,12 @@ export type FetchCatalogOptions =
 export interface ProviderCatalog {
   models: AgentModelDefinition[];
   modes: AgentMode[];
+  defaultModeId?: string | null;
+}
+
+export interface ResolveAgentDefaultModeInput {
+  config: AgentSessionConfig;
+  env?: Record<string, string>;
 }
 
 export interface AgentClient {
@@ -690,6 +696,7 @@ export interface AgentClient {
    * The registry is responsible for merging configured model overrides.
    */
   fetchCatalog(options: FetchCatalogOptions): Promise<ProviderCatalog>;
+  resolveDefaultModeId?(input: ResolveAgentDefaultModeInput): Promise<string | undefined>;
   resolveCreateConfig?(input: ResolveAgentCreateConfigInput): ResolveAgentCreateConfigResult;
   isCreateConfigUnattended?(input: AgentCreateConfigUnattendedInput): boolean;
   listCommands?(config: AgentSessionConfig): Promise<AgentSlashCommand[]>;

packages/server/src/server/agent/provider-registry.test.ts

@@ -814,7 +814,7 @@ test("enabled: false keeps provider metadata in registry", () => {
     id: "claude",
     label: "Claude",
     description: "Anthropic's multi-tool assistant with MCP support, streaming, and deep reasoning",
-    defaultModeId: "default",
+    defaultModeId: "auto",
     enabled: false,
   });
   expect(registry.claude.modes).toEqual(
@@ -1487,6 +1487,31 @@ describe("fetchCatalog", () => {
     expect(catalog.models.map((model) => model.id)).toEqual(["profile-model", "extra-model"]);
   });
 
+  test("replacement models still resolve the provider's capability-aware default mode", async () => {
+    const resolveDefaultModeId = vi.fn(async () => "default");
+    const injectedClient = {
+      provider: "codex",
+      capabilities: {},
+      resolveDefaultModeId,
+      isAvailable: vi.fn(async () => true),
+    } satisfies Partial<AgentClient> as AgentClient;
+    const registry = buildProviderRegistry(logger, {
+      providerOverrides: {
+        codex: { models: [{ id: "profile-model", label: "Profile Model" }] },
+      },
+    });
+
+    const catalog = await registry.codex.fetchCatalog(
+      { scope: "workspace", cwd: "/tmp/catalog", force: false },
+      injectedClient,
+    );
+
+    expect(catalog.defaultModeId).toBe("default");
+    expect(resolveDefaultModeId).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      config: { provider: "codex", cwd: "/tmp/catalog" },
+    });
+  });
+
   test("additionalModels can override replacement model fields", async () => {
     const registry = buildProviderRegistry(logger, {
       providerOverrides: {

packages/server/src/server/agent/provider-registry.ts

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import type {
   ProviderCatalog,
   ResolveAgentCreateConfigInput,
   ResolveAgentCreateConfigResult,
+  ResolveAgentDefaultModeInput,
 } from "./agent-sdk-types.js";
 import {
   isDefaultAgentCreateConfigUnattended,
@@ -427,12 +428,20 @@ function wrapClientProvider(
     fetchCatalog: async (options) => {
       const catalog = await inner.fetchCatalog(options);
       return {
+        ...catalog,
         models: mergeModels(provider, profileModels, additionalModels, catalog.models, {
           profileModelsAreAdditive,
         }),
         modes: catalog.modes,
       };
     },
+    resolveDefaultModeId: inner.resolveDefaultModeId
+      ? async ({ config, env }: ResolveAgentDefaultModeInput) =>
+          await inner.resolveDefaultModeId?.({
+            config: { ...config, provider: inner.provider },
+            env,
+          })
+      : undefined,
     resolveCreateConfig: inner.resolveCreateConfig?.bind(inner),
     isCreateConfigUnattended: inner.isCreateConfigUnattended?.bind(inner),
     listFeatures: listFeatures
@@ -516,17 +525,25 @@ function createRegistryEntry(
         // the single catalog API; otherwise use static/empty modes with no runtime.
         const models = mergeModelAdditions(provider, replacementModels, resolved.additionalModels);
         if (hasStaticModes) {
+          const defaultModeId = await catalogClient.resolveDefaultModeId?.({
+            config: {
+              provider,
+              cwd: options.scope === "workspace" ? options.cwd : process.cwd(),
+            },
+          });
           return {
             models,
             modes: decorateModes(resolved.definition.modes),
+            defaultModeId,
           };
         }
         const catalog = await catalogClient.fetchCatalog(options);
-        return { models, modes: decorateModes(catalog.modes) };
+        return { ...catalog, models, modes: decorateModes(catalog.modes) };
       }
 
       const catalog = await catalogClient.fetchCatalog(options);
       return {
+        ...catalog,
         models: mergeModels(
           provider,
           resolved.profileModels,

packages/server/src/server/agent/provider-snapshot-manager.test.ts

@@ -117,9 +117,11 @@ describe("ProviderSnapshotManager public surface", () => {
     try {
       const snapshot = manager.getSnapshot("/tmp/project");
       const claude = snapshot.find((entry) => entry.provider === "claude");
+      const codex = snapshot.find((entry) => entry.provider === "codex");
       expect(claude?.status).toBe("loading");
       expect(claude?.label).toBe("Claude");
-      expect(claude?.defaultModeId).toBe("default");
+      expect(claude?.defaultModeId).toBe("auto");
+      expect(codex?.defaultModeId).toBe("auto-review");
     } finally {
       manager.destroy();
     }
@@ -220,6 +222,34 @@ describe("ProviderSnapshotManager public surface", () => {
     }
   });
 
+  test("ready snapshots publish the catalog's capability-aware default mode", async () => {
+    const manager = new ProviderSnapshotManager({
+      logger: createTestLogger(),
+      extraClients: {
+        codex: createExtraClient("codex", {
+          isAvailable: async () => true,
+          fetchCatalog: async () => ({
+            models: [],
+            modes: [{ id: "default", label: "Default", description: "Ask before running tools" }],
+            defaultModeId: "default",
+          }),
+        }),
+      },
+    });
+
+    try {
+      const entry = await manager.getProvider({
+        cwd: "/tmp/project",
+        provider: "codex",
+        wait: true,
+      });
+
+      expect(entry).toMatchObject({ status: "ready", defaultModeId: "default" });
+    } finally {
+      manager.destroy();
+    }
+  });
+
   test("explicit refresh re-probes only the requested warm provider", async () => {
     const cwd = "/tmp/project";
     const isAvailableCodex = vi.fn(async () => true);

packages/server/src/server/agent/provider-snapshot-manager.ts

@@ -799,6 +799,8 @@ export class ProviderSnapshotManager {
 
       setEntry({
         ...base,
+        defaultModeId:
+          catalog.defaultModeId === undefined ? definition.defaultModeId : catalog.defaultModeId,
         status: "ready",
         enabled: true,
         models: catalog.models,

packages/server/src/server/agent/providers/claude/agent.redesign.test.ts

@@ -218,6 +218,37 @@ test("rejects auto mode when Claude Code uses Bedrock", async () => {
   }
 });
 
+test.each([
+  { env: {}, expected: "auto" },
+  { env: { CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK: "1" }, expected: "default" },
+  { env: { CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX: "true" }, expected: "default" },
+])("defaults to $expected for transport environment $env", async ({ env, expected }) => {
+  const client = new ClaudeAgentClient({
+    logger: createTestLogger(),
+    runtimeSettings: { env },
+  });
+
+  await expect(
+    client.resolveDefaultModeId({
+      config: { provider: "claude", cwd: process.cwd() },
+    }),
+  ).resolves.toBe(expected);
+});
+
+test("launch environment participates in the Claude default mode", async () => {
+  const client = new ClaudeAgentClient({
+    logger: createTestLogger(),
+    runtimeSettings: { env: {} },
+  });
+
+  await expect(
+    client.resolveDefaultModeId({
+      config: { provider: "claude", cwd: process.cwd() },
+      env: { CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK: "1" },
+    }),
+  ).resolves.toBe("default");
+});
+
 test("allows launch env to disable inherited Bedrock transport for auto mode", async () => {
   const previousBedrock = process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK;
   process.env.CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK = "1";

packages/server/src/server/agent/providers/claude/agent.ts

@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ import {
   type ListImportableSessionsOptions,
   type McpServerConfig,
   type ProviderCatalog,
+  type ResolveAgentDefaultModeInput,
 } from "../../agent-sdk-types.js";
 import { importSessionFromPersistence } from "../../provider-session-import.js";
 import {
@@ -1472,7 +1473,28 @@ export class ClaudeAgentClient implements AgentClient {
   async fetchCatalog(_options: FetchCatalogOptions): Promise<ProviderCatalog> {
     // Claude exposes a global catalog here; cwd/force are intentionally irrelevant.
     const models = await getClaudeModelsWithSettings(this.logger, this.configDir);
-    return { models, modes: DEFAULT_MODES };
+    const modes = detectIneligibleAutoModeTransport(
+      createProviderEnv({ baseEnv: process.env, runtimeSettings: this.runtimeSettings }),
+    )
+      ? DEFAULT_MODES.filter((mode) => mode.id !== "auto")
+      : DEFAULT_MODES;
+    return {
+      models,
+      modes,
+      defaultModeId: modes.some((mode) => mode.id === "auto") ? "auto" : "default",
+    };
+  }
+
+  async resolveDefaultModeId({
+    config,
+    env: launchEnv,
+  }: ResolveAgentDefaultModeInput): Promise<string> {
+    const env = createProviderEnv({
+      baseEnv: process.env,
+      runtimeSettings: this.runtimeSettings,
+      overlays: [config.extra?.claude?.env, launchEnv],
+    });
+    return detectIneligibleAutoModeTransport(env) ? "default" : "auto";
   }
 
   async listFeatures(config: AgentSessionConfig): Promise<AgentFeature[]> {

packages/server/src/server/agent/providers/codex-app-server-agent.ts

@@ -6379,8 +6379,21 @@ export class CodexAppServerAgentClient implements AgentClient {
   }
 
   async fetchCatalog(_options: FetchCatalogOptions): Promise<ProviderCatalog> {
-    const models = await this.fetchModelsFromAppServer();
-    return { models, modes: CODEX_MODES };
+    const [models, autoReviewEnabled] = await Promise.all([
+      this.fetchModelsFromAppServer(),
+      this.resolveAutoReviewEnabled(),
+    ]);
+    return {
+      models,
+      defaultModeId: autoReviewEnabled ? "auto-review" : DEFAULT_CODEX_MODE_ID,
+      modes: autoReviewEnabled
+        ? CODEX_MODES
+        : CODEX_MODES.filter((mode) => mode.id !== "auto-review"),
+    };
+  }
+
+  async resolveDefaultModeId(): Promise<string> {
+    return (await this.resolveAutoReviewEnabled()) ? "auto-review" : DEFAULT_CODEX_MODE_ID;
   }
 
   private async fetchModelsFromAppServer(): Promise<AgentModelDefinition[]> {