Unclear It is not clear how a message comes to be delivered by email, so whether you can use this today is unknown.
In auto mode, Claude Code runs actions without asking you each time, and a checker decides whether each action matches what you asked for. That checker now has rules for user turns that arrive by email:
- Only the sender's new words count as what they want.
- Quoted text, subject lines and attachments are treated as information, not instructions.
- A bare "yes" approves nothing.
- Replies to a group get separate handling.
Two environment variables, which are settings you put in your shell before starting Claude Code, force these rules on: CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_MODE_EMAIL_SENDER_TURN for the basic rules and CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_MODE_EMAIL_SENDER_REPLY_TURN for the version that also covers replies, including group replies. Server switches can also turn them on. Treating an email turn as the user's own request only applies in remote sessions.
This prepares auto mode for sessions driven by email, so that text quoted or forwarded in a message cannot be mistaken for permission.
It is not clear how a message comes to be delivered by email, so whether you can use this today is unknown.