Auto mode explains its refusals per reason and handles its check being switched off
Auto mode now gives a specific message for each reason it cannot check an action, including script calls, headless runs, long conversations and a switched-off check
You'll noticeTier: how much it should matter to you
2Useful: my rating, 1 to 5
2Signal: worth watching, 1 to 5
Auto ModeArea: what it touches
ImprovementsKind: in v2.1.314,
ImprovementsSection of the release
Unclear What switches the local check off, and whether that can happen for your account, is not stated.
What
Auto mode is the mode where Claude Code carries out actions without asking you each time, relying on a safety check that reviews each action first. When that check could not give an answer, auto mode used to tell the model one thing: try the action once more as it is, and stop if it is denied the same way. It now gives a message that fits the reason:
A call made from a script: the safety check never sees these, so the call is refused every time and the model is told to continue with work that does not need it.
The local check switched off: Claude Code no longer checks actions itself, so actions that would have been checked need your approval instead.
A conversation too long for the check: the action needs your approval, and you are told to run /compact to shorten the conversation.
A headless run (one with no person watching, such as a script): actions that need a person's approval are denied automatically, because nobody can be asked.
When the local check is switched off, the output of a subagent (a helper copy of Claude that does part of a task) is passed on without review and with a warning. The settings text about environment entries now reads "Environment entries describe this machine and project for auto mode."
Why
In auto mode you get a clearer reason when an action is refused or handed to you, and the model is less likely to keep retrying something that can never pass the check.
How sure we are
Something disagreesSomething we can check disagrees with this entry, or the writer said they could not settle it.
The writer flagged doubtWhat switches the local check off, and whether that can happen for your account, is not stated.
Anthropic's release notes agreeFixed Bedrock sessions with many images failing every turn and /compact with "400 Input is too long." instead of removing older images and…
