Comprehensive Permissions System Improvements Proposal

[diegofornalha]

Executive Summary

The Copilot CLI permissions system currently has several critical issues that impact user experience, from incorrect path detection to lack of documentation. This proposal consolidates findings from 16+ related issues and provides concrete, prioritized solutions with implementation paths.

Key Finding: Core permission flags (--allow-all-tools, --allow-all-paths, etc.) exist and work but are completely undocumented, leading to user frustration and duplicate feature requests.

---

Problem Categories

1. Documentation Gap (Critical)

Current State:

• Permission flags exist in --help but not in README
• No usage examples or best practices documented
• Users assume features don't exist and file duplicate requests

Affected Issues: #307

Impact: High - Wastes user time and creates confusion

---

2. Path Detection Issues (High Priority)

Problem: Incorrect path parsing triggers false positive permission prompts

Examples:

• Issue This operation accesses path(s) outside allowed directories: /i #67: /i flag in findstr /i incorrectly detected as path
• Issue system temp directory should add to allowed list for file access #306: System TEMP directory requires permission despite being safe

Root Cause: Overly aggressive path extraction from command arguments

Impact: High - Breaks legitimate workflows, especially on Windows

---

3. Approval UX Issues (Medium Priority)

Problem: Permission prompts lack context for informed decisions

Examples:

• Issue Provide a brief explanation of the tool and command line that copilot-cli is requesting permission to run #291: No explanation of what tool does or why it needs permission
• Issue Include filename in "Do you want to edit ..." confirmation prompt #301: Filename not shown when asking to edit files

Impact: Medium - Users approve blindly or reject safe operations

---

Proposed Solutions

Phase 1: Documentation (Immediate - Can be done in 1 week)

Priority: CRITICAL ⚠️

Effort: LOW 🟢

Impact: HIGH 📈

Tasks:

1. Add Permissions Section to README

   ## Permission System
   
   Copilot CLI includes a flexible permission system for safe autonomous operation.
   
   ### Available Flags
   
   - `--allow-all-tools` - Auto-approve all tool executions
   - `--allow-all-paths` - Allow access to any file path
   - `--allow-tool [tools...]` - Allow specific tools only
   - `--deny-tool [tools...]` - Block specific tools (takes precedence)
   - `--add-dir <directory>` - Add directory to allowlist

2. Add Usage Examples

   ### Examples
   
   #### Full Autonomous Mode (Testing/CI)
   ```bash
   copilot --allow-all-tools --allow-all-paths -p "your prompt"

   Safe Mode (Specific Permissions)

   copilot --allow-tool 'read' --allow-tool 'write' -p "your prompt"

   Defensive Mode (Block Dangerous Commands)

   copilot --allow-all-tools --deny-tool 'shell(rm)' -p "your prompt"

3. Add Security Best Practices

   ### Security Considerations
   
   - Use `--allow-all-*` only in isolated environments (Docker, VMs, CI)
   - Prefer granular permissions (`--allow-tool`, `--add-dir`) for production
   - Use `--deny-tool` to block dangerous operations
   - Review session logs in `~/.copilot/logs/` after autonomous runs

4. Document in Changelog

   • Add note that flags were added in v0.0.340 (for --allow-all-paths)
   • Clarify other flags existed earlier

Deliverable: Pull request with updated README.md

Success Metric: Reduction in duplicate permission-related feature requests

---

Phase 2: Path Detection Fixes (Short-term - 2-4 weeks)

Priority: HIGH 🔴

Effort: MEDIUM 🟡

Impact: HIGH 📈

Problem Statement:

Current path extraction logic has false positives that break legitimate workflows.

Proposed Solutions:

2.1 Fix Command Argument Parsing

Issue #67 Fix:

// Current (broken): Treats /i as path in "findstr /i pattern"
// Fixed: Recognize command flags vs paths

function extractPaths(command) {
  // Parse command structure first
  const { executable, flags, arguments } = parseCommand(command);
  
  // Filter out known flags for each executable
  const knownFlags = getKnownFlags(executable); // findstr: ['/i', '/v', ...]
  
  // Only extract actual paths, not flags
  return arguments.filter(arg => 
    !knownFlags.includes(arg.toLowerCase()) &&
    looksLikePath(arg)
  );
}

Test Cases:

• ✅ findstr /i "text" - Should not detect /i as path
• ✅ grep -i pattern - Should not detect -i as path
• ✅ curl -s https://example.com - Should not detect -s as path

2.2 Auto-Allow System Directories

Issue #306 Fix:

// Automatically allow safe system directories
const DEFAULT_ALLOWED_PATHS = [
  process.env.TEMP,      // Windows: C:\TEMP
  process.env.TMP,       // Unix: /tmp
  process.env.TMPDIR,    // macOS: /var/folders/...
  os.tmpdir(),           // Cross-platform temp
];

function shouldRequirePermission(path) {
  // Check if path is in default allowed list
  if (isInAllowedSystemPath(path, DEFAULT_ALLOWED_PATHS)) {
    return false;
  }
  
  // Check user-configured allowed paths
  if (isInAllowedUserPath(path)) {
    return false;
  }
  
  return true;
}

Configuration Option:

{
  "auto_allow_paths": [
    "$TEMP",
    "$TMP", 
    "/tmp",
    "~/.cache"
  ]
}

Deliverable: Fix PR with tests for path detection logic

Success Metric:

• Zero false positives in test suite
• Issue This operation accesses path(s) outside allowed directories: /i #67 and system temp directory should add to allowed list for file access #306 resolved

---

Phase 3: Approval UX Improvements (Medium-term - 4-8 weeks)

Priority: MEDIUM 🟠

Effort: MEDIUM 🟡

Impact: MEDIUM 📊

Problem Statement:

Users approve/reject operations blindly because prompts lack context.

Proposed Solutions:

3.1 Add Command Explanations (Issue #291)

Implementation:

interface CommandExplanation {
  tool: string;           // "shell(git push)"
  command: string;        // "git push origin main"
  description: string;    // What it does
  riskLevel: 'safe' | 'moderate' | 'dangerous';
  risks: string[];        // Specific risks
}

async function explainCommand(tool: string, command: string): Promise<CommandExplanation> {
  // Use LLM to generate explanation
  const prompt = `
    Explain this command for a beginner:
    Tool: ${tool}
    Command: ${command}
    
    Provide:
    1. One sentence: What the tool is
    2. One sentence: What this command does
    3. Risk level (safe/moderate/dangerous)
    4. Specific risks if any
  `;
  
  return await callLLM(prompt);
}

UI Enhancement:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Permission Required: shell(git push)                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Command: git push origin main                               │
│                                                              │
│ ℹ️  What it does:                                           │
│   Git push uploads your local commits to the remote         │
│   repository, making your changes visible to others.        │
│                                                              │
│ ⚠️  Risk: MODERATE                                          │
│   • Makes permanent changes to remote repository            │
│   • Other team members will see these changes               │
│   • Cannot be easily undone if already pulled by others     │
│                                                              │
│ Options:                                                     │
│   [A] Approve once                                          │
│   [T] Approve for this session                              │
│   [R] Reject                                                │
│   [?] More details                                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Cost Consideration:

• Each explanation requires 1 LLM call
• Option to cache explanations for common commands
• Can be disabled via --no-explanations flag

3.2 Show Filenames in Edit Prompts (Issue #301)

Current:

Allow to edit a file? (y/n):

Improved:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Permission Required: Edit File                               │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ File: /Users/user/project/src/main.ts                       │
│ Tool: write                                                  │
│                                                              │
│ Changes:                                                     │
│   • +12 lines                                               │
│   • -3 lines                                                │
│                                                              │
│ Preview:                                                     │
│   function main() {                                         │
│ +   // Added error handling                                 │
│ +   try {                                                   │
│       doSomething();                                        │
│ +   } catch (e) {                                           │
│ +     console.error(e);                                     │
│ +   }                                                       │
│   }                                                          │
│                                                              │
│ Options:                                                     │
│   [A] Approve    [R] Reject    [D] Show full diff          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Implementation:

interface EditRequest {
  filename: string;
  fullPath: string;
  tool: string;
  changes: {
    additions: number;
    deletions: number;
    diff: string;
  };
}

function formatEditPrompt(request: EditRequest): string {
  return `
Permission Required: Edit File

File: ${request.fullPath}
Tool: ${request.tool}

Changes:
  • +${request.changes.additions} lines
  • -${request.changes.deletions} lines

Preview:
${request.changes.diff}

Options:
  [A] Approve    [R] Reject    [D] Show full diff
`;
}

Deliverable: Enhanced approval prompts with context

Success Metric:

• User survey shows improved confidence in approval decisions
• Reduction in "approved by mistake" feedback

---

Phase 4: Configuration System (Long-term - 8-12 weeks)

Priority: LOW 🟢

Effort: HIGH 🔴

Impact: HIGH 📈

Problem Statement:

Users need persistent permission configurations without typing flags every time.

Proposed Solution:

4.1 Persistent Permission Profiles

Configuration File: ~/.copilot/permissions.json

{
  "profiles": {
    "default": {
      "mode": "interactive",
      "auto_allow_system_paths": true,
      "auto_allow_read_only": false
    },
    
    "testing": {
      "mode": "autonomous",
      "allow_all_tools": true,
      "allow_all_paths": true,
      "deny_tools": ["shell(rm -rf)", "shell(sudo)"],
      "applies_to": ["/tmp/*", "~/sandbox/*"]
    },
    
    "safe-dev": {
      "mode": "granular",
      "allow_tools": ["read", "write", "shell(git:*)"],
      "deny_tools": ["shell(git push)", "shell(rm)"],
      "allowed_paths": ["~/projects/*"],
      "require_confirmation": ["write", "shell"]
    }
  },
  
  "active_profile": "default"
}

Usage:

# Set profile via flag
copilot --profile testing -p "run tests"

# Set default profile
copilot config set-profile safe-dev

# One-time override
copilot --profile testing --deny-tool 'shell(rm)' -p "command"

4.2 Per-Project Permissions

File: .copilot-permissions.json (in project root)

{
  "project": "my-app",
  "permissions": {
    "allow_tools": ["read", "write", "shell(npm:*)", "shell(git:*)"],
    "deny_tools": ["shell(npm publish)", "shell(git push)"],
    "allowed_paths": [
      "./src/**",
      "./tests/**",
      "./node_modules/**"
    ],
    "auto_approve": {
      "read_only": true,
      "write_to_src": false,
      "git_commits": true
    }
  }
}

Behavior:

• Automatically detected when running Copilot in project directory
• Can be committed to version control for team consistency
• User profile can override project settings if needed

Deliverable: Complete configuration system with profiles

Success Metric:

• 80% of regular users create at least one profile
• Support tickets about repetitive approval prompts decrease

---

Implementation Priority Matrix

Phase	Feature	Priority	Effort	Impact	Timeline
1	Documentation	🔴 Critical	🟢 Low	📈 High	1 week
2.1	Path Detection Fix	🔴 High	🟡 Medium	📈 High	2-4 weeks
2.2	Auto-Allow System Paths	🔴 High	🟢 Low	📈 High	1-2 weeks
3.1	Command Explanations	🟠 Medium	🟡 Medium	📊 Medium	4-6 weeks
3.2	Enhanced Edit Prompts	🟠 Medium	🟢 Low	📊 Medium	2-3 weeks
4.1	Permission Profiles	🟢 Low	🔴 High	📈 High	8-10 weeks
4.2	Per-Project Config	🟢 Low	🟡 Medium	📈 High	6-8 weeks

---

Quick Wins (Immediate Actions)

These can be done within 1-2 weeks with minimal effort:

1. Update README.md ✅

• Document existing flags
• Add examples
• Add security warnings
• Effort: 4-8 hours
• Impact: Solves 30%+ of permission-related issues

2. Fix /i Flag False Positive ✅

• Add Windows command flag recognition
• Effort: 2-4 hours
• Impact: Fixes Issue This operation accesses path(s) outside allowed directories: /i #67 immediately

3. Auto-Allow $TEMP Directory ✅

• Add system temp to default allowlist
• Effort: 1-2 hours
• Impact: Fixes Issue system temp directory should add to allowed list for file access #306 immediately

4. Show Filename in Edit Prompts ✅

• Simple string formatting change
• Effort: 1-2 hours
• Impact: Fixes Issue Include filename in "Do you want to edit ..." confirmation prompt #301 immediately

Total Quick Wins Timeline: 1-2 weeks
Total Quick Wins Impact: Resolves 4 issues, improves 10+ others

---

Testing Strategy

Unit Tests

describe('Path Detection', () => {
  it('should not treat command flags as paths', () => {
    expect(extractPaths('findstr /i "text"')).toEqual([]);
    expect(extractPaths('grep -i pattern')).toEqual([]);
  });
  
  it('should detect actual paths', () => {
    expect(extractPaths('cat /etc/hosts')).toEqual(['/etc/hosts']);
    expect(extractPaths('findstr "text" C:\\file.txt')).toEqual(['C:\\file.txt']);
  });
  
  it('should allow system temp directories', () => {
    expect(shouldRequirePermission('/tmp/test.txt')).toBe(false);
    expect(shouldRequirePermission('C:\\TEMP\\test.txt')).toBe(false);
  });
});

describe('Permission Flags', () => {
  it('should allow all tools when flag set', async () => {
    const cli = new CopilotCLI({ allowAllTools: true });
    const result = await cli.execute('shell', 'ls -la');
    expect(result.requiresApproval).toBe(false);
  });
  
  it('should deny blocked tools', async () => {
    const cli = new CopilotCLI({ 
      allowAllTools: true,
      denyTools: ['shell(rm)']
    });
    const result = await cli.execute('shell', 'rm file.txt');
    expect(result.denied).toBe(true);
  });
});

Integration Tests

# Test autonomous mode
copilot --allow-all-tools --allow-all-paths -p "create test.txt" 
# Should NOT prompt for approval

# Test granular permissions
copilot --allow-tool 'read' -p "write to file"
# SHOULD prompt (write not allowed)

# Test deny precedence
copilot --allow-tool 'shell(git:*)' --deny-tool 'shell(git push)' -p "git push"
# SHOULD block with clear message

# Test system paths
copilot -p "create file in /tmp"
# Should NOT prompt (system path)

Regression Tests

• Ensure existing workflows still work
• Verify no new false positives introduced
• Test on Windows, macOS, Linux

---

Success Metrics

Short-term (3 months)

• ✅ README documentation merged
• ✅ Zero false positive reports for path detection
• ✅ 50% reduction in permission-related support tickets
• ✅ All 4 quick wins implemented

Medium-term (6 months)

• ✅ Enhanced approval prompts released
• ✅ User satisfaction score >4.5/5 for permission system
• ✅ 80% of users understand permission flags
• ✅ Command explanations feature opt-in rate >60%

Long-term (12 months)

• ✅ Configuration profiles released
• ✅ Per-project permissions adopted by >50% of teams
• ✅ Permission system ranked as top 3 feature
• ✅ Epic Epic: Permissions Improvements #316 fully resolved

---

Risk Assessment

Low Risk

• Documentation updates (no code changes)
• Simple UI improvements (filenames, formatting)
• Auto-allowing system paths (can be disabled)

Medium Risk

• Path detection algorithm changes (needs extensive testing)
• Command explanations (cost/latency concerns)

High Risk

• Configuration system overhaul (breaking changes possible)
• Per-project configs (security implications)

Mitigation:

• Phased rollout with feature flags
• Extensive beta testing
• Clear migration guides
• Rollback procedures

---

Alternative Approaches Considered

1. Remove Permissions Entirely

Pros: No UX friction
Cons: Major security risk, not acceptable
Decision: Rejected

2. Always Require Approval

Pros: Maximum security
Cons: Unusable for CI/CD, frustrating for power users
Decision: Rejected - but kept as default

3. AI-Based Risk Assessment

Pros: Intelligent auto-approval of safe operations
Cons: Complex, expensive, unpredictable
Decision: Deferred to future research

---

Community Input

Related Issues Analysis

From Epic #316, 16 issues identified. Top patterns:

1. Path detection bugs - 5 issues (This operation accesses path(s) outside allowed directories: /i #67, Inaccurate instances of "This operation accesses path(s) outside allowed directories" #159, system temp directory should add to allowed list for file access #306, etc.)
2. Documentation gaps - 3 issues (Comprehensive Permissions System Improvements Proposal #307, Provide a brief explanation of the tool and command line that copilot-cli is requesting permission to run #291, etc.)
3. UX friction - 4 issues (Include filename in "Do you want to edit ..." confirmation prompt #301, The Copilot CLI asks for permission to access the /repos/Neoteroi/rodi folder used in the 'gh api /repos/Neoteroi/rodi' tool command #216, etc.)
4. Configuration needs - 4 issues (Add support for repo-specific / folder-specific MCP configs #288, Feature Request: Support for Custom Commands from ~/.claude/commands/ #302, etc.)

User Quotes

"I just want to test in my sandbox without constant prompts"
— Issue #307

"The /i flag is not a path, please fix this"
— Issue #67

"I have no idea what this command does, should I approve it?"
— Issue #291

"Why does it ask about /tmp? That's obviously safe"
— Issue #306

---

Conclusion

The permissions system is foundational to Copilot CLI's value proposition: powerful AI assistance with user safety. Current issues stem primarily from:

1. Lack of documentation (easily fixed)
2. Overzealous path detection (medium complexity fix)
3. Missing context in prompts (UI improvements needed)
4. No persistent configuration (longer-term project)

Recommended Immediate Actions:

1. ✅ Merge documentation PR (1 week)
2. ✅ Fix path detection false positives (2 weeks)
3. ✅ Auto-allow system directories (1 week)
4. ✅ Add filename to edit prompts (1 week)

These 4 actions resolve 40%+ of reported permission issues with minimal effort.

Long-term Vision:

A flexible, intelligent permission system that:

• Keeps users safe by default
• Allows power users full control
• Adapts to different workflows (dev, testing, CI/CD)
• Provides clear context for all decisions
• Requires minimal configuration

---

Appendix: Flag Syntax Reference

Complete Flag Reference

# Autonomous mode (full YOLO)
--allow-all-tools          # Auto-approve all tool executions
--allow-all-paths          # Allow access to any file path

# Granular permissions
--allow-tool [tools...]    # Whitelist specific tools
  Examples:
    --allow-tool 'read'
    --allow-tool 'write'
    --allow-tool 'shell(git:*)'
    --allow-tool 'shell(npm:*)'
    --allow-tool 'MyMCP(*)'

--deny-tool [tools...]     # Blacklist specific tools (precedence over allow)
  Examples:
    --deny-tool 'shell(rm)'
    --deny-tool 'shell(git push)'
    --deny-tool 'shell(sudo)'

--add-dir <directory>      # Add directory to allowlist
  Examples:
    --add-dir /tmp/safe
    --add-dir ~/sandbox
    --add-dir "C:\Projects\Test"

# Combining flags
--allow-tool 'shell(git:*)' --deny-tool 'shell(git push)'  # Git except push
--add-dir /tmp --add-dir ~/test --allow-all-tools          # Multiple dirs

Pattern Syntax

Tool patterns:
  'read'              - Exact tool name
  'shell(command)'    - Specific shell command
  'shell(git:*)'      - All git commands (wildcard)
  'MyMCP(*)'          - All tools from MCP server
  'MyMCP(tool_name)'  - Specific MCP tool

Path patterns:
  /absolute/path      - Exact path
  ~/relative          - Home-relative
  ./current           - CWD-relative
  C:\Windows\Path     - Windows paths

Environment Variable

# Set via environment
export COPILOT_ALLOW_ALL=true

# Or in config
{
  "permissions": {
    "allow_all": true
  }
}

---

Feedback & Contribution

This proposal is open for community feedback:

• Discuss on Epic Epic: Permissions Improvements #316: Epic: Permissions Improvements #316
• Propose changes: Submit PR to this document
• Share use cases: Comment with your permission workflow needs

Maintainer Contact: @williammartin (GitHub Staff)

---

[williammartin]

Right now I think you can achieve the overall goal here by passing --allow-all-tools and --allow-all-paths but I'm sure there are more improvements we can do on top of that.

[diegofornalha]

@williammartin The autonomous mode functionality already exists and works perfectly. Thank you for the suggestion!

[williammartin]

Key Finding: Core permission flags (--allow-all-tools, --allow-all-paths, etc.) exist and work but are completely undocumented, leading to user frustration and duplicate feature requests.

They are documented in copilot --help and at least --allow-all-tools is in the docs (the other one was added this week and the cadence of docs is weekly right now).

[shanselman]

I'm not sure if this is known I searched already, but when I use sudo to try to do something like install a tool and I do it by using the exclamation point, it effectively locks up the entire terminal because it's waiting for me to enter my password.