RFC: Universal Key Naming - Vote on Alternatives

[johnlindquist]

RFC: Universal Key Naming Discussion

Vote on naming alternatives for universal frontmatter keys.

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1. Execution Mode (REPL vs Run-Once)

Current: interactive: true/false

Option	Example	Pros	Cons
interactive	interactive: false	Clear, matches CLI flags	Inverted logic ("false" = script mode)
mode	mode: script or mode: repl	Explicit values	Generic name
repl	repl: false	Short	Less intuitive
one-shot	one-shot: true	Describes behavior	Hyphenated
persist	persist: false	Describes session behavior	Ambiguous

Question: Should the default be interactive (REPL) or non-interactive (script)?

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2. Full Auto / God Mode / YOLO

Current: allow-all-tools: true

This is the most confusing one. Different CLIs have different levels:

CLI	"Safer" Auto	"Dangerous" Full YOLO
Claude	-	--dangerously-skip-permissions
Codex	--full-auto (sandboxed)	--dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox
Gemini	-	--yolo
Copilot	-	--allow-all-tools

Should we have TWO levels?

Option A: Single flag (current)

Name	Example
allow-all-tools	allow-all-tools: true
auto-approve	auto-approve: true
yolo	yolo: true
unattended	unattended: true
headless	headless: true

Option B: Two levels

Safe Auto	Dangerous YOLO
auto: true	yolo: true
auto-approve: true	dangerous: true
unattended: true	no-sandbox: true
trust: auto	trust: full

Option C: Single enum

approval: ask        # default - ask before tools
approval: auto       # auto-approve but sandboxed (Codex --full-auto)
approval: yolo       # bypass everything

Recommendation: Option C gives explicit control without boolean confusion.

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3. Tool Whitelist/Blacklist

Current: allow-tool / deny-tool

Option	Allow	Deny
Current	allow-tool: [...]	deny-tool: [...]
Alt 1	tools-allow: [...]	tools-deny: [...]
Alt 2	whitelist: [...]	blacklist: [...]
Alt 3	permit: [...]	block: [...]
Alt 4	enable-tools: [...]	disable-tools: [...]

Or nested:

tools:
  allow: [read, write]
  deny: [shell]

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4. Directory Access

Current: add-dir

Option	Example	Notes
add-dir	add-dir: ./src	Matches Claude/Copilot/Codex
include-dir	include-dir: ./src	Matches Gemini
dirs	dirs: [./src]	Short
workspace	workspace: [./src]	Semantic
paths	paths: [./src]	Generic
context-dirs	context-dirs: [./src]	Explicit

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5. Session Resume

Current: resume / continue

Option	Resume by ID	Resume Latest
Current	resume: "abc123"	continue: true
Alt 1	session: "abc123"	session: latest
Alt 2	resume: "abc123"	resume: true
Alt 3	restore: "abc123"	restore: latest

Or unified:

session:
  resume: latest  # or session ID
  fork: true      # create new branch

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6. MCP Configuration

Current: mcp-config

Option	Example
mcp-config	mcp-config: ./mcp.json
mcp	mcp: ./mcp.json
mcp-servers	mcp-servers: [...]
tools-config	tools-config: ./mcp.json

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7. Output Format

Current: output-format

Option	Example
output-format	output-format: json
output	output: json
format	format: json
emit	emit: json

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8. Debug Mode

Current: debug

Option	Example
debug	debug: true
verbose	verbose: true
log-level	log-level: debug
trace	trace: true

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Summary Ballot

Cast your vote by reacting to comments below or commenting with your preferences:

1. Execution Mode: interactive / mode / repl / one-shot / persist
2. Auto Mode: Single flag vs Two levels vs Enum
3. Auto Mode Name: allow-all-tools / auto-approve / yolo / approval
4. Tool Lists: allow-tool / tools-allow / whitelist / permit / nested
5. Directory: add-dir / include-dir / dirs / workspace / paths
6. Session: Current / session object / unified resume
7. MCP: mcp-config / mcp / mcp-servers
8. Output: output-format / output / format
9. Debug: debug / verbose / log-level