Claude Code: Invalid permissions.defaultMode "auto" error

[ryenski]

Reproduction steps

1. Add permissions.defaultMode: "auto" to ~/.claude/settings.json:

   {
     "permissions": {
       "defaultMode": "auto"
     }
   }

2. Open a project in Zed and start a Claude Code session (e.g., open the Agent Panel)

Current vs. Expected behavior

Current behavior: Zed immediately shows an internal error:

Internal error: {
  "details": "Invalid permissions.defaultMode: auto."
}

Expected behavior: "auto" is a valid value for permissions.defaultMode in the Claude Code CLI and should be accepted without error. Claude Code starts normally.

Zed version and system specs

Zed 0.229.0
7c07887

0.229.0+stable.206.7c07887d9555953bca7fe78417602114092ef8c8

Attach Zed log file

Zed.log

2026-03-31T11:33:31-05:00 WARN  [agent_servers::acp] agent stderr: Error handling request {
2026-03-31T11:33:31-05:00 WARN  [agent_servers::acp] agent stderr: jsonrpc: '2.0',
2026-03-31T11:33:31-05:00 WARN  [agent_servers::acp] agent stderr: id: 1,
2026-03-31T11:33:31-05:00 WARN  [agent_servers::acp] agent stderr: method: 'session/load',
2026-03-31T11:33:31-05:00 WARN  [agent_servers::acp] agent stderr: params: {
2026-03-31T11:33:31-05:00 WARN  [agent_servers::acp] agent stderr: mcpServers: [ [Object] ],
2026-03-31T11:33:31-05:00 WARN  [agent_servers::acp] agent stderr: cwd: '/home/username/Projects/project',
2026-03-31T11:33:31-05:00 WARN  [agent_servers::acp] agent stderr: sessionId: '77192d70-dbf2-4e58-9106-98c02fe3613f'
2026-03-31T11:33:31-05:00 WARN  [agent_servers::acp] agent stderr: }
2026-03-31T11:33:31-05:00 WARN  [agent_servers::acp] agent stderr: } {
2026-03-31T11:33:31-05:00 WARN  [agent_servers::acp] agent stderr: code: -32603,
2026-03-31T11:33:31-05:00 WARN  [agent_servers::acp] agent stderr: message: 'Internal error',
2026-03-31T11:33:31-05:00 WARN  [agent_servers::acp] agent stderr: data: { details: 'Invalid permissions.defaultMode: auto.' }
2026-03-31T11:33:31-05:00 WARN  [agent_servers::acp] agent stderr: }

Relevant Zed settings

./claude/settings.json

{
  "permissions": {
    "defaultMode": "auto"
  }
}

(for AI issues) Model provider details

• Provider: Anthropic via Claude Code CLI
• Mode: Agent Panel
• Other details: The auto permission mode was added to the Claude Code CLI more recently. Zed's schema validation appears to not include it yet, causing this error. Valid defaultMode values in the current Claude Code CLI are: "auto", "acceptEdits", "bypassPermissions", "default".

[OmChillure]

Hey @ryenski

Root cause traced: the "auto" value is valid in the Claude Code CLI binary but missing from PermissionMode in @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk. Because @agentclientprotocol/claude-agent-acp validates permissions.defaultMode against that type, it throws before the session starts.

Fix is blocked on the SDK types being updated first - filed at anthropics/claude-agent-sdk-typescript. Once that's published, claude-agent-acp can add auto to its aliases map, the ACP registry can bump the version, and Zed will pick it up automatically with no changes needed here.

CC : @miguelraz [just for visibility]