Tools and Approval

Tools are the actions ByteMind's agent can take. Understanding which tools exist and how the approval system works lets you keep full control while staying efficient.

Available Tools

Tool	Category	What it does
list_files	Read	List files in a directory tree
read_file	Read	Read the contents of a file
search_text	Read	Search files for text or regex patterns
write_file	Write	Create or overwrite a file
replace_in_file	Write	Replace specific content inside a file
apply_patch	Write	Apply a unified diff patch to a file
run_shell	Execute	Run a shell command
update_plan	Plan	Update the current task plan (Plan mode)
web_fetch	Web	Fetch and read a URL
web_search	Web	Search the web for information

Read tools run silently. Write and Execute tools pause and wait for your approval before proceeding.

Approval Flow

When the agent wants to call a high-risk tool, it displays:

• The tool name and the exact arguments it will use
• A summary of the operation
• A prompt to approve (y), deny (n), or explain why it should not run

The default approval_policy: on-request enables this for every high-risk tool call.

Recommended Workflow

1. Analyze first — ask the agent to read and explain before making any changes
2. Review the plan — check what files will be touched and why
3. Approve incrementally — approve each write operation only after you're satisfied
4. Use Plan mode for large tasks so you see the full scope before any execution

First read the relevant files and tell me what changes you'd propose, without writing anything.

Exec Allowlist

For trusted commands you don't want to approve repeatedly, define an exec_allowlist in your config:

{
  "exec_allowlist": [
    { "command": "go", "args_pattern": ["test", "./..."] },
    { "command": "make", "args_pattern": ["build"] }
  ]
}

Allowlisted commands skip the approval prompt.

Full Access Mode

For unattended runs (CI pipelines, scripts), set approval_mode: full_access so approval-required operations are auto-approved and the agent doesn't block waiting for input:

{
  "approval_mode": "full_access"
}

Legacy approval_mode: away is blocked by default to prevent silent privilege escalation. Set BYTEMIND_ALLOW_AWAY_FULL_ACCESS=true only for temporary migration.

See Configuration for all approval-related settings.

See Also

• Configuration — approval policy, access modes, sandbox
• Run Mode — automated non-interactive execution
• Core Concepts — tools overview