Create Mode

Create mode is the default permission mode in Caboose. It gives the AI agent full ability to read, write, and execute within your project while keeping you in control of anything that modifies your codebase.

How permissions work

Tool calls in Create mode fall into two categories:

• Auto-approved: File reads and codebase exploration run immediately without prompting. The agent can freely navigate your project to understand context.
• Requires approval: File writes and shell commands pause execution and present the proposed change for your review. You see exactly what will be written or run before it happens.

When a tool call requires approval, you have three options:

1. Approve the individual call and continue.
2. Reject the call. The agent receives the rejection and adapts its approach.
3. Always allow for the current session. This tells Caboose to stop prompting for that specific tool for the remainder of the session. Useful once you trust the pattern of changes the agent is making.

The current permission mode is always visible in the footer status bar at the bottom of the terminal UI, so you know at a glance what level of autonomy the agent has.

AutoEdit mode

Pass --mode auto-edit on the CLI to start a session in AutoEdit mode. This variant auto-approves all file edits but still prompts for shell commands. It strikes a balance between speed and safety: the agent can refactor freely, but you still gate anything that executes outside the editor.

Other modes

Caboose also offers Plan mode and Chug mode. Plan mode restricts the agent to read-only exploration and planning — it cannot modify files or run commands at all. Chug mode is fully autonomous: all tool calls execute without prompting. Create mode sits between these two extremes, giving you approval control over writes and execution while letting reads flow uninterrupted.

You can switch modes mid-session with the /settings command or by restarting with the appropriate --mode flag.