termdeck
Read only denies, it does not ask
On Claude and Codex, the strict mode stops and asks you. On Grok it refuses outright. A run that would have paused for a decision on another engine simply fails here, which changes how an unattended session behaves.
Grok CLI guide: permission modes
Grok CLI permission modes, explained
Grok has the sharpest edges of the three engines, and they are not obvious from the names. Its read-only mode refuses rather than asking, and it has no plan mode at all on the interface a client talks to. Both matter more than the labels suggest.
xAI
On Grok CLI
No plan mode on this surface
Grok has a plan feature in its own terminal UI, but not on the agent interface a client connects through. Anything offering plan mode for Grok over that interface is showing you read-only behaviour under a different name.
Accept edits is the default
File edits go through, anything that executes still asks. Grok is the only one of the three that starts new chats here rather than in an auto mode.
Full access answers everything
Every request is approved immediately and nothing is asked. As with the other engines, this is a sandbox-only setting.
Reads are never asked about
Grok never prompts about its own read-only tool set, things like reading a file, listing a directory, grep and web search. So a read request that does surface is an exception worth looking at rather than one to wave through.
Compare
One vocabulary, three engines
| Claude Code | Codex CLI | Grok CLI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan only | Plans, then waits for approval | Native plan mode, read-only sandbox | Not supported, behaves as read-only |
| Supervised | Asks before every action | Asks, and sandboxes to read-only | Refuses outright instead of asking |
| Accept edits | File edits pass, commands ask | Not offered | File edits pass, commands ask |
| Auto | A classifier reviews risky actions | Workspace-write sandbox, asks on request | Not offered |
| Full access | No prompts at all | No prompts, sandbox disabled | No prompts at all |
| Starts new chats in | Auto | Auto | Accept edits |
Termdeck drives all three from one console, so the differences above stop being three separate habits to remember.
FAQ
Grok CLI permission modes, answered
Does Grok CLI have a plan mode?
Not on the agent interface a client connects through. Grok has a plan feature in its own terminal UI, but over the protocol a remote client speaks there is no plan mode, so the option behaves as read only.
Why does Grok fail instead of asking in read only mode?
Grok read only is deny by default rather than ask by default. Reads pass and everything else is refused outright, so a task that needed one write does not pause for approval, it fails.
What mode do new Grok chats start in?
Accept edits. File changes go through and anything that executes still asks. That is a more permissive starting point than a supervised mode and a more restrictive one than full access.
Why does Grok ask about reading a file sometimes?
Grok never prompts about its own built-in read-only tools, so a read that does reach you came from somewhere else. It is worth reading the request rather than approving it out of habit.
Claude Code, Codex and Grok in one browser console