How to automatically approve/continue GitHub Copilot terminal commands in VS Code?

Question

When using GitHub Copilot in VS Code through the Chat tab, it frequently suggests running terminal commands and asks for iteration permissions. Each time it wants to execute a command or continue working on a problem, there are confirmation dialogs requiring manual approval.

Example:

Terminal command execution: Dialog shown when Copilot suggests running node server.js:

Iteration continuation: Dialog shown after Copilot works on a problem for a while:

Expected behavior

GitHub Copilot should:

Automatically execute suggested terminal commands without requiring manual approval
Automatically continue iterations when working on complex problems

Safety note: I recognize these prompts are intentional security safeguards. I’m specifically asking whether there’s a supported way to disable or auto-approve them, being aware of the risks.

Once you give the option to run arbitrary commands in a trusted environment without your approval or revision, it would no longer be a trusted environment. — Alejandro
– Alejandro, Commented Jul 30 at 22:28
I think there are a lot of cases where the AI hallucinates and makes us run commands which might not be required, it is better to have the final authority in some cases. — Rajeev KR
– Rajeev KR, Commented Jul 31 at 13:05
The debate over whether user safety is more important than user freedom is not the focus of this question. The aim is to achieve a specific behavior/functionality; all other considerations are irrelevant. I have already revised the question to clarify this issue. Any further input that is not related to achieving the desired outcome will be flagged. — Gustavo Máximo
– Gustavo Máximo, Commented Jul 31 at 13:17

kuga · Accepted Answer · 2025-09-24 04:49:13Z

17

You can search chat.tools.autoApprove, or use my JSON snippet.

settings.json

    "chat.agent.maxRequests": 300,
    "chat.tools.terminal.enableAutoApprove": true,
    "chat.tools.terminal.autoApprove": {
        "rm": false,
        "rmdir": false,
        "del": false,
        "kill": false,
        "curl": false,
        "wget": false,
        "eval": false,
        "chmod": false,
        "chown": false,
        "/^Remove-Item\\b/i": false
    },

Note: that chat.agent.maxRequests to maximum will help you keep the chat running.

edited Sep 24 at 4:49

kuga

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answered Aug 21 at 12:29

Murad Ali

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1 Comment

goofyguy Nov 6 at 21:35

tried using chat.tools.terminal.autoApprove but did not work, should it be chat.tools.global.autoApprove?

Gustavo Máximo · Accepted Answer · 2025-09-12 16:34:43Z

15

VS Code version 1.104 introduced "Global auto approve":

To enable it:

Ctrl+Shift+P -or- ⌘+shift+P

>Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)

Add the following key to your JSON file:

"chat.tools.global.autoApprove": true

Alternatively:

Ctrl+Shift+P -or- ⌘+shift+P

>Preferences: Open User Settings

Search for YOLO and enable it:

edited Sep 12 at 16:34

answered Sep 11 at 15:48

Gustavo Máximo

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1 Comment

Trenton Morgan Oct 16 at 16:53

Hahaha "never recommended", "critical security" - clicks check box

scubakiz · Accepted Answer · 2025-08-05 01:19:51Z

3

The first one can be fixed by adding this to your settings:

"chat.tools.autoApprove": true

The second option deals with the number of requests the agent performs before continuing. The default is 25. If you change it to a higher number, it will continue for a longer period of time.

"chat.agent.maxRequests": 250

See reference below:

https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/copilot/chat/chat-agent-mode

edited Aug 5 at 1:19

answered Aug 4 at 18:08

scubakiz

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