opencode --dangerously-skip-permissions: a hidden alias for --auto, and what deny rules still stop

Yes, opencode accepts --dangerously-skip-permissions. It is a hidden alias. The visible flag is --auto, and --yolo is a second hidden alias. All three auto-approve permission requests that are not explicitly denied. Deny rules still apply. For a permanent setup, set the permission key in opencode.json instead.

# The documented flag
opencode --auto
opencode run --auto "Refactor this module"

# Hidden aliases, same effect per the source
opencode --dangerously-skip-permissions
opencode --yolo

• What it is. One switch with three names. Only --auto shows in the help.
• What it keeps. "Explicit "deny" rules are still enforced", per the docs.
• What it changes less than you think. opencode allows most tools by default. Prompts appear only where a rule says ask.
• The config route. "permission": "allow" in opencode.json, or rule by rule.
• How I know. I do not use opencode. This reads the docs and source of opencode 1.x (v1.19.3) on 17 October 2026.

The Claude Code flag with the same name, and what still stops Claude under it, is in my --dangerously-skip-permissions post.

Does opencode have --dangerously-skip-permissions?

Yes, but you will not find it in opencode --help. In release v1.19.3, from 16 October 2026, both the TUI command and opencode run declare three options. auto is visible. yolo and dangerously-skip-permissions are marked hidden. The handler joins them into one value:

auto: args.auto || args.yolo || args["dangerously-skip-permissions"]

The history is on GitHub. Pull request #21266, merged on 7 April 2026, added --dangerously-skip-permissions to opencode run. On 30 June 2026, #33279 made --yolo the main flag and kept the long name as an alias. It also added the switch to the TUI. The same day #34641 hid both aliases and left --auto in the help.

This post covers opencode 1.x. opencode v2 keeps the same three flags but uses a different permissions format, and "always" approvals persist per project.

My Claude Code post said none of five other agents had a flag by that name. For opencode that was wrong. The alias existed. It was just hidden.

What does opencode --auto approve?

Every request that would otherwise ask you. The permissions page is short on this: "Explicit "deny" rules are still enforced. Auto mode only changes requests that would otherwise ask for approval."

Without the flag, opencode run has nobody to ask. In the v1.19.3 source it prints "auto-rejecting" and replies reject. That comes from reading the code, not from a run.

Each opencode rule resolves to allow, ask or deny. Under --auto, every ask behaves like allow. deny stays deny. In the TUI you can switch the mode from the command palette. An "auto" marker then shows next to the agent name.

Why opencode asks less than Claude Code by default

The defaults run the other way. The config page says "By default, opencode allows all operations without requiring explicit approval." The permissions page lists the exceptions. doom_loop and external_directory default to ask. Reads of .env files are denied.

So on a fresh install --auto changes little. It answers the loop guard and the outside-the-project check. It also answers every ask you wrote yourself. The built-in plan agent sets edits and bash to ask. Read literally, the docs mean --auto answers those too. I have not tested it.

The docs do not say whether the built-in .env deny counts as "explicit" under --auto. I have not tested it. If that file matters, write the deny rule into your own config.

How do I set opencode permissions in opencode.json?

Use the permission key. One string applies to every tool:

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "permission": "allow"
}

The object form lets you keep a few stops. Rules match by pattern, and the last matching rule wins. Put the catch-all first. The rule shape below follows the docs. The command list is my example:

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "permission": {
    "*": "allow",
    "bash": {
      "*": "allow",
      "git push *": "deny",
      "rm *": "deny"
    }
  }
}

Two more routes appear in the docs. The CLI page lists OPENCODE_PERMISSION, an environment variable with inline JSON rules. Agents can carry their own permission block, and those rules win over the global ones.

How does opencode compare with Claude Code and Codex?

I use Claude Code and Codex every day. opencode I only read. Keep that in mind for the third row.

The pages I read for opencode describe permissions and policies. None of them describes an OS-level sandbox around commands. In Codex the sandbox is a separate layer, covered in my Codex post. In opencode your deny list is the boundary.

One difference I like in 1.x. There, "always" on a prompt approves matching patterns "for the rest of the current OpenCode session". In Claude Code the same click writes a rule to a settings file for good. Codex saves it to a rules file. Both lists only grow until you clean them. opencode 1.x lets it expire with the session. In v2 the permissions page calls saved approvals "durable, project-scoped allow rules".

When would I use opencode --auto?

In a container or a throwaway checkout, with deny rules for pushes and deletes. That is the same verdict I gave the Claude Code flag. It holds better here, as --auto and the config share one rule system. You can read your config and know what still stops the agent.

What I would not do is rely on a hidden alias in scripts. Hidden flags can change without a line in the help. Use --auto.

Frequently asked questions

Is --dangerously-skip-permissions the same as --auto in opencode?

Per the source, yes. The TUI and opencode run treat --auto, --yolo and --dangerously-skip-permissions as one value. Only --auto is documented and shown in help.

Does opencode --auto ignore deny rules?

No. The permissions page says explicit deny rules are still enforced. Auto mode only changes requests that would otherwise ask for approval.

How do I make opencode stop asking for permission?

Start it with opencode --auto, or set "permission": "allow" in opencode.json. Add deny rules for commands that must never run, such as git push *.

Did you test this?

No. I do not run opencode. This post reads the opencode docs and the v1.19.3 source on 17 October 2026. The Claude Code and Codex parts come from my own use.

Sources, read on 17 October 2026: opencode permissions, CLI, config and agents and policies pages, the v2 permissions page, the anomalyco/opencode repository at tag v1.19.3, and pull requests #21266, #33279 and #34641.