Approvals and file changes
Choose what the agent can do without asking, respond to approval requests, and review the files each turn changed.
The approval mode decides which actions the agent takes on its own and which need approval first. After each turn, the conversation lists the files that changed so you can review them.
Choose an approval mode
Choose the approval mode button in the message box to change it. The mode applies to the current conversation, and every new conversation starts in Approve for me.
| Mode | The agent can | Approval for everything else |
|---|---|---|
| Ask for approval | Read the project. | You. The agent asks before it edits files or runs commands. |
| Approve for me (default) | Edit files and run commands inside the project, without network access. | An automatic review decides on network access and changes outside the project. You are not asked. |
| Full access | Edit any file and run commands with network access. | None. The agent never asks. |
In Approve for me, if the automatic review declines an action, Layerwise shows An action could not be approved. Review the request and try again. To decide on the action yourself, switch the conversation to Ask for approval and send the request again.
Use Full access only for work you trust; the agent can change files outside the project and reach any network address.
Respond to an approval request
In Ask for approval, the agent stops before it acts and shows an approval card. The card states why the agent needs the action, then shows what it will do:
- Commands — the command and the folder it runs in.
- File changes — each file to Create, Modify, or Delete, with its diff.
- Network access — the address the agent wants to reach.
Then choose:
- Allow once — approve this action only.
- Allow for session — approve it, and stop asking about the same action for the rest of the session.
- Decline — refuse the action. The agent continues without it.
- Cancel — refuse the action and end the turn.
Some requests offer more choices, such as always allowing a command or always allowing or blocking a network host.
Review the changes
When a turn finishes, the conversation summarizes it, for example 3 files changed, with the lines added and removed. Each file is marked as added (A), modified (M), deleted (D), or renamed (R).
- Expand a file to read its diff.
- Copy a file's diff with its copy button, for example to share it or paste it into another tool.
- When more than three files changed, choose Show n more files to list the rest.
Expand Worked for to see each step the agent took during the turn. File paths in the agent's replies open in the built-in editor.
To undo a change, ask the agent to revert it. To change the code yourself, see Edit the code and connect GitHub.