GitHub Copilot can cut approval prompts with Assisted permissions

GitHub made Assisted permissions generally available on October 26, 2026, in GitHub Copilot CLI, the Copilot app and Visual Studio Code. Developers can choose model-reviewed approvals to reduce interruptions without switching to Allow All.

What the model can approve—and where it can go wrong

A large language model reviews eligible requests to run a command, access a file-system path or open a URL after existing rules and human approvals have been applied. It considers the task and the authority you granted, automatically approving requests it confidently judges safe. In a standard interactive session, requests that still need approval come back to you.

Existing deny rules and enterprise restrictions remain in force; already-allowed requests can run without model review. Unlike Allow All, Assisted permissions does not grant blanket access—but its model can still approve dangerous or unintended actions. It is no substitute for sandboxing or access restrictions, and you should still review what Copilot does.

Where to switch it on

In Copilot CLI, enter /permissions assisted, or enter /permissions and select assisted from the list. Use /permissions manual to return to manual approval and /permissions show to check the current mode.

In the Copilot app, open the mode picker, choose Tool permissions, then select Assisted for a local session. This choice also becomes the default for new local sessions without changing other existing sessions. These controls are not available for cloud sessions, while remote-host options depend on what the host supports.

In Visual Studio Code, open the permissions picker and select Assisted permissions.

Company policies still set the limits

Enterprise administrators can block Allow All while keeping Assisted available, disable Assisted separately and choose the default permission mode for new sessions. Developers can select another mode permitted by policy. If the selected default is unavailable or prohibited, the session starts with manual approval.

In Copilot CLI, eligible enterprise “ask” rules for commands, file reads and writes, and URLs can be satisfied by model approval, so “ask” does not always produce a human prompt. Other tool calls that enterprise rules require you to approve, and requests to bypass local sandboxing, remain outside Assisted review. In Autopilot and non-interactive runs, requests that still require human approval are denied rather than left waiting.