How to Enable YOLO Mode in Autohand Code

To run Autohand Code in YOLO mode, start it with autohand --yolo, or type /yolo in a running session. Autohand's version is more granular than most: --yolo takes a pattern, so you can auto-approve only some tools, and --timeout ends it after a set time. For no prompts at all, there is also --unrestricted.

This page is one of our YOLO mode guides, and part of our guide to YOLO mode in every coding agent. Everything below was checked against the Autohand Code CLI source and docs (autohandai/code-cli, npm autohand-cli 0.9.9) and its ACP adapter (autohandai/autohand-acp 0.2.1) on October 30, 2026.

What YOLO Mode Turns Off in Autohand Code

YOLO approves the tool calls that would otherwise ask you. Autohand's docs describe no sandbox for the commands it runs, so nothing else changes.

Two things still hold. Your denyList blocks matching calls even under --yes or --unrestricted. And --plan asks you to accept the plan even with --yes or --unrestricted, which is why --plan and --yolo cannot be combined.

One default is worth knowing: a full-screen interactive session starts in Auto mode, which runs without approval prompts. Set ui.defaultInteractionMode to "default" in ~/.autohand/config.json if you want it to ask. Command, RPC and ACP runs never start in Auto mode.

How to Enable YOLO Mode in Autohand Code

autohand --yolo

A deny: pattern works the other way round: --yolo deny:delete auto-approves everything except the tools you list. When --timeout runs out, the permission settings you had before --yolo come back.

The Halfway Option

permissions in ~/.autohand/config.json has three modes: interactive (the default, asks about dangerous operations), unrestricted and restricted (denies them). Under it, allowList names patterns that never ask and denyList names patterns that are always blocked:

{
  "permissions": {
    "mode": "interactive",
    "allowList": ["run_command:npm *", "run_command:git status"],
    "denyList": ["run_command:rm -rf *", "run_command:sudo *"]
  }
}

/permissions in a session shows and edits the current settings.

How to Enable YOLO Mode in Autohand Code Through AgentRQ

Autohand's YOLO covers a session, or a time window. AgentRQ lets you make the decision per task, and answer from somewhere other than the terminal.

Approve From the AgentRQ Task Instead of the Terminal

Connect Autohand Code to an AgentRQ workspace through the ACP Gateway (Autohand Code setup guide):

npx @agentrq/acp-gateway@latest --agent autohand

This registry entry still runs Autohand's older ACP adapter, which Autohand has archived. That adapter only forwards tool approvals to the client when AUTOHAND_PERMISSION_MODE=external is set. The CLI now has its own ACP server (version 0.9.8 and later), and Autohand recommends it. To use it, install the CLI and hand its command to the gateway:

npx @agentrq/acp-gateway@latest -- autohand --acp

The native server offers four ACP session modes: Ask (default), Plan, YOLO and Auto. In Ask and Plan it sends each approval to the client, and AgentRQ keeps the session in Ask. Don't start it with permissions.mode set to unrestricted, or Autohand opens the session in YOLO and approves its own calls. Each permission request now shows up in the AgentRQ task on the web, on your phone or in Slack, together with the command or edit it is asking about. Answer Allow Once, Always Allow or Deny from wherever you are, and Autohand carries on. If nobody answers within 30 minutes, the gateway cancels the turn instead of guessing. Change the limit with --permission-timeout.

Turn On YOLO for One Task

Flip the YOLO toggle on a task, or when you create it, to put just that task in YOLO mode. Every permission request in it is approved automatically and Autohand never waits, while every other task in the workspace still asks. Scheduled tasks, event triggers and workflow steps have the same switch, so an unattended job can run in YOLO while your interactive work stays supervised.

Turn YOLO On or Off in Workspace Settings

To make YOLO the default for a whole workspace, open the workspace, go to Settings, choose the Automations tab and flip YOLO Mode (Execute All). Click Update Workspace to save. Switch it off the same way. The switch is off by default, and every permission request in the workspace is approved automatically while it is on.

A Safe YOLO Setup for Autohand Code

• → Keep a deny list. denyList entries hold even under --yes and --unrestricted, so put rm -rf and sudo there before you go YOLO.
• → Allow the boring tools, not everything. Always Allow adds the tool to the workspace's auto-approved list, so the routine calls stop asking and the risky ones still do. Prune that list in workspace settings now and then.
• → Leave the workspace-wide switch off. Turn YOLO on per task instead, so it never outlives the job you trusted.
• → Bring your own sandbox. Autohand has none, so run YOLO tasks in a container or a throwaway clone.
• → Commit first. Start every YOLO task from a clean git tree, so any change is one git reset away.
• → Read the record. The tool call history lists every call the task made, including the ones that were auto-approved.

FAQ

How do I enable YOLO mode in Autohand Code? Start it with autohand --yolo, or type /yolo in a running session.

Can I auto-approve only some tools in Autohand? Yes. Pass a pattern, such as --yolo allow:read,write, or --yolo deny:delete to approve everything except deletes.

How do I limit YOLO to a set time? Add --timeout with a number of seconds. When it runs out, Autohand goes back to asking.

What is the difference between --yolo and --unrestricted? --yolo auto-approves the tools its pattern matches, all of them by default, and works with --timeout. --unrestricted runs with no approval prompts at all, though your deny list still blocks matching calls.

How do I approve Autohand commands remotely? Connect Autohand Code to AgentRQ through the ACP Gateway. Its permission requests show up in the task on the web, your phone or Slack.

For every other agent, see what YOLO mode is and how to turn it on in every coding agent.