---
title: "How to Enable YOLO Mode in Blackbox AI | AgentRQ Guidelines"
url: https://agentrq.com/guidelines/yolo-mode/blackbox-ai
description: "Blackbox CLI YOLO mode: blackbox --yolo or --approval-mode yolo, /approval-mode in a session, Shift+Tab, approvalMode in settings, plus auto-edit."
---

![](https://agentrq.com/assets/agent-icons/blackbox-ai.png) Checked October 30, 2026 | [All YOLO Mode guides](https://agentrq.com/guidelines/yolo-mode/)

# How to Enable YOLO Mode in Blackbox AI

To run the Blackbox AI CLI in YOLO mode, start it with `blackbox --yolo` (or `-y`), or with `--approval-mode yolo`. In a running session, `/approval-mode yolo` or Shift+Tab gets you there. YOLO is one of four approval modes, and the one below it, **auto-edit**, is often the better choice.

This page is one of our [YOLO mode guides](https://agentrq.com/guidelines/yolo-mode/), and part of our guide to [YOLO mode in every coding agent](https://agentrq.com/blog/what-is-yolo-mode-and-how-to-turn-it-on-in-every-coding-agent). Everything below was checked against Blackbox's CLI docs and the Blackbox CLI package on npm (@blackbox_ai/blackbox-cli 1.0.2) on October 30, 2026. Blackbox's install script now installs a newer v2 build that we could not inspect, so run `blackbox --help` to confirm the flags in your version.

![Animated sketch of YOLO mode in AgentRQ: claude waits to run go test, YOLO is flipped on for the task, and every later edit and test run lands auto-allowed in the Trajectory view](https://agentrq.com/assets/sketches/yolo-mode.svg)

## What YOLO Mode Turns Off in Blackbox AI

YOLO auto-approves every tool call: file edits, shell commands and the rest. It does not turn anything else on or off. Blackbox has an optional sandbox (`--sandbox`, or `-s`) that runs it in Docker, Podman or macOS `sandbox-exec`, but it is off unless you ask for it, and YOLO does not enable it.

One guard stays: in a folder you have not trusted, Blackbox drops back to the default mode and logs a warning, even if you passed `--yolo`.

## How to Enable YOLO Mode in Blackbox AI

| Mode | What it auto-approves | How to pick it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `plan` | Nothing. It only plans | `--approval-mode plan` |
| `default` | Nothing. It asks for each tool | the default |
| `auto-edit` | File edits | `--approval-mode auto-edit` |
| `yolo` | Everything | `--yolo`, `-y` or `--approval-mode yolo` |

bash

```bash
blackbox --yolo
```

`--yolo` and `--approval-mode` cannot be used together. Blackbox stops with an error and tells you to use `--approval-mode=yolo` instead.

Inside a session, Shift+Tab cycles through the modes, and `/approval-mode` changes it by name. Add `--session`, `--user` or `--project` to say how long it should stick:

text

```text
/approval-mode yolo --session
```

To make a mode the default, set `approvalMode` in your Blackbox settings file (`~/.blackboxcli/settings.json`):

json

```json
{
  "approvalMode": "auto-edit"
}
```

### The Halfway Option

`auto-edit` lets Blackbox change files without asking but still asks before shell commands. Pair it with a clean git tree and you can review every edit afterwards, while nothing runs on your machine without a yes.

## How to Enable YOLO Mode in Blackbox AI Through AgentRQ

Blackbox's own YOLO switch covers a whole session. 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

Blackbox starts as an ACP agent with `blackbox --experimental-acp`, the command in its ACP guide. Wrap it with the [ACP Gateway](https://agentrq.com/docs/connect-acp-agent) to connect it to an AgentRQ workspace ([Blackbox AI setup guide](https://agentrq.com/docs/agents/blackbox-ai)):

bash

```bash
npx @agentrq/acp-gateway@latest -- blackbox --experimental-acp
```

Start it without `--yolo`, and leave `approvalMode` unset or on `default`. Blackbox offers no ACP session modes for AgentRQ to switch, so the approval mode you start with is the one you get. 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 Blackbox 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](https://agentrq.com/features/yolo-mode). Every permission request in it is approved automatically and Blackbox never waits, while every other task in the workspace still asks. [Scheduled tasks](https://agentrq.com/features/task-scheduling), [event triggers](https://agentrq.com/features/events) and [workflow](https://agentrq.com/features/workflows) steps have the same switch, so an unattended job can run in YOLO while your interactive work stays supervised.

![The YOLO toggle on a task in AgentRQ being switched on, then off again](https://agentrq.com/assets/guidelines/yolo-mode-task-toggle.gif)

### 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.

![Workspace Settings in AgentRQ: the YOLO Mode (Execute All) switch turned on and saved, then off and saved](https://agentrq.com/assets/guidelines/yolo-mode-workspace-settings.gif)

### A Safe YOLO Setup for Blackbox AI

- → **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.
- → **Turn on Blackbox's sandbox.** Start it with `--sandbox` if you have Docker, Podman or macOS `sandbox-exec`, or run YOLO tasks in 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](https://agentrq.com/features/tool-call-history) lists every call the task made, including the ones that were auto-approved.

## FAQ

**How do I enable YOLO mode in Blackbox AI?** Start the CLI with `blackbox --yolo` or `blackbox --approval-mode yolo`. In a running session, use `/approval-mode yolo` or press Shift+Tab.

**What approval modes does the Blackbox CLI have?** Four: plan, default, auto-edit and yolo. Default asks for every tool, auto-edit approves file edits, and yolo approves everything.

**Why does Blackbox ignore --yolo in some folders?** In a folder you have not trusted, it falls back to the default mode and asks for each tool.

**Does Blackbox AI have a sandbox?** Yes, an optional one. Start it with `--sandbox` to run in Docker, Podman or macOS sandbox-exec. YOLO does not turn it on.

**How do I approve Blackbox commands remotely?** Connect the Blackbox CLI to [AgentRQ](https://agentrq.com) through the ACP Gateway with `blackbox --experimental-acp`. 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](https://agentrq.com/blog/what-is-yolo-mode-and-how-to-turn-it-on-in-every-coding-agent).