---
title: "How to Enable YOLO Mode in Construct | AgentRQ Guidelines"
url: https://agentrq.com/guidelines/yolo-mode/construct
description: "Construct YOLO mode is always-approve for its smith harness: press f at a prompt or set CONSTRUCT_SMITH_AUTOMODE=1. Other harnesses keep their own gates."
---

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

# How to Enable YOLO Mode in Construct

Construct's YOLO mode is called **always-approve**, and it applies to smith, Construct's own agent harness. Press `f` at an approval prompt to switch a session to it, or start smith with `CONSTRUCT_SMITH_AUTOMODE=1`. Sessions running Claude Code, Codex or another CLI keep that CLI's own approval rules.

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 the Construct source and docs (construct-worlds/construct, version 0.17.14) on October 30, 2026.

![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)

## Construct's Approval Modes

Construct is a terminal environment for running a fleet of agent sessions, each on a **harness**: smith (Construct's own agent), or a wrapped CLI such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode or Kimi. Construct gates tool calls only for smith. Smith sorts each call into Safe or Risky, and the session's approval mode decides what happens to the Risky ones:

| Mode | Risky calls |
| --- | --- |
| `manual` (default) | Pause for your approval |
| `auto_review` | A reviewer prompt approves routine work and asks you about the rest |
| `always-approve` | Run without asking |

`always-approve` is YOLO mode. On the wire it is called `unsafe_auto`. Safe calls, such as read-only shell commands marked `read_only: true` and fleet inspection tools, run immediately in every mode. The auto_review reviewer never denies on its own: when unsure, it asks you.

## How to Enable YOLO Mode in Construct

| Where | How |
| --- | --- |
| At a prompt | `f` switches the session to always-approve and approves this call |
| Any time | `C-x A` (Emacs keys) or `A` (Vim normal mode), or click the mode badge |
| At start | `CONSTRUCT_SMITH_AUTOMODE=1` |

bash

```bash
CONSTRUCT_SMITH_AUTOMODE=1 construct
```

The badge and the keys cycle `manual`, then `auto-review`, then `always-approve`, then back to `manual`. At a prompt, `y` approves once, `n` denies, and `a` hands this call and later ones to auto_review.

### Other Harnesses

For every harness except smith, Construct passes the approval mode along and the adapter ignores it. Who gates a risky write depends on the CLI: Claude Code's permission system, Codex's sandbox and approval policy, OpenCode's own interface. To put one of those in YOLO mode, use that CLI's own switch.

### Sandbox

Construct does not sandbox smith's tool calls. Its docs say tool calls "run with your permissions". Codex sessions keep Codex's own sandbox.

## How to Enable YOLO Mode in Construct Through AgentRQ

Construct runs as an ACP server with `construct acp`. That server creates, prompts and cancels Construct sessions, but it does not send ACP permission requests and advertises no session modes. Smith's approval prompts stay in Construct's own clients, such as its TUI and the browser client that `/remote-control` opens for steering the fleet from another device.

### Approve From the AgentRQ Task Instead of the Terminal

Connect Construct to an AgentRQ workspace through the [ACP Gateway](https://agentrq.com/docs/connect-acp-agent) ([Construct setup guide](https://agentrq.com/docs/agents/construct)), wrapping its ACP command:

bash

```bash
npx @agentrq/acp-gateway@latest -- construct acp --harness smith
```

Pass `--harness`: without it, new ACP sessions use Construct's `shell` harness, which is a plain shell. AgentRQ then gets tasks into Construct and its output back. It does not get smith's approval prompts. Under `manual`, a Risky call waits for an answer in Construct's own clients, not in AgentRQ.

### Turn On YOLO for One Task

AgentRQ's per-task [YOLO mode](https://agentrq.com/features/yolo-mode) toggle approves ACP permission requests automatically. Construct's ACP server sends none, so the toggle does not change smith's approval mode. Use `CONSTRUCT_SMITH_AUTOMODE=1` or the mode badge for that. The toggle still matters for other agents in the same workspace. [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.

![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. Like the task toggle, it does not change Construct's approval mode.

![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 Construct

- → **Prefer auto_review to always-approve.** It still asks you about broad, sensitive or outside-the-worktree actions.
- → **Steer from your phone with Construct's own tool.** `/remote-control` opens a browser client for the running daemon, reachable from a phone on the same network.
- → **Bring your own sandbox.** Smith runs with your permissions, so put YOLO sessions in a container or a throwaway clone.
- → **Commit first.** Start every YOLO session 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 the calls Construct reported to the task.

## FAQ

**How do I enable YOLO mode in Construct?** Press `f` at a smith approval prompt, cycle the mode badge to always-approve, or start Construct with `CONSTRUCT_SMITH_AUTOMODE=1`.

**What is unsafe_auto in Construct?** The wire name for always-approve, the mode where smith runs every tool call without asking.

**Does Construct's approval mode apply to Claude Code or Codex sessions?** No. Only smith honors it. Other harnesses keep their own CLI's approval rules.

**Can AgentRQ answer Construct's approval prompts?** No. Construct's ACP server does not send permission requests, so smith's prompts appear only in Construct's own clients.

**Does Construct have a sandbox?** Not for smith. Its tool calls run with your permissions.

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).