fix: honor tools.exec ask/security in approvals

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.clawd.bot
 - Agents: add CLI log hint to "agent failed before reply" messages. (#1550) Thanks @sweepies.
 - Discord: limit autoThread mention bypass to bot-owned threads; keep ack reactions mention-gated. (#1511) Thanks @pvoo.
 - Gateway: accept null optional fields in exec approval requests. (#1511) Thanks @pvoo.
+- Exec: honor tools.exec ask/security defaults for elevated approvals (avoid unwanted prompts).
 - TUI: forward unknown slash commands (for example, `/context`) to the Gateway.
 - TUI: include Gateway slash commands in autocomplete and `/help`.
 - CLI: skip usage lines in `clawdbot models status` when provider usage is unavailable.

docs/tools/exec-approvals.md

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ Exec approvals are the **companion app / node host guardrail** for letting a san
 commands on a real host (`gateway` or `node`). Think of it like a safety interlock:
 commands are allowed only when policy + allowlist + (optional) user approval all agree.
 Exec approvals are **in addition** to tool policy and elevated gating (unless elevated is set to `full`, which skips approvals).
+Effective policy is the **stricter** of `tools.exec.*` and approvals defaults; if an approvals field is omitted, the `tools.exec` value is used.
 
 If the companion app UI is **not available**, any request that requires a prompt is
 resolved by the **ask fallback** (default: deny).

src/agents/bash-tools.exec.approval-id.test.ts

@@ -129,4 +129,25 @@ describe("exec approvals", () => {
     expect(calls).toContain("node.invoke");
     expect(calls).not.toContain("exec.approval.request");
   });
+
+  it("honors ask=off for elevated gateway exec without prompting", async () => {
+    const { callGatewayTool } = await import("./tools/gateway.js");
+    const calls: string[] = [];
+    vi.mocked(callGatewayTool).mockImplementation(async (method) => {
+      calls.push(method);
+      return { ok: true };
+    });
+
+    const { createExecTool } = await import("./bash-tools.exec.js");
+    const tool = createExecTool({
+      ask: "off",
+      security: "full",
+      approvalRunningNoticeMs: 0,
+      elevated: { enabled: true, allowed: true, defaultLevel: "ask" },
+    });
+
+    const result = await tool.execute("call3", { command: "echo ok", elevated: true });
+    expect(result.details.status).toBe("completed");
+    expect(calls).not.toContain("exec.approval.request");
+  });
 });

src/agents/bash-tools.exec.ts

@@ -838,10 +838,7 @@ export function createExecTool(
       applyPathPrepend(env, defaultPathPrepend);
 
       if (host === "node") {
-        const approvals = resolveExecApprovals(
-          agentId,
-          host === "node" ? { security: "allowlist" } : undefined,
-        );
+        const approvals = resolveExecApprovals(agentId, { security, ask });
         const hostSecurity = minSecurity(security, approvals.agent.security);
         const hostAsk = maxAsk(ask, approvals.agent.ask);
         const askFallback = approvals.agent.askFallback;
@@ -1112,7 +1109,7 @@ export function createExecTool(
       }
 
       if (host === "gateway" && !bypassApprovals) {
-        const approvals = resolveExecApprovals(agentId, { security: "allowlist" });
+        const approvals = resolveExecApprovals(agentId, { security, ask });
         const hostSecurity = minSecurity(security, approvals.agent.security);
         const hostAsk = maxAsk(ask, approvals.agent.ask);
         const askFallback = approvals.agent.askFallback;

src/cli/nodes-cli/register.invoke.ts

@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ export function registerNodesInvokeCommands(nodes: Command) {
           const approvals = resolveExecApprovalsFromFile({
             file: approvalsFile as ExecApprovalsFile,
             agentId,
-            overrides: { security: "allowlist" },
+            overrides: { security, ask },
           });
           const hostSecurity = minSecurity(security, approvals.agent.security);
           const hostAsk = maxAsk(ask, approvals.agent.ask);

src/node-host/runner.ts

@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ import {
   readExecApprovalsSnapshot,
   resolveExecApprovalsSocketPath,
   saveExecApprovals,
+  type ExecAsk,
+  type ExecSecurity,
   type ExecApprovalsFile,
   type ExecAllowlistEntry,
   type ExecCommandSegment,
@@ -110,6 +112,14 @@ type RunResult = {
   truncated: boolean;
 };
 
+function resolveExecSecurity(value?: string): ExecSecurity {
+  return value === "deny" || value === "allowlist" || value === "full" ? value : "allowlist";
+}
+
+function resolveExecAsk(value?: string): ExecAsk {
+  return value === "off" || value === "on-miss" || value === "always" ? value : "on-miss";
+}
+
 type ExecEventPayload = {
   sessionKey: string;
   runId: string;
@@ -794,15 +804,20 @@ async function handleInvoke(
   const rawCommand = typeof params.rawCommand === "string" ? params.rawCommand.trim() : "";
   const cmdText = rawCommand || formatCommand(argv);
   const agentId = params.agentId?.trim() || undefined;
-  const approvals = resolveExecApprovals(agentId, { security: "allowlist" });
+  const cfg = loadConfig();
+  const agentExec = agentId ? resolveAgentConfig(cfg, agentId)?.tools?.exec : undefined;
+  const configuredSecurity = resolveExecSecurity(agentExec?.security ?? cfg.tools?.exec?.security);
+  const configuredAsk = resolveExecAsk(agentExec?.ask ?? cfg.tools?.exec?.ask);
+  const approvals = resolveExecApprovals(agentId, {
+    security: configuredSecurity,
+    ask: configuredAsk,
+  });
   const security = approvals.agent.security;
   const ask = approvals.agent.ask;
   const autoAllowSkills = approvals.agent.autoAllowSkills;
   const sessionKey = params.sessionKey?.trim() || "node";
   const runId = params.runId?.trim() || crypto.randomUUID();
   const env = sanitizeEnv(params.env ?? undefined);
-  const cfg = loadConfig();
-  const agentExec = agentId ? resolveAgentConfig(cfg, agentId)?.tools?.exec : undefined;
   const safeBins = resolveSafeBins(agentExec?.safeBins ?? cfg.tools?.exec?.safeBins);
   const bins = autoAllowSkills ? await skillBins.current() : new Set<string>();
   let analysisOk = false;