clawdbot/docs/tools/exec-approvals.md

summary, read_when

summary	read_when
Exec approvals, allowlists, and sandbox escape prompts	Configuring exec approvals or allowlists Implementing exec approval UX in the macOS app Reviewing sandbox escape prompts and implications

Exec approvals

Exec approvals are the companion app / node host guardrail for letting a sandboxed agent run 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).

If the companion app UI is not available, any request that requires a prompt is resolved by the ask fallback (default: deny).

Where it applies

Exec approvals are enforced locally on the execution host:

• gateway host → clawdbot process on the gateway machine
• node host → node runner (macOS companion app or headless node host)

Planned macOS split:

• node host service forwards system.run to the macOS app over local IPC.
• macOS app enforces approvals + executes the command in UI context.

Settings and storage

Approvals live in a local JSON file on the execution host:

~/.clawdbot/exec-approvals.json

Example schema:

{
  "version": 1,
  "socket": {
    "path": "~/.clawdbot/exec-approvals.sock",
    "token": "base64url-token"
  },
  "defaults": {
    "security": "deny",
    "ask": "on-miss",
    "askFallback": "deny",
    "autoAllowSkills": false
  },
  "agents": {
    "main": {
      "security": "allowlist",
      "ask": "on-miss",
      "askFallback": "deny",
      "autoAllowSkills": true,
      "allowlist": [
        {
          "pattern": "~/Projects/**/bin/rg",
          "lastUsedAt": 1737150000000,
          "lastUsedCommand": "rg -n TODO",
          "lastResolvedPath": "/Users/user/Projects/.../bin/rg"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Policy knobs

Security (exec.security)

• deny: block all host exec requests.
• allowlist: allow only allowlisted commands.
• full: allow everything (equivalent to elevated).

Ask (exec.ask)

• off: never prompt.
• on-miss: prompt only when allowlist does not match.
• always: prompt on every command.

Ask fallback (askFallback)

If a prompt is required but no UI is reachable, fallback decides:

• deny: block.
• allowlist: allow only if allowlist matches.
• full: allow.

Allowlist (per agent)

Allowlists are per agent. If multiple agents exist, switch which agent you’re editing in the macOS app. Patterns are case-insensitive glob matches. Patterns should resolve to binary paths (basename-only entries are ignored). Legacy agents.default entries are migrated to agents.main on load.

Examples:

• ~/Projects/**/bin/bird
• ~/.local/bin/*
• /opt/homebrew/bin/rg

Each allowlist entry tracks:

• last used timestamp
• last used command
• last resolved path

Auto-allow skill CLIs

When Auto-allow skill CLIs is enabled, executables referenced by known skills are treated as allowlisted on nodes (macOS node or headless node host). This uses the Bridge RPC to ask the gateway for the skill bin list. Disable this if you want strict manual allowlists.

Safe bins (stdin-only)

tools.exec.safeBins defines a small list of stdin-only binaries (for example jq) that can run in allowlist mode without explicit allowlist entries. Safe bins reject positional file args and path-like tokens, so they can only operate on the incoming stream. Shell chaining and redirections are not auto-allowed in allowlist mode.

Default safe bins: jq, grep, cut, sort, uniq, head, tail, tr, wc.

Control UI editing

Use the Control UI → Nodes → Exec approvals card to edit defaults, per‑agent overrides, and allowlists. Pick a scope (Defaults or an agent), tweak the policy, add/remove allowlist patterns, then Save. The UI shows last used metadata per pattern so you can keep the list tidy.

The target selector chooses Gateway (local approvals) or a Node. Nodes must advertise system.execApprovals.get/set (macOS app or headless node host). If a node does not advertise exec approvals yet, edit its local ~/.clawdbot/exec-approvals.json directly.

CLI: clawdbot approvals supports gateway or node editing (see Approvals CLI).

Approval flow

When a prompt is required, the gateway broadcasts exec.approval.requested to operator clients. The Control UI and macOS app resolve it via exec.approval.resolve, then the gateway forwards the approved request to the node host.

When approvals are required, the exec tool returns immediately with an approval id. Use that id to correlate later system events (Exec finished / Exec denied). If no decision arrives before the timeout, the request is treated as an approval timeout and surfaced as a denial reason.

The confirmation dialog includes:

• command + args
• cwd
• agent id
• resolved executable path
• host + policy metadata

Actions:

• Allow once → run now
• Always allow → add to allowlist + run
• Deny → block

macOS IPC flow (planned)

Gateway -> Bridge -> Node Service (TS)
                    |  IPC (UDS + token + HMAC + TTL)
                    v
                Mac App (UI + approvals + system.run)

Security notes:

• Unix socket mode 0600, token stored in exec-approvals.json.
• Same-UID peer check.
• Challenge/response (nonce + HMAC token + request hash) + short TTL.

System events

Exec lifecycle is surfaced as system messages:

• Exec running (only if the command exceeds the running notice threshold)
• Exec finished
• Exec denied

These are posted to the agent’s session after the node reports the event. Gateway-host exec approvals emit the same lifecycle events when the command finishes (and optionally when running longer than the threshold). Approval-gated execs reuse the approval id as the runId in these messages for easy correlation.

Implications

• full is powerful; prefer allowlists when possible.
• ask keeps you in the loop while still allowing fast approvals.
• Per-agent allowlists prevent one agent’s approvals from leaking into others.

Related:

• Exec tool
• Elevated mode
• Skills