feat: read approvalMode from config file (#298)

This PR implements support for reading the approvalMode setting from the
user's config file (`~/.codex/config.json` or `~/.codex/config.yaml`),
allowing users to set a persistent default approval mode without needing
to specify command-line flags for each session.

Changes:
- Added approvalMode to the AppConfig type in config.ts
- Updated loadConfig() to read the approval mode from the config file
- Modified saveConfig() to persist the approval mode setting
- Updated CLI logic to respect the config-defined approval mode (while
maintaining CLI flag priority)
- Added comprehensive tests for approval mode config functionality
- Updated README to document the new config option in both YAML and JSON
formats
- additions to `.gitignore` for other CLI tools

Motivation:
As a user who regularly works with CLI-tools, I found it odd to have to
alias this with the command flags I wanted when `approvalMode` simply
wasn't being parsed even though it was an optional prop in `config.ts`.
This change allows me (and other users) to set the preference once in
the config file, streamlining daily usage while maintaining the ability
to override via command-line flags when needed.

Testing:
I've added a new test case loads and saves approvalMode correctly that
verifies:
- Reading the approvalMode from the config file works correctly
- Saving the approvalMode to the config file works as expected
- The value persists through load/save operations

All tests related to the implementation are passing.

.gitignore

@@ -26,6 +26,10 @@ result
 *.swp
 *~
 
+# cli tools
+CLAUDE.md
+.claude/
+
 # caches
 .cache/
 .turbo/

README.md

@@ -281,11 +281,12 @@ pnpm link
 
 ## Configuration
 
-Codex looks for config files in **`~/.codex/`**.
+Codex looks for config files in **`~/.codex/`** (either YAML or JSON format).
 
 ```yaml
 # ~/.codex/config.yaml
 model: o4-mini # Default model
+approvalMode: suggest # or auto-edit, full-auto
 fullAutoErrorMode: ask-user # or ignore-and-continue
 notify: true # Enable desktop notifications for responses
 safeCommands:
@@ -293,6 +294,16 @@ safeCommands:
   - yarn lint # Automatically approve yarn lint
 ```
 
+```json
+// ~/.codex/config.json
+{
+  "model": "o4-mini",
+  "approvalMode": "suggest",
+  "fullAutoErrorMode": "ask-user",
+  "notify": true
+}
+```
+
 You can also define custom instructions:
 
 ```yaml

codex-cli/src/cli.tsx

@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ if (quietMode) {
     imagePaths: imagePaths || [],
     approvalPolicy: autoApproveEverything
       ? AutoApprovalMode.FULL_AUTO
-      : AutoApprovalMode.SUGGEST,
+      : config.approvalMode || AutoApprovalMode.SUGGEST,
     additionalWritableRoots,
     config,
   });
@@ -364,14 +364,15 @@ if (quietMode) {
 //    it is more dangerous than --fullAuto we deliberately give it lower
 //    priority so a user specifying both flags still gets the safer behaviour.
 // 3. --autoEdit – automatically approve edits, but prompt for commands.
-// 4. Default – suggest mode (prompt for everything).
+// 4. config.approvalMode - use the approvalMode setting from ~/.codex/config.json.
+// 5. Default – suggest mode (prompt for everything).
 
 const approvalPolicy: ApprovalPolicy =
   cli.flags.fullAuto || cli.flags.approvalMode === "full-auto"
     ? AutoApprovalMode.FULL_AUTO
     : cli.flags.autoEdit || cli.flags.approvalMode === "auto-edit"
     ? AutoApprovalMode.AUTO_EDIT
-    : AutoApprovalMode.SUGGEST;
+    : config.approvalMode || AutoApprovalMode.SUGGEST;
 
 preloadModels();
 

codex-cli/src/utils/config.ts

@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ export type AppConfig = {
   apiKey?: string;
   model: string;
   instructions: string;
+  approvalMode?: AutoApprovalMode;
   fullAutoErrorMode?: FullAutoErrorMode;
   memory?: MemoryConfig;
   /** Whether to enable desktop notifications for responses */
@@ -275,6 +276,7 @@ export const loadConfig = (
         : DEFAULT_AGENTIC_MODEL),
     instructions: combinedInstructions,
     notify: storedConfig.notify === true,
+    approvalMode: storedConfig.approvalMode,
     safeCommands: storedConfig.safeCommands ?? [],
   };
 
@@ -391,6 +393,7 @@ export const saveConfig = (
   // Create the config object to save
   const configToSave: StoredConfig = {
     model: config.model,
+    approvalMode: config.approvalMode,
   };
 
   // Add history settings if they exist

codex-cli/tests/config.test.tsx

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import type * as fsType from "fs";
 
 import { loadConfig, saveConfig } from "../src/utils/config.js"; // parent import first
+import { AutoApprovalMode } from "../src/utils/auto-approval-mode.js";
 import { tmpdir } from "os";
 import { join } from "path";
 import { test, expect, beforeEach, afterEach, vi } from "vitest";
@@ -107,3 +108,43 @@ test("loads user instructions + project doc when codex.md is present", () => {
     userInstr + "\n\n--- project-doc ---\n\n" + projectDoc,
   );
 });
+
+test("loads and saves approvalMode correctly", () => {
+  // Setup config with approvalMode
+  memfs[testConfigPath] = JSON.stringify(
+    {
+      model: "mymodel",
+      approvalMode: AutoApprovalMode.AUTO_EDIT,
+    },
+    null,
+    2,
+  );
+  memfs[testInstructionsPath] = "test instructions";
+
+  // Load config and verify approvalMode
+  const loadedConfig = loadConfig(testConfigPath, testInstructionsPath, {
+    disableProjectDoc: true,
+  });
+
+  // Check approvalMode was loaded correctly
+  expect(loadedConfig.approvalMode).toBe(AutoApprovalMode.AUTO_EDIT);
+
+  // Modify approvalMode and save
+  const updatedConfig = {
+    ...loadedConfig,
+    approvalMode: AutoApprovalMode.FULL_AUTO,
+  };
+
+  saveConfig(updatedConfig, testConfigPath, testInstructionsPath);
+
+  // Verify saved config contains updated approvalMode
+  expect(memfs[testConfigPath]).toContain(
+    `"approvalMode": "${AutoApprovalMode.FULL_AUTO}"`,
+  );
+
+  // Load again and verify updated value
+  const reloadedConfig = loadConfig(testConfigPath, testInstructionsPath, {
+    disableProjectDoc: true,
+  });
+  expect(reloadedConfig.approvalMode).toBe(AutoApprovalMode.FULL_AUTO);
+});