# What is a coding-agent tool approval?

Canonical: https://perched.fyi/glossary/tool-approval/
Updated: 2026-10-23

A tool approval is a person’s decision about whether a coding agent may carry out a proposed action, such as running a command or making a change.

## Approve the actual action

Read the project and session as well as the proposed command or change. A familiar action can still be outside the intended task. If the request lacks enough context, open the original agent interface.

Perch supports opt-in allow and deny actions for Claude Code and Codex. Cursor’s documented Perch action is a reply after a turn, not in-card tool approval.


## Approval is different from verification

Allowing a tool gives it permission to act. It does not prove the action succeeded or that the result is correct. Likewise, agreeing to a plan is different from reviewing its eventual implementation.

After a turn, inspect the work in the project. Perch’s two-second undo applies before an answer is sent; it cannot reverse a command that already ran.


## Related reading
- [Approve, answer and reply from Perch](https://perched.fyi/guides/answering-agents/)
- [Perch compatibility: Claude Code, Codex and Cursor](https://perched.fyi/guides/agent-compatibility/)
- [Keep a human decision in the coding-agent loop](https://perched.fyi/blog/human-in-the-loop-coding/)