Claude Code Adds a Setting to Deny Tool Calls Instead of Waiting on a Permission Prompt
Claude CodeClaude Code 2.1.319 adds a permissions.denyInsteadOfPrompting setting. A tool call that would otherwise wait on a permission prompt is denied and the turn continues. It applies in terminal sessions, subagents and teammates.
Key Takeaways
permissions.denyInsteadOfPromptingturns a pending prompt into a denial, and the turn carries on.- It covers terminal sessions, subagents and teammates, per the release notes.
- The session no longer stalls on an unanswered prompt when the setting is on.
- Claude sees a denial rather than waiting, so it can pick another approach.
- It sits beside the other 2.1.319 permission changes, which also tilt toward refusing over asking.
- The release notes state the behavior and scope but give no use case for the setting.
What the Setting Does
Claude Code 2.1.319 adds permissions.denyInsteadOfPrompting. With it on, a tool call that would normally stop and wait for a permission prompt is denied instead, and the turn continues. The release notes say it applies in terminal sessions, in subagents and in teammates.
What Changes in Practice
Permission prompts block a turn until someone answers. With this setting on, that wait becomes a denial, so a session does not sit on an unanswered prompt, and Claude sees a refusal it can work around rather than stalling. The release notes describe the behavior and its scope; they do not give a use case for it.
Related Changes in the Same Release
Other permission behavior shifted in the same release, covered in the 2.1.319 security hardening entry. One example is that an exact Bash or PowerShell ask rule is now refused, not asked about, when a broader deny rule covers the command.