auto mode temporarily unavailable - cannot enter auto mode via Shift+Tab or defaultMode setting

[sakaidubz]

Summary

auto mode temporarily unavailable is displayed persistently and it is impossible to enter auto mode via Shift+Tab cycling or via defaultMode: \"auto\" in settings.json.

Environment

• Claude Code version: 2.1.74
• OS: macOS 25.3.0 (Darwin)
• Models tested: claude-opus-4-6, claude-sonnet-4-6

settings.json (relevant part)

{
  "permissions": {
    "defaultMode": "auto"
  }
}

Behavior

1. Session starts and briefly enters auto mode (system shows "Exited Auto Mode" immediately)
2. Status bar shows auto mode temporarily unavailable
3. Shift+Tab cycles through Ask → Plan modes only (auto mode is skipped/unavailable)
4. Cannot enter auto mode manually

Steps to Reproduce

1. Set defaultMode: "auto" in ~/.claude/settings.json
2. Start a new Claude Code session
3. Observe status bar: auto mode temporarily unavailable
4. Try Shift+Tab to cycle modes — auto mode is not reachable

What I've Tried

• Restarted Claude Code multiple times
• Launched with --debug flag — no additional info about why auto mode is unavailable
• Switched models (Opus 4.6 → Sonnet 4.6) — same behavior on both
• Removed non-official skipAutoPermissionPrompt setting

Expected Behavior

Auto mode should be available and selectable as documented.

Note

The "temporarily unavailable" wording implies this is a transient state, but it has persisted across multiple sessions and reboots over several hours.

[undesicimo]

+1 happening to me too

[yuji-hatakeyama]

Same issue here.

• Claude Code: 2.1.76
• OS: macOS
• Launch method: claude --enable-auto-mode

"auto mode temporarily unavailable" is displayed persistently, not intermittently.

[BubblyJove]

Same for me, Debian Linux, displayed intermittently.

[madebyjun]

I checked ~/.claude.json and found the relevant feature flag:

jq '.cachedGrowthBookFeatures.tengu_auto_mode_config' ~/.claude.json

{
  "enabled": "disabled",
  "twoStageClassifier": true
}

Looks like auto mode is controlled server-side via tengu_auto_mode_config.enabled. Mine is still "disabled".

For anyone who has auto mode working, could you share what your tengu_auto_mode_config looks like? Curious if enabled changes to "enabled" or some other value when it's rolled out.

Environment: Claude Code 2.1.74 / macOS / Max subscriber

[DanSoQt]

Same for me. Found this issue via investigation with my own Claude. Seems it's likely simply due to the phased rollout. Too bad that it's not hitting our accounts sooner; I could really use it to simplify approval of long &&'d commands to build, test, and run C++ related tasks.

[sakaidubz]

Thanks @madebyjun for the investigation! Confirmed tengu_auto_mode_config.enabled is "disabled" on my end too. This appears to be a phased rollout rather than a bug. Should we close this issue?

[yuji-hatakeyama]

@madebyjun
Thanks! I'm still disabled too.

{
  "enabled": "disabled",
  "twoStageClassifier": true
}

[chritofferal]

Same here. Windows 11, Claude Code 2.1.79, Max subscriber.

tengu_auto_mode_config.enabled is "disabled" on my end as well. Confirmed that removing defaultMode, skipAutoPermissionPrompt, and launching with --permission-mode auto has no effect.