Add a configurable shortcut to cycle permission modes (Claude Code-style Shift+Tab)

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Assessment

Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Newbie friendliness
45/100
Issue type
Feature
Clarity
Mostly clear
Activity status
Quiet
Tech stack
rust
Domain
cli, security

Research direction

No source files or tests are named. Start by tracing the existing Shift+Tab handling and the /permissions flow in the Codex CLI, then determine how configurable key actions and user-enabled permission modes are represented; done means a documented, tested cycle that preserves existing behavior and keeps full access opt-in.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

CLI config enhancement sandbox TUI
What variant of Codex are you using?

Codex CLI

What feature would you like to see?

I would like Codex CLI to provide a configurable keyboard shortcut for quickly cycling through permission and
workflow modes, similar to the Shift+Tab experience in Claude Code.

Currently, Shift+Tab only switches between Default and Plan mode, while permission modes must be changed
separately through /permissions.

Ideally, Codex should provide either:

  1. An optional quick-mode cycle that can include:

    • Ask for approval
    • Approve for me (Auto-review)
    • Plan mode
    • Full access, only when explicitly enabled by the user
    • Named permission profiles

  2. Or configurable keymap actions such as:

    • Open the permissions picker
    • Select the next permission mode
    • Select the previous permission mode

The active mode should always be clearly visible in the interface. Full access should be excluded from the cycle
by default and require an explicit opt-in.

Users who prefer the existing Shift+Tab behavior should be able to keep it unchanged, while others could
configure Shift+Tab or another shortcut for permission-mode cycling.

Additional information

This workflow is available in Claude Code and makes switching between planning, normal approval, automatic
safety review, and unrestricted modes much faster.

Current workaround:

  • Use Shift+Tab for Default/Plan mode.
  • Run /permissions separately to switch between Ask for approval, Approve for me, Full access, or permission
    profiles.

A configurable shortcut would reduce interaction friction without weakening security, because only user-enabled
modes would participate in the cycle.

Environment:

  • Codex CLI: 0.144.6
  • Model: gpt-5.6-sol
  • Platform: macOS 26.5.2, Apple Silicon
  • Terminal: Apple Terminal 470.2

Feedback thread ID:
019f7730-7463-7cd1-8196-0e47b91b1e45

Dominant language
Rust
Stars
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Forks
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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