Auto mode became Claude Code's default permission mode on August 14, and its classifier calls stopped counting toward usage limits.

New sessions on Pro, Max and Team plans now start in auto mode, where a background classifier approves safe actions and blocks risky ones instead of prompting. A default you set yourself persists unless you accept a one-time switch prompt, and org-managed defaults are untouched. Claude Code Docs The classifier being free removes the main argument against leaving it on. If you script unattended agents, set permissions.defaultMode: "auto" in ~/.claude/settings.json instead of reaching for --dangerously-skip-permissions. Auto mode has hard-deny rules the skip flag does not.