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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchAn agent needs you when it shows an explicit request: a permission prompt naming an action you can approve or deny, or a clarification question asking for information it cannot reasonably infer. A session that is still working, or that has finished in the background, is not waiting on you, even if it has gone quiet. Which of these you see depends on the runtime and permission mode you are using, so start by identifying those two things.
Approval, clarification, and status are different states
Most confusion comes from treating every pause as the same thing. Three situations look similar on screen but ask for different responses. The table below separates them.
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| Signal | What the agent is asking or reporting | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Permission prompt | Whether it may perform a proposed action, such as an edit or a command | Approve only if you want that specific action performed within the scope shown; otherwise deny it |
| Clarification question | Information it needs to continue, such as a requirement it cannot infer | Answer the question; this is not a tool permission decision |
| Progress or task status | Work is ongoing or has finished; no decision is requested | Check the session or task status; no reply is needed |
| Human-review interruption (OpenAI Agents SDK) | The run is paused until a person or policy approves or rejects a sensitive action | Resolve the interruption, then resume the run |
Two points follow from the table. First, a pause is not proof that someone is being asked something. Only an explicit prompt or an explicit interruption is a request. Second, approval and clarification call for different answers, and mixing them up is the most common mistake: answering a permission prompt with a free-text reply, or approving an action when the agent was only asking a question.
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Claude Code’s CLI exposes both interactive and print (non-interactive) use. Permission behavior depends on how it is invoked and configured. The CLI reference lists permission-related options including --allowedTools, --disallowedTools, and --permission-mode, plus a permission-prompt tool for non-interactive runs. Source: Anthropic, CLI reference for Claude Code.
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The practical consequence is that you cannot assume every task will ask before acting. A run with broad allowed tools may proceed without asking, while a stricter setup may stop at each risky step. Check the configuration before you decide a silent session is idle or a prompting session is safe.
Permission modes
Anthropic’s Claude Code user FAQ describes the following behavior. Treat it as guidance from that FAQ and confirm the mode shown in your own client, because organization settings and supported-model availability can change which modes you have.
- Manual: asks before risky edits or commands.
- Accept-edits: allows file edits without asking, but still asks before commands.
- Plan: read-only planning that waits for your approval before the work proceeds.
Source: Anthropic Help Center, Claude Code user FAQ.
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In non-interactive or scripted runs there may be no person at a terminal to answer. The permission-prompt tool exists for that case, and allow and deny lists determine what proceeds without a human. If you run an agent this way, a missing prompt means the decision was made by configuration, not that the agent has finished or is waiting for you.
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Codex and OpenAI agent runtimes
OpenAI documents several surfaces, and they behave differently. Identify which one you are using before you interpret a pause.
The Agents SDK approval interruption
OpenAI’s guardrails and human review documentation describes the mechanism directly: “Human review pauses the run so a person or policy can approve or reject it.” Source: OpenAI, Guardrails and human review.
In the SDK pattern OpenAI shows, an application checks the run for interruptions, resolves each one by approving or rejecting it, and then resumes the run. The same documentation describes approval before side effects such as edits or shell commands. If your application uses this pattern, an interruption is an explicit request to decide, and the run will not continue until you respond.
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The managed Codex harness and the Agents SDK
OpenAI’s agents overview describes its Agents API as a managed Codex harness, while the Agents SDK runs inside your own application and Responses API integrations have their own execution and state patterns. The approval flow above is documented for the SDK. Do not assume it describes every Codex user interface exactly. For a Codex product, use that product’s own approval or status view as the authority. The agent definitions guide at OpenAI, Agent definitions covers how agents are configured.
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Connector and remote MCP calls
For remote MCP servers and connectors, OpenAI states that approval may be requested before data is shared with the connector or remote server. Its guidance is to review what data would be sent before you approve. Source: OpenAI, MCP servers. This is the case where an approval prompt is less about the action and more about where your data goes, so read the destination and the data included.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A quick check before you respond
- Identify the agent, runtime, and interface you are using, including whether it runs interactively, in print mode, or inside your own application.
- Read the request. Is it asking permission for a named action, asking a question, or only reporting progress?
- For a permission request, inspect the tool or action and any data or destination involved. Approve only if you want that action performed in that scope.
- For a clarification question, answer the missing requirement in the agent’s terms.
- If there is no explicit prompt or interruption, check the session or task status. Do not infer that a background agent needs a reply just because it has not finished.
This checklist is an editorial synthesis of the documentation cited above. It is not a status protocol that either vendor defines.
Quick Recap
Where this guidance stops
- The sources consulted do not establish one universal badge, color, or screen location for pending requests across terminal, editor, and web interfaces. Look for the prompt text rather than a fixed visual cue.
- Exact button labels and layouts change between product versions. If you need click-by-click instructions, verify them against your installed version.
- OpenAI’s SDK interruption example is documented for the Agents SDK. Do not assume the same screens appear in every Codex surface.
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