Honor Manual permissions when launching Claude Code #2139

Part of #2091 (AI-4694).

Classification: Reported defect / investigate on the specified build. Priority: Urgent.

Problem

The launcher showed Permissions · Manual, but Claude's terminal reported auto mode and edited README.md without an Allow/Deny card. This is a reported permission-boundary failure, not merely missing UI.

Evidence

macOS Testbench findings, page version 15, published 30 October 2026.

• Walkthrough: usage agents/start-and-drive-an-agent steps 3–4 and 6.
• Reported build: 1.4.1-beta.1; Claude Code 2.1.312.
• Fresh Apple-silicon test VMs. This is report cross-checking, not an independent reproduction; confirm exact app, CLI, daemon and server builds separately. The source page requires organization access.

Acceptance

• Reproduce with the exact app, daemon and Claude versions; inspect the effective launch configuration, including inherited Claude settings.
• Manual must reach the runtime and request approval for an edit that requires approval under that mode; test both Allow and Deny.
• If the requested mode cannot be enforced, reject the launch or explicitly explain the unsupported mode rather than silently running automatically.

Boundaries

Do not conflate this with adding a vendor-agnostic auto mode (#738) or the Windows launch-prompt defect (#1975). Treat as urgent until the reported consent bypass is ruled out.