Allow subagents to forward permission requests to foreground conversation

[unthingable]

Problem

When subagents (spawned via the Task tool) run in dontAsk mode, they cannot prompt for permissions. Tools not in the user's allow list are auto-denied silently. This creates a frustrating pattern:

1. User asks a question
2. Claude spawns a subagent to research it
3. Subagent needs a tool (e.g., WebFetch) that isn't pre-approved
4. Tool is auto-denied, agent works around it or fails partially
5. User only discovers this if the agent happens to mention the error

The current model forces users to either:

• Pre-approve a broad set of tools (reducing security)
• Accept that agents may silently fail on useful operations

Proposed Solution

Allow subagents to pause and forward permission requests to the foreground conversation:

1. Agent hits a tool requiring permission
2. Agent pauses execution
3. Permission request surfaces to the main conversation
4. User approves/denies
5. Agent resumes with the result

Alternative/Complementary Approach

Provide a way to verify and pre-approve necessary permissions before launching an agent:

• Agents could declare what tools they might need
• Claude could check permissions before spawning
• User could be prompted to approve missing permissions upfront

Why This Matters

Launching background agents is efficient and smart. But if those agents are silently doomed by missing permissions, the efficiency gain is lost. Users end up with partial results without understanding why.

This would improve:

• Transparency: Users see when agents need additional permissions
• Flexibility: No need to pre-approve everything "just in case"
• Reliability: Agents don't silently degrade due to permission gaps

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. Background agents should handle permission denials gracefully and/or delegate to foreground #17108
2. [BUG] Sub agents can't use tools properly: Permission to use xxx has been auto-denied in dontAsk mode even with --dangerously-skip-permissions #11934
3. [BUG] Background agents cannot run Bash commands - auto-denied without prompting user #18172

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically closed as a duplicate of #17108.

If this is incorrect, please re-open this issue or create a new one.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.